Billy Blue College of Design
Billy Blue College of Design is known for its engagement with industry and employability focus. We have courses developed in collaboration with industry including game design and development, digital media, communication design, software engineering, branded fashion design and interior design.
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Billy Blue produces creative thinkers who can do - giving you the chance to acquire the relevant design skills, collaborate with our industry partners, and gain practical experience along the way.
We insist our students challenge convention, using innovation to unlock a world of inspiration and opportunity - where imagination is your secret weapon. Your specialist education is delivered by designers, for designers. Tapping into your career potential, and opening your mind to what is possible, is what excites us most.
As a Billy Blue graduate you will think creatively and generate great ideas and outcomes for the real world.
General Info
Facilities
Sydney Campus
Located in the inner-city precinct of Ultimo, this converted heritage building is as cool as inner Sydney itself. Recently revamped, it boasts hip, 19th century style architecture, but with an edge.
With open plan spaces, high ceilings, lots of light, and creative pods for learning, collaboration and entrepreneurship, this space draws its inspiration from cafes and restaurants rather than institutions. Connect, share and challenge your thinking, and access the latest technologies to kick-start your new career.
Melbourne Campus
Situated on Flinders Street, right in the heart of Melbourne’s fashionable and trendiest area. As a student, you will enjoy state of the art facilities and a chance to immerse yourself in a creative and stimulating environment.
Melbourne has a reputation as the cultural hub of Australia. This campus is conveniently located close to a multitude of art galleries, restaurants and cafe precincts. It’s also next door to major landmarks such as Federation Square, St Pauls’ Cathedral, Young and Jackson Hotel, the Banana Alley Vaults, the old Herald and Weekly Times building, Melbourne Aquarium and Batman Park – all of which offer a stimulating and colourful range of fashion, food, culture and industry immersion.
Brisbane Campus
Located in Fortitude Valley, just minutes from Brisbane’s City Center, this cutting-edge new campus is a creative and stimulating learning environment that is part of our mission to disrupt and reinterpret the way education is delivered.
The campus is perched on cliffs overlooking the Brisbane River and captures a Queensland architectural style that our Sunshine State is famous for. Enjoy the latest digital learning technologies, open learning and collaborative classroom and project spaces, and a creative and stimulating vibe.
Staff
Our staff are all firstly professionals with industry experience – not just text book learning. All academics receive and update their materials regularly, along with the University re-developing curriculum to match current approaches.
We were recently (September 2020) accredited as a Houdini certified school based on an industry panel review of our Houdini reel of our students work.
Employment Rates
Employment level: High: 9 out of 10 graduates get a job they love within a year. Based on 2019 graduate survey.
We have dedicated success coaches which guide our students throughout their university journey and provide assistance with their course work, resume, finding placement and general support. Each of our courses have a Work Integrated Learning program in the final year where students can choose from doing an internship or part take in a live brief. There are potential hiring opportunities there and we also have strong relationships with industry partners who also hire our students.
Technology
Software
We teach Houdini, Maya, Zbrush, Nuke - and rendering real-time in Unreal and offline with Arnold.
Hardware
We have an offsite render farm, motion capture body suits, dual monitor and high performance multiple labs, Cintiq tablets, green screens studios, dedicated film and video equipment services etc.
Student Showcase
Take a look at some of the traditional and digital artwork Billy Blue College of Design students produce during their education.
•Alexandra Sheather - Unreal Engine Designer, Girraphic
Billy Blue College of Design allowed me to see what is possible in the industry and expand on what I want for my career. While studying there I met great people who are now my coworkers today. Hands on experience is very important to me so getting to use industry standard equipment while studying and doing an in industry internship were my favourite parts of studying with Billy Blue.
Networking & Careers
We have the best relationships with: Houdini3D, Sony, Unity, Vogue Australia, AIPP & DDB. Graduates find jobs at Girraphic, Ministry of Style, Publicis Australia and Datacom.
We have a dedicated industry team who have established and strong industry partners such as, AGDA, Marque, Unity, Vogue Australia, AIPP & DDB who involve our students in these workplaces and have them work on live briefs. Students get hands-on to tackle Design & Creative Technology challenges requiring critical thinking, problem-solving and genuine industry insight. We help our students with providing them with industry placements and internships at some of the world’s most influential organisations.
We work with industry to engage students in:
- Work-ready interns
- In-Class client live briefs
- Graduate hiring initiatives
- On-campus speaking opportunities
- Industry collaborations
Courses
We offer a competitive generalist 3D degree that is forward thinking and built on two pillars of where 3D is headed in the future: Realtime animation production and procedural geometry and workflows. We are moving our content to specialise in these two areas, by incorporate and overlapping early subjects in the Games and 3D animation degrees to have a deep understanding of fundamentals in 3D for a realtime first approach. We also teach Houdini immediately in the first year in the principles of animation and have a procedural geometry approach first to modelling.
Diploma of Graphic Design
The Diploma of Graphic Design course will give you key conceptual and technical skills to transform fantastic concepts into visual reality. By enhancing your design awareness and combining problem solving and technical skills, you will be equipped to respond to the requirements of a fast paced, visually-literate society.
The Diploma of Graphic Design course has been designed to provide graduates with a broad base of graphic design knowledge and skills suitable both for entry-level employment in the graphic design sector and/or as a platform for further specialised design study at Bachelor level. The course structure is designed to interweave theory, practice and connection, with each of these themes in turn representing distinct modes of thinking, enquiry and knowledge acquisition in relation to graphic design.
Duration: 1 year full-time. Pricing details. Intake dates: February, June & September
Bachelor of Communication Design
The Bachelor of Communication Design course is structured to prepare you for careers in which information is conveyed visually. These include graphic design, advertising, publishing, packaging, art direction, print and digital media. You’ll learn about design usability, typography, ideation and idea generation, digital media, design research, information design and more. You’ll also learn how to use Photoshop and Illustrator. The design work you do throughout your study contributes to your professional portfolio – your passport to a serious design career. Nationally recognised and highly respected, learning with Billy Blue provides you with comprehensive skills, know-how and confidence for a successful and dynamic career in the communication design space.
Duration: 3 years full-time and 6 years part-time. Pricing details. Intake dates: February, June & September
Bachelor or Diploma of 3D Design & Animation
This cutting-edge degree can lead you into a career in one of the most imaginative, innovative and technically sophisticated fields of design – 3D design and animation. Guided by industry leaders, you’ll develop modelling and 3D design skills – including texture creation, lighting and original stylistic visual approaches – that will let you create photorealistic and animate visualisations. You’ll use your ever-growing digital expertise to present an original design outcome while collaborating with other students. Together you will plan a project from start to finish – through the creation of the animation to the development of a management plan that reflects industry processes.
Duration: 3 years full-time and 6 years part-time. Pricing details here and here. Intake dates: February, June & September
Bachelor or Diploma of UX and Web Design
Our Bachelor of Digital Media course specialising in Interaction Design is broad ranging, current and highly regarded in the industry. Bringing together the needs of humans and the capabilities of technology, it covers the theory and practice of user-experience design, information architecture, graphic and interface design, human–computer interaction, nonlinear storytelling, scripting and development, user behaviour and psychology, research, innovation and strategic thinking. If this sounds overwhelming, don’t worry – you won’t be on your own! You’ll collaborate with other students in the Problem-based Learning Studio.
Duration: 3 years full-time and 6 years part-time. Pricing details here and here. Intake dates: February, June & September
Bachelor or Diploma of Film & Video Design
In the Bachelor of Digital Media specialising in Film & Video Design you will gain broad, flexible hands-on skills in editing and post-production, sound design, concept design, project planning, cinematography, compositing and visual effects. Throughout the course, you’ll collaborate with other students in the Design Studio on a diverse range of projects. In this dynamic learning environment, you’ll explore pre-production planning, motion graphic design, and digital video production. You’ll discover and define a design problems in the digital media world and deliver an outcome while developing essential skills in team work and negotiation. At the same time, led by outstanding industry professionals, you will explore the theory and context of design, film, TV and animation to really bring your creativity to life.
Duration: 3 years full-time and 6 years part-time. Pricing details here and here. Intake dates: February, June & September
Diploma of Photography & Photo Imaging
If you’re a keen photographer who’s ready to take your skills to the next level and perhaps make photography your career, this diploma course will be perfect for you. It will give you a broad base of generalist photo imaging knowledge and experience. Interweaving theory and practice, you will gain skills in using software, such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Premiere, as well as the know-how to use equipment such as DSLR cameras, studio lighting, video rigs, and more. You’ll explore both still image and video formats, and learn real workplace procedures so you have the confidence to manage many types of photography assignments from start to finish. With exercises grounded in industry practice and access to studio spaces even outside of class hours, you can refine your skills and experiment with different techniques.
Duration: 1 year full-time. Pricing details. Intake dates: February, June & September
Bachelor of Software Engineering (Artificial Intelligence)
The Bachelor of Software Engineering: Artificial Intelligence (AI) was created in collaboration with IBM, building a powerhouse of skills, future thinking and market insights. Founded on extensive industry consultations, we’ll offer you a range of technical subjects with a focus on the major areas of AI – from Natural Language Processing to Robotics. Harnessing your own creative talents and expertise, and led by industry professionals, you’ll identify and solve complex artificial intelligence software engineering problems. You’ll develop skills that are increasingly the mainstay of software engineering. Also, while the course is founded on strong traditional and cutting-edge software engineering know-how, such as programming, maths and statistical knowledge, you’ll also investigate ethics, social responsibility and cognitive psychology throughout your studies.
Duration: 3 years full-time. Pricing details. Intake dates: February, June & September
Bachelor of Game Design & Development
There are some people making games who will tell you it’s all about the underlying premise, the stories told or even the mechanics. It’s all lies. People love games because of the art, and that’s where you’ll come in. This course is designed to help you develop both your artistic style and technical skills, so you can decide whether you’re more interested in a throwback-EGA aesthetic or disturbingly hyper-real uncanny valley gear. Or something in between, maybe. Whatever the case, you’ll be working on industry-standard software alongside industry-standard experts to create beautiful environments, ugly environments, average-looking characters and breathtakingly gorgeous characters as assets for the immersive experience that is gaming. We focus on employability as well as honing your talent, so prepare to be drilled on people skills and professionalism as well as how to capture refracted light in a pixel-art potion of healing and suchlike.
Duration: 3 years full-time. Pricing details. Intake dates: February, June & September
Master of Design / Master of Design (Advanced)
Course description: Want to progress to senior roles within the design industry worldwide? Become an entrepreneurial, successful problem solver who can create and contribute to a variety of design solutions? Then this program is for you. The course delivery is blended with online and face-to-face subjects, providing a flexible learning environment, because we know you’re working in demanding roles that also take up your time. In the core subjects, you’ll explore conceptual challenges and questions of visual expressions in your quest to develop useful, usable and appropriate designs for good. You’ll explore aspects of the user experience, the role of design in humanising information, and the aesthetic and practical dynamics of effective communication and branding in the international industry landscape. With a variety of electives to choose from, you can design your course to suit your interests. Led by highly regarded design professionals, you’ll extend your managerial skills and practice; build your understanding of strategic processes; use creative tools and design research; discover the convergent space between disciplines; and explore the latest design theories, practice and innovation. You’ll graduate with skills and knowledge that will take your career to the next level, no matter what field you’re in. And if you wish, you can enter or exit with a Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma of Design.
Duration: 1.5 - 2 years full-time. Pricing details. Intake dates: February, June & September
Ready to apply to this school?
You’re one step away from starting something amazing! The best part is that Billy Blue College of Design is a Rookies Certified School which is a formal accreditation only awarded to the very best schools that provide the most up-to-date and relevant industry training and education. Trust us, you will be in good hands when you apply to this school.
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