ba (hons) graphic communication

CSMBAGCDF01 BA (Hons) Graphic Communication Design Programme Spec for 2022/23 entry

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BA (Hons) Graphic Communication Design Awarding Body University of the Arts London College Central Saint Martins Programme Graphic Communication Design (L031) Course AOS Code CSMBAGCDF01 FHEQ Level Level 6 Degree Course Credits 360 Mode Full Time Duration of Course 3 years Teaching Weeks 90 weeks Valid From 2022/23 QAA Subject Benchmark Communication, media, film and cultural studies

Collaboration N/A UAL Subject Classification Communication and graphic design

JACS Code W210 - Graphic design UCAS Code W215 PSRB N/A Work placement offered No

Course Entry Requirements

The standard entry requirements for this course are as follows:

One or a combination of the following accepted full Level 3 qualifications:

• Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art and Design (Level 3 or 4) and one A Level at grade C or above

• Two A Levels at grade C or above (preferred subjects include Art, Art and Design or Design and Technology)

APPROVED


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• Merit, Pass, Pass (MPP) at BTEC Extended Diploma (preferred subjects include Art, Art and Design or Design and Technology)

• Pass at UAL Extended Diploma • Access to Higher Education Diploma (preferred

subjects include Art, Art and Design or Design and Technology)

• Equivalent EU/international qualifications, such as International Baccalaureate Diploma

And three GCSE passes at grade 4 or above (grade A*–C).

Entry to this course will also be determined by assessment of your portfolio. A very high proportion of successful applicants complete a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design.

AP(E)L – Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning

Exceptionally applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:

• Related academic or work experience • The quality of the personal statement • A strong academic or other professional reference

Or a combination of these factors.

Each application will be considered on its own merit but cannot guarantee an offer in each case.

English language requirements

IELTS score of 6.0 or above, with at least 5.5 in reading, writing, listening and speaking (please check our main English language requirements webpage).

Selection Criteria Applicants are selected according to their demonstration of potential and current ability to:

• Work imaginatively and creatively in graphic and visual media


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• Apply original thought to any given problem and not mimic prevalent styles

• Demonstrate a range of skills and technical abilities

• Provide evidence of intellectual enquiry within their work

• Demonstrate potential to experiment, to test the parameters of design

• Demonstrate relevant research and reflect critically on their learning

• Demonstrate cultural awareness and/or contextual framework of their work

• Identify historical and contemporary graphic design practices

• Articulate and communicate intentions clearly.

What we are looking for

We are interested in students who are prepared to question and to take a critical perspective and who show potential to develop as innovative artists.

Scheduled Learning and Teaching

During your course you will engage with learning and teaching that includes both online and face-to-face modes. The advertised scheduled activity for the course will be delivered through a combination of live, synchronous and asynchronous on-line learning. This is often described as blended learning. Definitions of our learning and teaching modes can be found here.


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Awards and Percentage of Scheduled Learning Year 1 Percentage of Scheduled Learning 18

Awards Credits

Certificate of Higher Education (Exit Only) 120

Year 2 Percentage of Scheduled Learning 21

Awards Credits

Diploma of Higher Education (Exit Only) 240

Year 3 Percentage of Scheduled Learning 15

Awards Credits

Bachelor of Arts 360


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Course Aims and Outcomes The Aims and Outcomes of this Course are as follows: Aim/Outcome Description

Aim Develop individual creative, exploratory and technical abilities to support the production of high quality and considered graphic communication design processes and outcomes.

Aim Develop investigative and critical research skills and independent learning through the analysis of design outcomes and processes in social and historical contexts.

Aim Build reflective practice to develop self-awareness and responsibility to recognise the impacts and extended potential of graphic communication design.

Aim

Establish a supportive and inclusive environment that fosters the development of interpersonal and collaborative skills required for graphic communication design practice in the world at large; produce graduate graphic communication designers who can contribute effectively to the future of society and the wider world, within the discipline and beyond.

Outcome Demonstrate a breadth of knowledge of global, historical and contemporary graphic and communication design practices, informed by current and future concerns.

Outcome Use design methods and visual aesthetic judgement to analyse simple and complex design problems and responses.

Outcome Work independently or in teams to initiate, develop and realise ideas and concepts.

Outcome Select and use appropriate design methods, materials and processes.

Outcome Specify and manage the effective production of your work and deliver your projects within set timescales.

Outcome

Visually and verbally present concepts, arguments and outcomes that demonstrate an understanding of visual rhetoric and communicate new ideas effectively with your publics, peers, tutors, or clients.

Outcome Critically evaluate how graphic communication design functions in cultural and social contexts and experiment with its forms, processes and limits.

Outcome Situate your practice within social, historical and environmental contexts and demonstrate depth, meaning and relevance within your work.


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Distinctive Features

1

The course equips graduates to become versatile graphic communication design practitioners in a wide range of media, from paper to screen, from digital environments to public spaces. The course can be customised to meet the needs of a specific profession or position graduates more broadly for a career in design and design strategy. A wide range of facilities and staff expertise enables students to gain specialist skills in areas including photography, printmaking, letterpress, digital and interaction design, advertising, illustration, moving image and animation.

2 Integration of writing and practice to support development of reflective practitioners.

3 Long tradition of thinking-through-making and testing conventions of design practice.

4 Balance in the relationship between breadth and specialism.

5 Hybrid practices that come from the meeting and mixing of Platforms and different Communities of Practice that cross traditional discipline boundaries.

6

Students can specialise with a guided selection of Platforms based on disciplinary areas of expertise: Narrative and Voice, Strategy and Identity, Time and Movement, Systems and Information and Experience and Environment. Based on student experience and consultation in Stage 1, you will be able to make use of up to three Platforms, as a basis for developing industry-specific design skills in Stage 2. These lead to student-initiated Communities of Practice in Stage 3, based on themes and issues. Platforms correlate with areas of disciplinary and professional practice, and are identified as points of departure, while Communities of Practice are thematic and signal points of connection.


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Course Detail

Graphic communication design practice is changing. The wide availability of design software and digital production tools has resulted in a re-evaluation of what the trained, skilled designer can offer. In response, design professions have developed more sophisticated consultancy models. Design thinking, marketing, branding and strategy are now offered as a central part of their services. Graphic communication design is also increasingly carried out in a diverse range of contexts. These range from large commercial and governmental departments to independent practitioners and small enterprises.

BA Graphic Communication Design at Central Saint Martins takes into account this current industry climate. It explores graphic communication design as an expanded practice. It will provide you with a solid grounding in the discipline's core languages, contexts and applications, while also encouraging you to test and stretch its boundaries. The course structure is devised to support three types of practitioner:

• The inter-disciplinary designer or polymath who wants to stay broad-based

• The hybrid designer who works across a targeted combination of areas • The specialist who has more specific discipline focus

The course curriculum places emphasis on five core processes: typography, digital, context, image and print. These are taught throughout the course and will provide a foundation for your studio work and theoretical studies. Led by staff specialists, you will also be introduced to areas such as photography, printmaking and bookbinding.

The course structure enables student mobility across five platforms and communities of practice. The platforms are an investigation into the multiple disciplines of graphic communication design. They are formulated in correspondence to areas of contemporary design practice. The platforms give focus to the intentions and values of your practice. They also offer points of departure as you develop your identity within a community of practice in Stages 2 and 3. Overall, this unique structure will allow you to be directly involved in the co-creation of the course curriculum.

Course Units

The BA Graphic Communication Design curriculum is delivered through a mix of project work, lectures, seminars and assignments in discrete units. The project brief is the main vehicle for learning and teaching. Briefs usually require an individual response to a problem, theme, issue or provocation. You will produce an outcome which considers content, form, communication and audience. The course also aims to provide regular opportunities to engage with client-led, live


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briefs. In the past, this has included work with organisations such as Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide and Camden Council.

Stage 1

Unit 1: An Introduction to Graphic Communication Design Unit 2: Media and Methods Unit 3: Core Processes Unit 4: Introduction to Platforms

Stage 1 will introduce you to design methods through a complex or “wicked” problem. This will immerse you in an intensive graphic communication design project. You will begin with skills in research, collaboration and idea generation. This will be followed by an introduction to the media and methods of graphic communication design practice. You will undertake projects which involve processes such as photography, printmaking, letterpress and digital media. In the latter half of Stage 1, you will be introduced to the five platforms of the course. The platforms are:

• Narrative and Voice: Keywords include illustration, storytelling, image-making, photography, visual language, pacing and framing

• Strategy and Identity: Keywords include branding, advertising, visual identity, marketing and persuasion

• Time and Movement: Keywords include moving image, animation, sound design and performance

• Information and Systems: Keywords include information design, typography, data visualisation, mapping and publishing

• Experience and Environment: Keywords include exhibition design, social design, digital media, interaction design, event design and service design

The platforms act as a departure point for the skills and approaches associated with a specific area in graphic communication design. Each platform corresponds to an area of professional practice, but is open-ended. This reflects the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of graphic communication. In Stage 1, you will study in three of the five platforms. You will be placed in these platforms based on a survey of your preferences.

Stage 2

Unit 5: Exploring Practice 1 Unit 7: Exploring Practice 2 Unit 8: Identifying Communities of Practice

Creative Unions: Socially Engaged Practices for an Ethical World


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In Stage 2, you will develop your skills through the platform structure. Although they are distinctive in character, there are commonalities and shared experiences. This allows students to see the interconnections in the landscape of design practice. You will have the opportunity to both specialise and collaborate with students across the course. You will explore notions of collaboration, participation and the relationship with audiences. This stage is delivered through lectures, workshops and seminars. These explore cultural, social and theoretical contexts of contemporary graphic communication design practice. You will also have opportunities to engage further in the techniques and skills introduced in Stage 1.

Stage 3

Unit 9: Situating Practice Unit 10: Communities of Practice

Stage 3 addresses problem-finding, problem-solving and problem-setting. You will focus on depth of knowledge and situating your practice. You will work in student-initiated communities of practice, based around ideas arrived at in Stage 2. Communities of practice are led by tutor teams with relevant experience in theory and practice. This is an outward-facing structure, allowing you to make connections and build networks. The aim is to broaden your practice in relation to wider socio-cultural issues and to support your professional practice after graduation.

The final unit is focused on the development of a substantial body of work and written critical reflection. This should have a clear direction, strong rationale and demonstrate your priorities as a creative practitioner.

Exchange opportunities

Students enrolled on BA Graphic Communication Design have the opportunity to spend time studying outside of the UK at a partner institution. Studying overseas allows you to experience a new culture, an alternative perspective on the course’s subject discipline and different learning and teaching methods. Alongside this, BA Graphic Communication Design is actively engaged in the University’s Study Abroad scheme, with the incoming international students bringing an important additional dynamic to the course.

Currently only a small number of places are available, which will be subject to Government guidelines on travel abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic.


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Mode of study

BA Graphic Communication Design runs for 90 weeks in full-time mode. It is divided into three stages over three academic years. Each stage lasts 30 weeks.

You will be expected to commit 40 hours per week to study, which includes teaching time and independent study.

Credit and award requirements

The course is credit-rated at 360 credits, with 120 credits at each stage (level).

On successfully completing the course, you will gain a Bachelor of Arts with Honours (BA Hons degree).

Under the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications the stages for a BA are: Stage 1 (Level 4), Stage 2 (Level 5) and Stage 3 (Level 6). In order to progress to the next stage, all units of the preceding stage must normally be passed: 120 credits must be achieved in each stage. The classification of the award will be derived from the marks of units in Stages 2 and 3 or only Stage 3, using a dual algorithm.

If you are unable to continue on the course, a Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE) will normally be offered following the successful completion of Level 4 (or 120 credits), or a Diploma in Higher Education (DipHE) following the successful completion of Level 5 (or 240 credits).

Learning and Teaching Methods

Your primary means of learning will be through studio practice. During your course you will engage with learning and teaching that includes both online and face-to-face modes. Typically, this will include:

• Unit and project briefings • Set and self-initiated project briefs • Inductions, lectures and seminars • Workshops and interdisciplinary study teams • Event-based teaching (e.g. publications, showcases) • Learning by doing (thinking through making) • Peer learning • Self and peer assessment • Guest speakers • Group discussions, reviews and critiques • Working with clients on live projects and competitions • Essay writing and supervision • Independent study


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• Platform-based teaching • Communities of practice (working student groups based on student-

initiated themes).

Assessment Methods

• Evidence of participation in taught activities • Presentation of a completed set of projects • Portfolio and verbal presentations • Individual written reflections • Learning agreements • Written and visual documentation • Essays • Critical reports

Reference Points

The following reference points were used in designing the course:

• Framework for Higher Education Qualifications • UAL Assessment Criteria.


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Course Diagram BA (Hons) Graphic Communication Design – PLEASE NOTE DUE TO VACATION DATES, SPECIFIC DELIVERY WEEKS MAY CHANGE. S=summative assessment LEVEL 4 – Stage 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Unit 1: Intro to GCD at CSM: Introduction to study in Higher Education (20 credits)

S

Unit 2: Media and Methods (20 credits)

S

Unit 3: Core Processes (40 credits) S

Unit 4: Introduction to Platforms (40 credits) S

LEVEL 5 – Stage 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Unit 5: Exploring Practice 1 (20 credits)

S

Unit 7: Exploring Practice 2 (40 credits)

S Creative Unions: Socially Engaged Practices for an Ethical World (20 credits)

S Unit 8: Identifying Communities of Practice

(40 credits)

S

LEVEL 6 – Stage 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Unit 9: Situating Practice (40 credits) S

Unit 10: Communities of Practice (80 credits) S


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The University will use all reasonable endeavours to provide the Course and the services described in this Output. There may be occasions whereby the University needs to add, remove or alter content in relation to your Course as may be appropriate for example the latest requirements of a commissioning or accrediting body, or in response to student feedback, or to comply with applicable law or due to circumstances beyond its control. The University aim to inform you of any changes as soon as is reasonably practicable

ba (hons) graphic communication

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