Assessment 1: Creative Output

You will present a body of creative work developed in response to the module brief, as outlined in the module information pack. This will include finished outcomes supported by developmental work that shows how your ideas evolved.

Your submission should include:

* Finished visuals or resolved outcomes (paper-based, screen-based, or hybrid)
* Sketchbooks, layout pads, or digital workbooks showing research, testing, and idea development
* Annotated research into relevant practitioners, designers, and image-making techniques (traditional and digital)

Your work should demonstrate your ability to:

* Identify and explore a visual communication problem
* Research and analyse ideas, references, and contexts
* Generate and test a range of creative proposals
* Select, refine, and present an appropriate visual solution

You are expected to show awareness of creative production processes, including material choices, digital workflows, and methods of making. The final outcomes should demonstrate confident use of digital platforms and processes, where appropriate, and be presented to a professional standard.

Assessment 2: Reflective Presentation

You will deliver a reflective presentation that explains the development of your work from initial research through to final outcomes. Using visual examples, you will discuss your creative decisions, experimentation, and use of production processes.

The presentation should:

* Explain how research and testing informed your ideas
* Reflect on your use of materials, media, and digital processes
* Evaluate the effectiveness of your final outcomes
* Refer to feedback received during the module and how it influenced your work

The focus is on clearly communicating your creative process, demonstrating critical reflection, and showing an understanding of how meaning and audience engagement are shaped through visual and material choices.

An introduction to the creative elements central to experimental formats, the physical production of printed literature, and the application of screen-based media. This module is concerned with visual exploration and communication in its many forms. Through practical projects you will explore a problem visually, tackling them in several ways. Through a process of selection informed by appropriate research you will experiment with both creative visual thinking and a variety of media to identify a suitable visual solution. You will be addressing many aspects of the design process, which will include semiotics and communicating to a mass audience to resolve the problem in an appropriate manner and media and to place your work in a professional context. This can be paper based or screen based. Your enquiry throughout the module will be explored through a mid-semester formative presentation of your work through curatorial displays.

Furthermore, experimentation with structure, shape, materials and function that affect the way in which information is presented and influence meaning.

You will learn and experience traditional craft-based skills in relation to materials, printing, book binding, along with options to investigate screen-based media (AR, VR, Generative Design, etc) and how an audience interacts with an artifact or design.

1. Apply interdisciplinary knowledge to produce a creative output or prototype.

Programme Learning Outcome: Application & Problem Solving

2. Conduct research that informs decision-making within the project design outputs

Programme Learning Outcome: Research Skills

3. Communicate your project using formats appropriate to the chosen context.

Programme Learning Outcome: Communication

4. Critically evaluate your creative decisions, process, and professional development.

Programme Learning Outcome: Personal Development & Entrepreneurship Reflection

Workshops will include a range of learning strategies such as presentations, discussions, debates, and small group related activities, including evaluative focused work. You will be expected to take advantage of the extensive library facilities. Independent study activities to include practice-based tasks, research, group meetings, independent study in support of your project work. Technical Instruction (TI) sessions will form part of your learning to support the practical application of your creative ideas.

Teaching and learning resources

* VLE area (Blackboard) with weekly briefs, slides, readings, submission links, rubrics.
* Lecture capture / recorded demos.
* Library access: eBooks, journals, databases.
* Academic skills support, research methods, referencing, academic writing, study skills.
* Studio/technician inductions and health & safety training.

Physical spaces

* Bookable project rooms for group builds and testing.
* Exhibition / gallery space (or pop-up event space) for showcasing outcomes.
* Photography / filming studio (lighting, backdrops) for documenting work.

Workshops and fabrication

* Print workshop: large-format printing, vinyl, screen print (where available), finishing.
* Laser cutting, CNC routing, 3D printing, basic prototyping tools.
* Model-making / workshop space (hand tools, adhesives, cutting mats, benches).
* Technicians for equipment training, safe working, and troubleshooting.

Digital infrastructure and software

* Computer labs / loan laptops with:

Adobe Creative Cloud
3D tools
Creative coding tools
Version control access

McNeil, T.J. (2023). The Exhibition and Experience Design Handbook. American Alliance of Museums / Bloomsbury.

Kerrison, M.C. (2024). Reimagined Worlds: Narrative Placemaking for People, Play, and Purpose. ORO Editions (UK dist. ACC Art Books).

Melis, A., Vavetsi, R., & Finotti, F. (2025). The Architecture of Exhibitions: Experiential Design. Routledge.

Stevens, R.C. (2021). Designing Immersive 3D Experiences: A Designer’s Guide to Creating Realistic 3D Experiences for Extended Reality.

Brandl Mouton, E. & Giraldeau, F.-L. (Ed.) (2025). Encounters by Design: Strategies for Spatial Stories (Atelier Markgraph).

Osslan O. Vergara Villegas & Vianey G. Cruz Sánchez (2024). Augmented Reality: Fundamentals and Applications.

Arash Soleimani. (2025). Designing with Algorithms: A Mathematical Guide.

Yu Zhang & Mathias Funk. (2nd ed., 2024). Coding Art: A Guide to Unlocking Your Creativity with the Processing Language and p5.js in Four Simple Steps.

Experimentation is crucial for creativity; it's the engine that drives innovation, helps you discover new possibilities, learn from failures, break norms, and develop a unique voice by testing ideas, exploring different methods, and refining your approach beyond initial assumptions. It transforms ideas into tangible progress, preventing stagnation and leading to fresh, groundbreaking work.

Experiential formats take many forms and is so much more than traditional media. It's a multi-disciplinary approach to building an environment that evokes emotions and tells a story. In this module you’ll discover the meaning of ‘Design without Boundaries’ - breaking free from conventional limits to foster innovation, cross-pollinate ideas, and create more holistic, personalised, and globally resonant solutions.