1. Demonstrate foundational knowledge, concepts, and skills within Graphic Design to research, annotate, ideate and create a finished portfolio that showcases process and finished creative artefact. Knowledge and understanding

2. Apply technical and creative methods to produce a coherent portfolio of work for Graphic Design. Application and Problem Solving

3. Use professional digital tools relevant to support creative production. Digital Literacy

4. Reflect on your technical and creative process and outcomes through clear communication channels that demonstrate professional development to enable your future career. Reflection Personal development and entrepreneurship

You will develop a portfolio body of work that includes finished visuals, design development in the form of notebooks and annotated layout creative work that will provide evidence of your ability to work through the design process including visual research, creative visual thinking, experimentation, problem solving, critical reflection on process and practice, and the ability to communicate effectively using an appropriate visual format.

Assessment 1: Project Portfolio
Description: An individual portfolio combining creative project work and development. It should include:
- Primary and secondary research, analysis, and evaluation
- Concept and design development (e.g., mood boards, sketches, annotated research)
- Ongoing annotations justifying design decisions
- Final outcomes of the graphic project (creative product, exploration ideas)

Purpose: Demonstrates the integration of research, design practice, and professional skills, consolidating learning from across the module.

Assessment 2: Reflection
- You will produce a verbal presentation, written or multimedia commentary that defines your project focus, aims and intended outcomes in relation to your creative problem posed
- Informed by desk research, the assessment should demonstrate how research shaped your creative execution and technical decision-making. You will reflect on your strengths, limitations and skills development, setting realistic and professionally relevant goals for your project and future progression.
Option 1: Written reflection with supporting visuals – word count 1200
Option 2: Audio recording with image folder – 5-6 mins
Option 3: Video reflection with supporting visuals – 5-6 mins

Formative Assessment:

Midway formative feedback will be embedded within practical sessions, providing structured opportunities for feedback on work-in-progress to support student development and progression.

- Introduce you to the fundamental principles, tools, and processes of graphic design. Through studio-based projects, you will acquire essential skills in visual communication, typography, layout, composition, colour, and digital workflows. You will build confidence in making, experimentation, and reflective practice and establishing a strong design foundation.
- Acquire knowledge into effective visual communication theory and practice in its many different forms with an emphasis on creative visual thinking, collaborative group work and understanding of contemporary visual communication platforms and approaches.
- Through critical analysis of historical and contemporary design and designers, you will develop an awareness of the visual communication language and design principles such as semiotics, typography, image deconstruction, grid structures and hierarchy to dive into principles that will become your bedrock as a designer.
- Aligned with an industry approach to exploratory design, you will creatively enquire through research, experiment through analogue methods and digital technologies, and apply this knowledge and learning to your design outputs as a future facing visual communicator.
- This module will provide a solid foundation for further critical reflection, problem-solving and development in visual communication and its application to a broad range of media.
- Introduce you to the professional skills essential to enquire, evaluate, critically reflect and present information in relation in your design work.
- You will acquire skills how and why a designer uses historical and contextual research to inform, enrich and underpin practical work. Informing skills of evaluation, constructing and presenting information in written, verbal and visual forms.

Unleash your creative potential and redefine visual communication in our future facing Design Fundamentals 30 credit module. Master essential design principles, fundamentals of typography, hierarchy and visual communication language, cutting-edge digital tools, and innovative problem-solving techniques to transform your bold ideas into impactful reality. Join a collaborative community of creative visionaries where your unique voice will be nurtured, preparing you for an exciting role in a dynamic of design.

Individual and group project work will integrate practical (technical and aesthetic) and theoretical aspects of visual communication understanding
- Seminars
- Technical, experimental print and academic workshops including technical instruction sessions and library, design collection and design museum/exhibition-based activities
- Group peer-based learning tutorials
- Formative assessments
- Independent study in support of your practical work

Bierut, M. (2015) How to use graphic design to sell things, explain things, make things look better, make people laugh, make people cry, and (every once in a while) change the world. London: Thames & Hudson.
Hollis, R. (2001) Graphic design: A concise history. London: Thames & Hudson.

Ingledow, J. (2011) The A–Z of visual ideas. London: Laurence King Publishing.

Johnson, M. (2002) Problem solved: A primer in design & communications. London: Phaidon Press.
McAlhone, B. and Stuart, D. (1999) A smile in the mind. London: Phaidon Press.

Where older texts are included, they are retained as foundational texts within the discipline, remaining relevant where no more recent equivalent texts are available.

Student Life https://www.youtube.com/@uniofstaffsstudentlife/videos University Careers https://staffs.careercentre.me/Members University Library https://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/library Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment will support this module where relevant Specialist spaces
- Smart Zone
- Media Lab resources
- CAD Labs
- Photography resources; studio and technical specialists
- Print Bureau and experimental print photography resources and technical specialists including screen print, Riso, Dry etch,
- Betty Smithers Design Collection
- Immersive Technology suite
- Adobe Creative suite technical instruction