Westerdals School of Communication

History

In 1965 the female pioneer Putti Westerdal started the Westerdals Advertising School. Educated in Stockholm and with inspiration from the continent, the fundamental idea was that the school should serve as a springboard to working life for young creators, while teachers should teach and work on parallel commercial projects.
In 2001, Westerdals School of Communication (WSoC) was established after the merger of three independent schools with different backgrounds and profiles: Westerdals Advertising School, The School of Graphic Design and Sverre Wolff Advertising and Decoration School. This marked a new focus on creative and strategic communications in an international perspective.

Today we offer six branches of studies within creative communication areas: Art Direction, Design Exposure, Film and Television, Graphic Design, Scenography and Event and Copywriter and Writer/Author, divided by The Department of Storytelling Media (IFM) and The Department of Communication Design (IKD).

WSoC is constantly developing. Today the school is located in Fredensborgveien 24 in Oslo, but in 2011 we will be moving to new premises in the Vulkan area by the Akerselva river. We’re not only tearing down the walls, but also the interior. The school is in a process of turning into a college and all planning is being done with this in mind. Students who start here often have experience from other educational institutions, and the average age for applicants is 23 years. The school is owned by Anthon B. Nilsen Education AS, one of the leading private players in education in the Nordic countries.

Program: Art Direction

When you work as an Art Director you get involved in areas like generating ideas, visual design and project management for film, commercials and magazines.

An Art Director is in many ways a visual director. During the education programme you will create your own visual expression through animation, photography, illustration and film. Then you carry on to work with advertising and other communication assignments, and to develop ideas and visual storytelling for the web, television, magazines and newspapers. In all disciplines you will be working in both digital and analogue styles.

The education programme is three years’ study. You will often team up with others and be responsible for generating ideas and the development of concepts. You’ll learn important direction and production responsibilities in order to master the visual design and carry ideas through. The programme is for those who want a broad background for working with visual communication in many areas.

Entrance assigment for Art Direction:

All applicants must submit 4 papers in total, including the common task.

Tell, draw, glue, construct, design, show images/film.

1. Show us which year you remember most between 6 and 16. Analogue or digitally.
2. Do something you’ve never done before. Visualize.
3. What should we trust? Create a photo story, maximum10 images/30 minutes movie.
4. Many animals extinct, create a new animal and show us how it lives. Use free technique.
5. Create an eight-page book specifically for the person sitting at the checkout counter in your local store
6. Create a communication solution that gets people to take things more lightly.

This assigment must submit 4 papers in total, including common task.

Program: Copywriting

As a copywriter and author, you can work with advertising, writing for magazines and television, or create your own scripts and books.

During the programme you will learn how to make stories come alive through digital and analogue media. The students generate a vast amount of text throughout the programme, and they will be learning by solving specific assignments. All lecturing is structured and directed by established and active writers.

The programme is three years’ study divided into three main areas that are widely spread. Within editorial communication, you learn to develop ideas and how to write for television, magazines, newspapers and radio. In marketing communication the focus is placed on creating good advertising through thorough strategy and creative solutions. In the third discipline, the art-oriented texts, you will write scripts for movies and books and be working to find your own stories and your personal language.

Enstrance assigment for Copywriting:

All applicants must submit 4 papers in total, including the common task.

Tell, draw, glue, construct, design, show pictures/film.

Where it is not stated that you must write, it is up to you to select the style of submission: Film, audio, pictures, or combined with text, or something completely different. (You are of course allowed to solve these tasks completely in written words as well).

1. 10 New Commandments.
2. You just lost your head. What happened?
3. Describe the world’s most dangerous place. Create your own survival guide.
4. Grønland Mosque. Open microphone. Write a contribution.
5. Pretend you’re really something. Verify it publicly.
6. You are a traitor, what have you done? Make us like you.
7. Show us the year you remember most between six and sixteen.
8. You are vampire/carrier pigeon/rain for a day. What are you doing?
9. Write a nursery rhyme for children with a hidden message.

Program: Exposure Designer

As Exposure Designer you can get assignments like planning store space, stands, general decoration and interior design.

Through the education, you learn to create exposures that get maximum attention and creates interest in various products and services. Exposure Design is a field where creativity, ability to communicate and practical skills are very much in demand. You should also be able to visualize and plan the three-dimensional solutions.

The programme is three years’ study. You learn to expose in order to sell goods, and you will have good knowledge of how to develop ideas, planning, presentation and the practical implementation of various projects. You will learn to create appealing communication in addition to focusing on holistic thinking and execution.

Entrance assigment for Exposure Design:

All applicants must submit 4 papers in total, including common task.

Tell, draw, glue, construct, design, show images/film.

Task 1
Design a bridge.
The assignment must be created in black and white.
Drawing Equipment: Pencil, marker, charcoal, or combination of all.

Task 2
You invite friends to a party! Draw a table laid for 8 people and describe what the menu contains.
Presentation equipment: Free choice.

Task 3
Who are you?
You must use a minimum of 10 images in a collage.

Task 4
Design an exotic Beach Bar where you want to stay the entire evening.
Use a drawing to express the mood, but also your desire for function.
Expression, drawing equipment and form of presentation: free choice

Program: Film and Television

Graduated in film and television you can be involved with script, direction and production for film, television and websites.

The objective of the programme is to train storytellers and creative communicators, who can pass on stories through moving images. Dramaturgy, storytelling and the processes through idea generation and production are key areas within the education. You get a thorough introduction to the different roles of the director and producer, and a basic knowledge within editing cuts and as camera operator and sound engineer/boomer.

The programme is three years’ study. You will get a comprehensive introduction to the techniques required to produce and perceive stories with moving images. You can immerse yourself in storytelling, communication, understanding and create a personal narrative style, before you head toward a career within film, television or other media of newer character that communicate through live images. To make you able to implement your own projects, there will be an emphasis placed on leadership and organizational development.

Entrance assigment for the Film Course:

All applicants must submit 4 papers in total, including the common task.

Tell, draw, glue, construct, design, show pictures/film.

1. Make a portrait of a person you don’t know (maximum 2 minutes). Mobile phone or camcorder must be used for the recording. Submitted as a QuickTime file.
2. Tell the story about how your parents met. Tell us in words, pictures or moving images.
3. Select an appropriate piece of news and create a sketch for the Norwegian TV programme “Nytt på nytt” (Have I got news for you). Use a mobile phone or camcorder for the recording. Submitted as a QuickTime file
4. Describe the world’s most spooky place. Tell us in words, pictures or moving images.

Program: Scenography and event:

As a scenographer your work can imply to develop visual concepts for exhibitions, events, events, television, film and theatre.

The objective of the study is to become a generalist within scenographic solutions and visual staging. You will learn basic techniques and will acquire immaculate craftsmanlike skills to be able to produce models and room solutions in full scale.

The programme is a one-year study. After finishing the programme you will be able to create visual concepts to be used in television and film production, concerts and plays. You can also take on tasks with exhibitions for galleries and museums, or in advertising and event agencies. The programme will provide you with a solid basis for further specialization and practical assignments.

Entrance assigment for Scenography and event:

All applicants must submit 4 papers in total, including common task.

Tell, draw, glue, construct, design, show photos / film.

1. Build something. Explain and verify by using sketches and photography. Presentation style: Glued on cardboard, size A3.

2. The international final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 will be held where you come from. What place (indoors or outdoors) would you choose to arrange the concert, and why? What does the stage look like? The scenography must be created in a shoebox.

3. In about thirty years from now no one will be smoking anymore. Create a collage that projects a major exhibition on smoking in Norway. The exhibition will open in June 2045 at the Norwegian Folk Museum in Oslo. Give the exhibition a title. Supplied glued on cardboard in A3 format.

4. Choose a television series or a movie (short or long). Describe how it looks in the television series/movie. Tell us whom the production is “talking” to, and state the reason why it is good or bad. The style of the presentation is optional.

5. Tell the story about how your parents met. Show us what happened in a series of 5 to 8 handmade images in A5 format.

6. Interview a person you don’t know. Spend 5 minutes, and find out as much as you can. Make sketches of a costume or dress that tells us something about the person. Supplied glued on cardboard in A3 format.

7. You are about to present Norwegian culture and landscape at the world exhibition in Dubai in 2020 by creating an event that will make female citizens want to come to Norway on holiday. Describe and draw a sketch of your concept. The style of the presentation is optional.

Program: Graphic Design

As a graphic designer you will be designing visual communications and profiles for magazines, film, advertising and various clients.

During the programme you will learn to create design for traditional and new media. You will learn composition, typography, visual communication, packaging, visual profile, web design, strategy, branding, motion graphics, 3D design and how to utilise relevant software.

The programme is three years’ study. You learn to develop long-term and sustainable design, and therefore we put an extreme emphasis on the expressional manner. The programme is designed for and adapted to new working methods, techniques and skill requirements to make you better able to work in today’s world of media and communication. When you have finished our programme you should have acquired the sufficient skills to start and run your own business.

Entrance assigment for Graphic design:

To apply to Graphic Design you must do all of the assigments:

1. Do research and find a Norwegian or international graphic designer you rate highly. Make a poster that will be a tribute to this designer. Format A3, optional technique. The name of the designer must be clearly projected.

2. Name two more graphic designers that you admire and explain (in writing) why you admire them. Maximum half A4 page per graphic designer …

3. Create a book cover for your favourite book. Design both front and back of the cover. This task should be solved digitally.

4. Create a t-shirt that expresses something (verbally and/or visually) that you want us to know about you. Choose between solving the task digitally or not.

5. Make a drawing of a pair of shoes you have. The drawing of the motif must be made by hand, NOT using a photo, must be in colour and be as accurate and naturalistic as you manage. Choose your own technique. Think out of the box in terms of section, angle, etc.

Mandatory additional exercise:

6. Write a short explanation of why you want to educate to graphic designer. Maximum half an A4 page.

7. You should also submit up to 10 free exercises in addition.

Remember to mark these tasks with ”optional additional exercise”