Case Study: Editorial Design Autumn 2026.

This short online course offered an opportunity for participants to explore the craft and art of editorial design, which is defined as the presentation of information in a coherent, relevant and innovative manner, across a variety of analog and digital platforms.

A really interesting aspect of the course is access to the graphic design and illustration archives, dating back over 50 years and featuring student work by well-known alumni such as Alan Fletcher and Jonathan Barnbrook. During the course, the archivist Richard Doust is invited to deliver a session for participants, giving an insight into this incredible history and access to an amazing repository of artefacts.

The course is led by Adrian Shaughnessy (Graphic Designer, Writer, Editor, Publisher and former RCA tutor) in partnership with Astrid Stavro (Designer and President of ISTD).

Gallery of participants work

“This course has been incredibly beneficial to me. Coming from a background outside editorial design, I found that working through briefs within a short timeframe challenged me to sharpen my skills, think more critically and approach projects with an editorial design mindset. The course has broadened my understanding of the discipline and given me greater confidence in exploring a new creative direction, which I hope to carry forward into my future practice and studies.”
Adriyne Pagud - @adriyne Gallery Assistant

“RCA’s Editorial Design course taught me not to be scared of a blank sheet of paper. The tutors were brilliant, and hearing from working designers and being able to ask them questions was invaluable. I’ve come away with a much clearer sense of how to pitch and present our studio’s ideas in a more engaging way, from our website to our client presentations, and with far more confidence in doing it.”
Adam Young - @mradamyoung Creative Director

“I was surprised by the diversity in where all the students were tuning into the course from. It helped put a lot of things into perspective and helped us become aware of each other’s cultures.”
Naureen Bindra - @naureen__bindra Fashion stylist