Module manager: Dr Cătălina Zlotea
Email: c.zlotea@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module introduces students to the principles and practices of editorial design – structuring and communicating ideas through the considered relationship between text and image. It explores how designers, artists, and communicators organise visual and verbal content to create rhythm, meaning, and narrative across a range of media and formats. Students will develop an understanding of editorial thinking as a conceptual and practical framework that applies to print, digital, and spatial contexts. By the end of the module, students will have built a foundation in visual literacy and editorial composition, gaining confidence in analysing and designing narrative-based visual communication relevant to their individual course of study. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
Through lectures and seminars, students will examine historical and contemporary examples of publications, zines, lookbooks, and digital editorials to understand how editorial design decisions shape audience experience and message.
Working through a series of exploratory design tasks, students will learn to compile, edit, and structure content, combining type and image to communicate an idea or theme. Emphasis is placed on sequencing, and visual storytelling as shared skills across all creative disciplines – from fashion and textiles to graphic design and art
(a) To introduce key principles and historical examples of editorial design, and how approaches have evolved across time and media.
(b) To explore and experiment with the relationship between text, image, and layout to communicate meaning and narrative.
(c) To apply methods of sequencing and structuring to create visual coherence and rhythm in an editorial context.
(d) To reflect and articulate the design decisions made in relation to audience, message, and medium.
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
1. Identify and discuss how editorial design functions as a mode of communication across different formats and disciplines.
2. Analyse examples of historical and contemporary editorial design, articulating how visual and textual elements create narrative and meaning.
3. Design an editorial artefact that integrates text and image demonstrating how editorial design decisions shape meaning.
4. Reflect on their own and others’ work using appropriate visual and design vocabulary, demonstrating a critical awareness of editorial strategies
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
5. Communicate and present ideas and concepts clearly and effectively across a range of formats
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminars | 6 | 2 | 12 |
| Practicals | 4 | 3 | 12 |
| Private study hours | 176 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 24 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
There will be multiple points of formative feedback throughout the module during seminars through tutor-led feedback and small group discussions.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Portfolio | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team