Visual Narrative Lab
Use images to tell stories, collaborating with visualisers and world-builders.
The Visual Narrative Lab is a place to experiment with story. We live at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and welcome collaboration with visualisers and world-builders of all sorts. We work with comics, graphic design, games, illustration, creative writing, animation, and tabletop roleplaying.
Visual storytelling is an increasingly vital part of contemporary communication, art, media, and design. From illustrated books, comics, and graphic novels to films, animation, online video, and games—stories are being told everywhere, through static and moving pictures in books and on screens.
Images are being used to tell personal stories, convey complex information, analyse and study, carry out research, create powerfully transformative experiences, entertain, persuade, and confront.
Almost no medium or genre has been untouched by the rise of visual narrative. As the importance of visual literacy and storytelling techniques has grown, so has the need for ongoing scholarly investigation into the role of visual narrative in contemporary cultures and societies.
Visual narrative forms are also increasingly used as a tool for research, from practice-based design studies to visual ethnography and graphic medicine.
The lab boasts numerous award-winning, internationally renowned staff with decades of experience in comics and graphic novels, illustration, photography, animation, hybrid literature, visual poetry, speculative design, and tabletop and video game design.
See our past and current projects at Visual Narrative Lab
Study options
The following postgraduate programmes allow you to pursue study in the area of Visual Narrative.
Master of Fine Arts (Creative Practice)—Design (MFA(CP))
The Design subject within the MFA(CP) starts with your story. We welcome visualisers of all stripes—people with a background in comics, graphic design, games, creative writing, animation, concept art, or live-action and tabletop roleplaying.
Our programme combines courses like Visual Development and Narrative Design with practical experience in managing a creative career. You can explore new techniques and media while collaborating with students from Film, Theatre, or Music/Sound.
Craft a powerful story, full of rich images and complex ideas. Conjure a new world of emotion using your command of visual language. Then bring it all together in a masterful final project with the help of award-winning experts in the narrative arts.
The one-year degree includes coursework and a final project, but not an academic thesis. Prepare a short portfolio and Expression of Interest to apply.
Find out more about the Master of Fine Arts (Creative Practice)—Design.
Master of Design Innovation (MDI)
The Master of Design Innovation is ideal for students interested in doing a balance of coursework and academic research. That research—in the form of a research portfolio—should aim to change the status quo of design through disruptive or breakthrough innovation.
Find out more about the Master of Design Innovation (MDI).
Master of Design (MDes)
The Master of Design is a research degree for students who already have a solid understanding of design research methodology, and would like to produce an academic research portfolio (thesis and creative work). There is no coursework, and students are supported in independent research by supervisors from the faculty.
Find out more about the Master of Design (MDes).
PhD
The PhD thesis is a major piece of original research that demonstrates your ability to carry out independent research. It should make a significant and original contribution to knowledge or understanding in your chosen field of study. As well as intelligence and an aptitude for research, the degree requires considerable dedication and tenacity.
The minimum period of registration before a PhD thesis can be submitted for examination is 36 months full-time (or equivalent).
Find out more about the PhD.
Contacts
Associate Dean, Students (Postgraduate - Taught)
Wellington Faculty of Architecture and Design Innovation
Senior Lecturer
School of Design Innovation
Lecturer
School of Design Innovation
Lecturer in Design Matauranga Maori
School of Design Innovation
