module specification

At the same time as you deepen your understanding of your creative process and enhance your skills in other studio practice modules, Work Ready Level 5 continues the journey of getting you prepared for employment when you graduate. With ‘professional practice’ as its focus, this module prepares you for the profession you will graduate into, ready to be an active part of the industry.

The module is intended to enable graphic designers, illustrators and animators to experience and understand real-world working practices of their respective creative sectors. The programme of talks, visits, workshops, competitions and projects that reflect real-world situations enables the consolidation of disciplinary professional and creative skills, alongside a growing understanding of entrepreneurialism and collaborative approaches to working. During this module you will have the opportunity to discover and interrogate the various professional jobs and roles available to you upon graduation, to start defining the type of creative role you would like to achieve, and to shape your practice and portfolio to work towards those goals. You will discover what it is like to work as a freelancer, to set up a creative business, quote for and cost your work, manage your time effectively and to navigate tax and legal matters relating to your discipline.

The emphasis is on boosting your employability attributes and demystifying industry practices, media and terminology to ensure that you feel confident about your path into work from graduation and beyond. Working on a range of projects and tasks, you will gain transferable skills such as networking, teamworking, pitching, and giving and receiving professional feedback. The module supports those teamworking and collaboration skills through practical projects applied to real-world problems and opportunities. You will have the opportunity to participate in industry-specific events, visits and exhibitions and to use your reflection on this experience to develop your own ‘brand’ or approach to self-promotion. You will begin to compile and design a professional portfolio, showreel (where appropriate) and CV with the aim of obtaining a work placement in Level 6 and employment upon graduation.

Pre-requisite: DN4023 Work Ready Level 4
Available for Study Abroad? NO

Tasks and projects will 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.

Typically, the module will cover:

• sourcing relevant exemplars and case studies of work by a range of global practitioners relevant to your discipline;

• industry conventions for formats and work-related terminologies;

• experience of industry events, media platforms, competitions and professional resources;

• analysing and reflecting on work by peers and industry professionals, applying critical reflection to further develop your work;

• applying knowledge of professional practices to developing individual thinking and working practice;

• presenting concepts and outcomes in a professional manner;

• giving and receiving feedback in a positive and effective way;

• working collaboratively in a team to apply industry standard project management, time management and collaborative working strategy and practice;

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

• 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;

• consideration of the market conditions applicable to the brief and proposal.

Scheduled teaching provides the guidance and foundation to ensure that independent study is effective in addressing the module’s learning outcomes and assessment tasks.

In-class activity makes use of varied student-centred approaches such as active, flipped and blended learning, so that a range of learning strategies is deployed, and individual learning styles are accommodated. Information is provided through a range of means and sources to minimise and remove barriers to successful progress through the module. The course team seeks to embed the University’s Education for Social Justice Framework in fostering learning that is enjoyable, accessible, relevant and that takes account of the social and cultural context and capital of its students.

Activities foster peer-to-peer community building and support for learning. Reflective learning is promoted through interim formative feedback points that ask students to reflect on their progress, receive 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 written reflections on progress and achievement.

The School’s programme of employability events and embedded work-based learning within the curriculum supports students’ personal and career 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.

When not attending timetabled sessions, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This typically will involve reading books and journal articles, going to galleries and exhibitions, working on individual and group projects, undertaking preparing project work and presentations, and preparing for deadlines. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, the library and Weblearn and Linkedin Learning, the online learning platform.

On successful completion of the module, to the standard expected at Level 5, you will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

1. show understanding of how to research, analyse and stay up to date with issues and creative themes driving your industry;

Cognitive Intellectual Abilities

2. demonstrate an ability to apply knowledge of industry practices to developing an individual approach for creative practice and career development;

Transferable Skills

3. engage in professional entrepreneurship, teamworking, collaboration, time management, project management and networking;

Subject Specific Practical Skills

4. apply practical visual communication skills in the effective design and creation of self-promotional material, project outcomes and pitch presentations;

Professionalism and Values

5. demonstrate good motivation, engagement with all aspects of the module, good timekeeping, independent working and attention to detail in documenting and reflecting upon learning.

The module will be assessed through the submission of an academic portfolio of creative and reflective work. Typically this will include a body of development work, finalised physical and/or digital work, sketchbooks, and reflective documents. Precise requirements for submission will be given in project briefs.

Work must be carefully organised and presented to communicate the development of ideas and the content must be clearly labeled with name, student number, module code and date.

You must attend and engage with all timetabled studio and workshop sessions and tasks set both in-class and as self-study.

http://Link to digital reading list

Journals:
Creative Review
Eye Magazine
Varoom
Printed Pages

Websites:
linkedinlearning.com
eyeondesign.aiga.org
creativereview.co.uk
itsnicethat.com
theaoi.com/varoom
lectureinprogress.com
creativeboom.com/