module specification

This module is intended to enable graphic designers, publishers, illustrators and animators to gain experience and understanding of working practices within their respective creative industries. Work related learning projects, work opportunities and competition opportunities that reflect real-world situations, enable the consolidation of both disciplinary and creative skills, develop professional confidence and navigate individual-entrepreneurialism and collaborative approaches to working.

Projects will provide the opportunity to explore in-depth professional ways of working, encouraging students to foster creative imagination and critical judgement, and to develop individual and team-working skills to real-world problems and opportunities.

The module is driven by creative workplace goals, objectives and constraints in order to develop, test and extend knowledge and understanding of professional practice and employability. Particular emphasis is placed upon the completion of agreed practice-based outcomes to a professional standard within agreed timescales, promoting confidence in communication skills, including visual and verbal presentation methods. Professional ethics, social enterprise and entrepreneurial strategies will be explored, debated, and applied to produce creative solutions.

Within the module, students will gather work-related experience through live or simulated projects. Students will gather transferable skills, desirable and advantageous for employment. They will foster students’ ability to develop and present creative ideas to a professional client relevant (or adjacent) to their overall practice or employment intentions.

This module seeks to enable students to:

• develop social and professional skills and confidence for collaboration, negotiation and decision making in individual and team working contexts;

• acquire knowledge of professional ways of working and standards required within graphic design, publishing, illustration and animation field of practice, including recognition of relevant ethical concerns;

• embed in their practice professional methods of project management, recording, communication and analogue and digital presentation;

• employ creativity and enterprise in problem solving through effective industry techniques for analysis and evaluation, setting goals and targets in relation to the opportunities and constraints of the brief.

The module focuses on individual and/or team self-directed study in response to illustration and animation, publishing and graphic design studio briefs and competitions with tutor and industry professional guidance. Teaching and learning will normally include discipline-specific lectures, workshops and/or presentations on industry practice, briefings, company/industry visits, and critiques enabling reflection and analysis of work in progress and feedback. Students will have access to regular tutor feedback within sessions and will be encouraged to use blended learning resources to maintain and share progress. Ongoing support, monitoring and guidance in studio and workshop sessions will be available during projects.

Completion and pass (120 credits) of previous level

Studios and projects will necessarily reflect contemporary working methods and the practice of professional agencies, practitioners and industries. Project outcomes will normally respond to a specific context, space, market, company, commission institution or collection. Taught sessions will normally develop:

• cross-disciplinary design thinking and professional contexts;  LO1

• methods of research, creative concept development and solution finding for ‘real world’ issues and problems;  LO3

• industry and discipline specific portfolio solutions (analogue and digital);  LO4

• planned and recorded (through detailed diary, blog) project management through all stages of development and realisation;  LO2

• case and precedent study;  LO1

• the formulation of a project proposal in response as appropriate to a context or place, a live project, a competition or commission, and professionally constructed presentations;  LO4

• consideration of the market conditions applicable to the brief and proposal;  LO3

• individual and team review of work in progress and outcomes.  LO1, 2 ,3

Scheduled teaching ensures that independent study is effective and addresses the learning outcomes and assessment tasks. Students are expected to, and have the opportunity to, continue with their studies outside of scheduled classes. There will be a range of learning strategies deployed and individual learning styles will be accommodated. The module’s learning outcomes, its contents and delivery, have been scrutinised and will be regularly reviewed to ensure an inclusive approach to pedagogic practice.

The module and course utilise the University’s blended learning platform to support and reinforce learning, to foster peer-to-peer communication and to facilitate tutorial support for students. Reflective learning is promoted through assessment items and interim formative feedback points that ask students to reflect on their progress, seek help where they identify the opportunity for improvement in learning strategies and outcomes, and make recommendations to themselves for future development. Throughout the module, students build a body of work, including reflections on progress and achievement.

The School’s programme of employability events and embedded work-related learning within the curriculum supports students’ personal development planning. Through these initiatives, students are increasingly able, as they progress from year to year, to understand the professional environment of their disciplines, the various opportunities available to them, and how to shape their learning according to their ambitions.

At the end of the module, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding
LO1 discover, acquire and apply professional ways of working in respect of research, information-gathering, project development and presentation, evidencing knowledge of discipline-specific quality standards and requirements;

Cognitive Intellectual Skills
LO2 develop and apply professional approaches to problem analysis, evaluation, and personal strategies for developing and assessing design related solutions;

Transferable Skills
LO3 exercise effective interpersonal, negotiating and decision-making skills, having regard to the relevant personal and professional ethical standards of the field;

Subject Specific Practical Skills
LO4 employ contemporary design models for practice and professional thinking in order to generate new design concepts.

In end of project critiques, students are expected to produce a coherent presentation of the development of their visual research, together with a critical evaluation of relative successes and failures, communicating and debating this with others. Formative feedback will be provided throughout in tutorials, group discussions and during workshop sessions. Formative feedback encourages students to reflect on progress and discuss strategies for further development of skills and practice.

Structured activities and independent learning within the portfolio will be formatively assessed.  The satisfactory completion of relevant technical/ workshop activities and continuing independent practice (and associated health and safety procedures) will be monitored.

The final mark will be awarded in relation to a portfolio of a carefully presented work at the end the module, including all projects undertaken, evidencing engagement and development of work and visual research, produced both under guidance and independently. Summative assessment will reflect on the whole body of work and qualities demonstrated throughout. Work must be carefully organised, presented to a professional standard and should communicate the development of ideas. The content must be clearly labelled with name, student number, module code and date. Students are required to attend timetabled sessions.

Written feedback will be provided corresponding to published assessment criteria and guidance given towards future development. Precise requirements for submission will be given in project briefs.

Core Texts:
Boddy, D. (2002) Managing Projects, Financial Times Prentice Hall
Bucher, S. (2004) All Access: Making of 30 Extraordinary Graphic Designers, Rockport
Burden, E. (1992) Design Presentation, McGraw-Hill

Other Texts:
Graeme, B. & Richard, D. (1988) Between Ourselves: An Introduction to Interpersonal Communication, Hodder & Stoughton
Herring, J. & Faulton, J. (1987), The Art and Business of Creative Self Promotion: for graphic designers, writers, illustrators and photographers, Watson-Guptill

Websites:
www.designcouncil.org.uk
www.the-dots.com
Itsnicethat.com
Grafik.net
awwwards.com/blog
smashingmagazine.com
creativebloq.com
heresearchunit.com

Electronic Databases:
E-Flux Journal 
e-flux.com/journal
The Serving Library 
servinglibrary.org/
Lynda.com
Behance.com
developer.apple.com
material.io

Design Resources:
canva.com/app
marvelapp.com
pantone.com
color.adobe.com
stock.adobe.com