USE MEDIA EXPERIMENTATION TO ADDRESS COMMUNICATION DESIGN PROBLEMS, BASED ON AN RESEARCH ANALYSIS, AUDIENCE CRITERIA, OR PROJECT OBJECTIVES.

Enquiry


CONSIDER THE INFLUENCE OF HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXTS ON SPECIALIST PRODUCTION METHODS.

Knowledge & Understanding


GENERATE VISUAL IDEAS AND OUTCOMES IN RESPONSE TO ESTABLISHED THEMES OR PROBLEMS, UTILISING EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHES AND PRODUCTION SKILLS.

Problem Solving


PRACTICE AND PRESENT SPECIALIST VISUAL COMMUNICATION AND SEQUENTIAL DESIGN TECHNIQUES IN THE CREATION OF FICTIONAL OR NON-FICTIONAL OUTCOMES.

Communication

You will present for assessment a body of work as outlined in the module information pack, this is likely to include:

PORTFOLIO investigating the personal use of media and materials for visual communication. Weighted 80%. (LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4)

PRESENTATION (5 minutes) and evaluation of your outcomes and design responses. Weighted 20%. (LO2, LO3, LO4)



The portfolio should contain:

Prototypes – Explore the testing of visual ideas through media and materials.

Extensive specialist investigation – Demonstrate a personal design response and understanding of the module content and technical themes.

Visual research and secondary research relating to the module content and technical themes.

Visual journals and records documenting the progression of your work and creative decision-making.



The presentation should contain:

Final outcomes – executed to a high standard in appropriate physical formats, highlighting specialist skills and visual awareness. The outcomes should effectively demonstrate your design abilities across various media disciplines. Possible outcomes formats might include publishing formats such as books and magazines, as well as packaging, products, artefacts, creative objects, props, and sets (e.g. for TV and Film).

Reflection on research and the influence of specialist creative practices on your personal response to the assignment and outcomes.

Evaluation that reflects on the design process and how your creative choices link to your chosen specialist area of study in graphic design (GD), illustration (ILL), photography (PH) or animation (ANM).



KEY INFORMATION SETS
100% coursework

In this module, students will delve into the realm of visually organising complex information and messages. They will critically engage with elements such as structure, narrative, style, and mood, harnessing these elements to enhance the resonance and engagement of their work.

A significant focus will be on visual communication, equipping students with a robust understanding of physical processes of making, materials, and techniques used across different areas of creative practice, including the exploration of diverse media formats and the application of specialised media and tools.

The module emphasises sequential design and iterative process. Students will create a structured narrative in their work and continuously refine their designs through prototyping and testing. There's a strong focus on the production quality of final artefacts, with students actively crafting, constructing, and prototyping their ideas. Evidence of this work will be shared in mid-semester reviews and production meetings.

Students will choose one of four specialist streams for their final outputs for the module; graphic design, illustration, photography, or animation. The choices they make will determine their approach for personal work during the module and their specialist route for the remainder of the programme.

This module will feature a collection of 'modulettes', including structured workshops, demonstrations, themed research activities, and lectures. These are designed to help students acquire fundamental skills in the specialist programme streams. The aim is to enhance students' learning experience and strengthen their skills and specialist knowledge in graphics design, illustration, photography, or animation. This specialist support will enable students to develop a more detailed and comprehensive response to the module.


Students pursuing the Illustration specialist route; will receive additional instruction and guidance within their technical field, enabling them to delve deeper into the core topics of this module.

Specialist content for this module may include; an exploration of illustration in the context of art direction, narrative and storytelling, typography, editorial and layout, print and color production, sequential design, analogue techniques, visual research, and experimental formats.

Studio Specialism 01: Experimental Formats; focuses on the use visual media and experimentation to address design problems. The module emphasises sequential design and iterative design processes, with students developing a portfolio and presenting their outcomes. Students will choose a specialist stream: graphic design, illustration, photography, or animation, shaping their work and future study path.

This studio module integrates practical (technical, aesthetic) and theoretical aspects of visual communication and sequential design in project-based assessments and portfolio outcomes.


You will be required to participate in:

Introduction to module

Introductory lectures

Practical and technical workshops –¿covering elements of sequentual design, narrative, structure and form, media, materials and prototyping.

Specialist workshops and guidance –¿covering elements of visual communication in relation to specialist graphic design, illustration, photography, or animation.

Formative assessment –¿group review meetings, and mid-module presentations

Group tutorials and discussion

Individual tutorials and specialist guidance

Action planning and target setting

Independent study in support of your practical work



KEY INFORMATION SETS
24% scheduled Learning & Teaching activities
76% guided independent learning

Required Reading:

Bate, D. (2009). Photography (Key Concepts). Berg.

Burgin, V. (1982). Thinking Photography. Macmillan.

Collins, H. (2015). Creative research the theory and practice of research for the creative industries. London: Fairchild Books.

Cohn, N. (2020). Who Understands Comics?: Questioning the Universality of Visual Language Comprehension. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Drate S. & Salavetz J. (2001) Extreme Design How Design Books

Davies, R. and Sigthorsson, G. (2013). Introducing the creative industries: from theory to practice. London: SAGE.

Klein, N. (2001). No Logo; No Space, No Choice, No Jobs. London. Flamingo.

Morley, Simon (2010). The Sublime. Whitechapel: Documents of Contemporary Art, Mitpress.

Parr, M., Badger, G., Watson, H., & Baker, S. (2013). The Photobook: A History. Phaidon.

Pfrunder, P. (Eds.). (2012). Swiss Photobooks from 1927 to the Present. Fotostiftung Schweiz.

Rose, G. (2016). Visual methodologies: an introduction to researching with visual materials. 4th edn. London: SAGE.

Samara T. (2003) Making & Breaking the Grid. Rockport Publishers

Street R. & Lewis F. Touch Graphics The Power of Tactile Design (2003) Rockport



Suggested Reading:

Barthes, R. (1981). Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. Cape.

Beiman, N. (2013). Prepare to Board! Creating Story and Characters for Animation Features and Shorts. Focal Press.

Campany, D. (2020). On Photographs. Mitpress.

Caldwell, C. & Zappaterra, Y. (2014). Editorial Design: Digital and Print. London: Laurence King Publishing.

Elkins, J. (2011). What Photography Is. Routledge.

Embury, G. & Minichiello, M. (2018). Reportage Illustration: Visual Journalism. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.

Faber, L. (2004). Animation Unlimited: Innovative Short Films Since 1940.

Fawcett-Tang, R. Mason, D. Experimental Formats & Packaging. Rotovision. 2005¿

Foges Chris/ Experimental Formats / Rotovision / 2001¿
Ford, B.J. (1992). Images of Science: A History of Scientific Illustration. London: British Library.

Hall, A. (2011). Illustration. Laurence King.

Hembree, R. (2011). The Complete Graphic Designer: A Guide to Understanding Graphics and Visual Communication. Gloucester, Mass: Rockport Publishers.

Lankow, J., Ritchie, J. & Crooks, R. (2012). Infographics: The Power of Visual Story Telling. WILEY.

Mikkonen, K. (2017). The Narratology of Comic Art (Edition 1). London: Routledge.

Sullivan, K. (2013). Ideas for the Animated Short: Finding & Building Stories. Burlington Press.

Wells, P. (1998). Understanding Animation. London: Routledge.

Wigan, M. (2007) Sequential Images. Lausanne: AVA Academia

Digital Suites

Specialist teaching spaces and resources; including studios, photographic studio, motion capture, Etc.
Lecture theatre and teaching rooms
Design collection
Library
IT facilities and digital suites.


The canvas virtual learning environment will be available (where relevant) to support this module. Details will be supplied in the module handbook.


Additional resources may be shared by the teaching team through the following digital platforms; MS Teams, Notion, OneDrive or Padlet.