The Royal College of Art is bringing communication and design together in one school, and that's big news

Remember the old days, when everyone sat in their little silos, and never the twain should meet? When a graphic designer wasn't allowed near strategy, and the strategists commented on visual designs at their peril? Well, whether you thought those were the "good old days" or not, they're definitely gone now.

Today, it doesn't matter whether your title is graphic designer, product designer, motion designer or whatever: essentially you're expected to do a bit of everything, at the drop of a hat, because that's what the industry demands.

The world of academia can be slow to catch up with developments like this. But the world's top-ranked art and design university, London's Royal College of Art, is clearly paying attention because it's just announced the establishment of a new School of Communication & Design.

This is a big move for the 107-year-old institution, as it brings together communication and design disciplines for the first time within a single, unified academic entity. The new school will sit alongside the existing School of Architecture and School of Arts & Humanities, giving the university a new, three-school structure.

And it's not just about a neater organisational chart. The RCA is making clear that the future of the creative industries is an interdisciplinary one, and is acting accordingly.

In the new setup, Animation gets closer to Fashion, Visual Communication to Innovation Design Engineering, and Digital Direction to Textiles. These used to be courses that had nothing to do with each other. Now they're increasingly interconnected, and the RCA is promising more opportunities for collaboration, shared learning and cross-school engagement.

Collaboration and shared learning

In the words of Professor Kerry Curtis, dean of the School of Communication & Design: "Bringing together a dynamic community of creative disciplines creates new opportunities for collaboration, experimentation and innovation at a time when the world needs creative thinking more than ever. As technologies like AI continue to transform how we communicate, design and make, our role is not just to respond to change, but to shape it.

"By combining material intelligence, together with critical and creative practice, we're equipping our students to become the artists, designers and leaders who will define the future of communication and design: creating work that is not only imaginative, but inclusive with real impact on society."

Programmes which will be delivered from the new School of Communication & Design will be: Animation (MA), Communication (MFA/PGR), Creative Education (MEd), Design (PGR), Design Futures (MDes), Design Products (MA), Digital Direction (MA), Fashion (MA), Information Experience Design (MA), Innovation Design Engineering MA/MSc, Textiles (MA), and Visual Communication (MA).