Module overview
This module provides an introduction to the the principles of the Graphic Arts programme and gives you the opportunity to understand and examine the key skills and working methods required for your studies at Higher Education. As well as engaging in practical activity you will learn how the things you create are enhanced by critical thinking and contextual knowledge. You will be introduced to the techniques and processes associated to the four specialisms within the programme and develop knowledge and understanding that will inform your choice of pathway later in the programme. You are likely to develop new and exciting skills in areas to which you may not have worked previously, this module will also give you the opportunity to gain confidence within a specialism and experience new ways of thinking and making.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- make decisions regarding the use of basic techniques and processes in the making of your work
- apply creative thinking to utilise different working methods within your discipline
- apply reflective and evaluative processes to make informed practical choices regarding the direction of your work.
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- explore and select graphic art techniques, materials and processes
- use machines, processes and equipment competently and safely in the studios and workshops
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- employ appropriate digital skills needed to realise your ideas
- locate and utilise a range of source material to inform your practical work.
- organise and manage your time to complete assignments to set deadlines
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- the key principles defining the pathways within the Graphic Arts programme
- a range of technical skills and processes specific to Graphic Arts
- how contextual influences inform Graphic Arts practice
Syllabus
Indicative content for this module normally includes:
An introduction to the module so you will have the opportunity to explore recognised methodologies for developing and validating visual ideas.
You will learn to utilise iterative cycles of making, testing and adaptation alongside critical and contextual research to enhance and refine your work.
An engagment with a series of short projects that will introduce key skills, techniques and processes related to each of the pathways you will be asked to specialise in later in the programme.
A series of inductions will introduce the specialist workshop areas that you will be able to access to during your study and you will learn how to synthesize activities within these workshops into the practical development of your final outcomes
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include
- lectures
- project briefings
- tutorials
- group critiques
- workshops inductions
Learning activities include
- proactive engagement and understanding of guidance provided.
- critical reflection on peer group discussion.
- critique
- proactive engagement with tutorials
- peer group discussion
- evaluation and reflection.
- guided research using the University learning resources
- independent research using University learning resources.
- reflection, review and revision of activities from lectures and workshops.
- independent exploration utilising materials and processes.
- guided exploration utilising materials and processes.
- Study skills hub
- Field trip
Relationship between the teaching, learning and assessment methods and the planned learning outcomes
Briefings, lectures and workshops will guide the practical activities that will inform the development of knowledge and understanding related to the creation and validation of visual ideas. Subject specific research skills will be examined in the use iterative cycles of making, testing and adaptation alongside critical and contextual investigation. Within each short project initial input from specialist tutors will provide stimulus and guidence; workshops will support the development of practical skills; tutorials will help the development of transferrable skills related to time management and organisation. Critiques, seminars and tutorials will encourage reflection, review and revision allowing you to refine and improve what you are producing as the module develops. Over the course of the module you will, through reflection, start to develop the ability to synthesize practical skills alongside critical investigation and contextual research. Intellectual and research skills will also be supported and enhanced through the use of resources distributed via virtual learning environments such as Blackboard, Panopto and Lynda.com.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Completion of assessment task | 90 |
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 80 |
| Fieldwork | 5 |
| Tutorial | 45 |
| Seminar | 10 |
| Follow-up work | 40 |
| Supervised time in studio/workshop | 40 |
| Practical classes and workshops | 100 |
| Wider reading or practice | 40 |
| Total study time | 450 |
Resources & Reading list
Internet Resources
Assessment
Formative
This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.
Project BriefSummative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Portfolio | 100% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Portfolio | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Portfolio | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External