The Mdes in Graphic Design Suits the Demands of Those Students Who Are Ambitious to Compete

PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
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AWARD and COURSE TITLE / MDes Graphic Design
MDes Graphic Design: Illustration
MDes Graphic Design: Advertising
MDes Graphic Design: Motion and Interactive Design
INTERMEDIATE AWARDS / BA (Hons) Design Studies
Ordinary Degree in Graphic Design
Dip HE in Graphic Design
Cert HE in Graphic Design
Mode(s) of Attendance
(eg. FT/PT/SW/DL) / FT/PT
Name of Teaching Institution / Sheffield Hallam University
Location of Delivery / Sheffield Hallam University
Faculty / ACES
Department / Art and Design
UCAS CODE
Professional/Statutory/Regulatory Body Recognising this Programme / NA
QAA Subject Benchmark Statement or other relevant external reference point / Art and Design
Date of Approval / 22 October 2012

1PROGRAMME AIMS

The MDes in Graphic Design suits the demands of those students who are ambitious to compete, nationally and internationally for employment at an advanced level within the graphic design industries. The first two years mirror the BA programme and provide the creative and technical foundation for the more advanced study that follows in years three and four. In the third year you begin to explore the ways in which designers are able to contribute to the strategic development of the industry and subsequently, you are able to engage directly with the industry by completing a 15 week placement. This opportunity enables you to develop your skills and expertise to a true professional level and to develop invaluable contacts in many specialist areas of the industry. This life changing experience will help you to establish a professional work ethic and to develop the pace of your work to a level, which is commensurate with a fast moving and dynamic industry. In the final year you are able to reflect on this experience, to consider your career direction and to capitalise on your improved skills and contacts. From this you will create a portfolio of original work, which is truly capable of supporting your ambitions and of launching your chosen career.

Graphic Design at SHU is a multi-disciplinary visual communication course that provides rich and varied experiences to develop your practice, including research methods, conceptual thinking, problem solving, making and production. The course is underpinned by a flexible and thematic curriculum that is responsive to change in professional practice and to new and emerging tools and technologies. Studio based project learning is contextualised and informed by a critical thinking underpinned by theory and history of the subject.

We will help you to understand your own visual language and develop your portfolio through exploring many different approaches to design. By the end of the course you will have all the necessary skills and expertise to engage with a wide range of complex graphic design problems. Students have the opportunity to graduate in Graphic Design with a specialism, including Illustration, Advertising or Motion and Interactive Design and the content of the course allows for cross fertilisation amongst these disciplines. This approach reinforces the changing needs of the design industry and the move towards collaborative and interdisciplinary teamwork.

The underlying focus of the programme is on studio based creative practice in the highly demanding vocation of Graphic Design. It will enable you to develop a comprehensive understanding of the scope and demands of Graphic Design /Visual Communication. In addition it will provide an opportunity to develop your potential as a creative practitioner and prepare you for a subsequent career within Graphic Design and other associated design disciplines.

Award Titles

The degree award titles for final year BA and MDes students are determined by the title of the student’s final graduation project module. This approach ensures that students graduate with a degree title that reflects their chosen subject specialism. For example, a MDes Graphics student who elects ‘Graphic Design: Illustration’, will graduate with a MDes Graphic Design: Illustration.

As a student on this programme, you will be expected to develop the means of staying abreast of these issues and, within this context, to value and evaluate risk and to engage with and accept responsibility for the strategic management of design. Additionally, you will be encouraged to understand the importance of continual professional development beyond university and into your chosen career.

2PROGRAMME LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course has been mapped against the nationally accepted requirements for a course in Art & Design as specified in the QAA Subject Benchmark Statement.

2.1Knowledge and understanding covered within the Programme. By the end of the programme you will be able to demonstrate: -

• a criticalawareness of the historical and contemporary context of Graphic Design

• a systematic understanding of design methodologies and an ability to apply them in new and unfamiliar situations

• a sound understanding of ways in which design reflects and influences the social, ethical, legal and commercial environment of the time

• an extensive knowledge of the ways in which materials / production technologies have influenced and will influence graphic design

• a thorough understanding and awareness of the ways in which new and emerging technologies offer fresh opportunities for graphic design

• a sound understanding of the importance and increasing relevance of interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary practice in design

• insight and understanding of the designer's relationship with audiences, clients, markets, users, consumers, participants, co-workers and co-creators

• a critical insight into wider social, political, ethical, economic and environmental issues affecting design and of the impact of this on your own practice

2.2 Intellectual/Subject/Professional/Key skills covered within the Programme: by the end of the programme you will be able to

Intellectual Skills

• synthesise ideas/ information and generate insights, concepts, proposals and solutions in response to problems or opportunities

• consolidate and extend your learning in different contextual frameworks and situations, both within and beyond the field of art and design.

• employ both convergent and divergent thinking in the processes of observation, investigation, speculative enquiry, visualisation and/or making

• analyse information and experiences, formulate independent judgements, and articulate reasoned arguments through reflection, review and evaluation

• engage in constructive criticism, formulate reasoned responses to the critical judgements of others and implementappropriate action

• evaluate critically current research and advanced scholarship in the discipline

Subject or Professional Skills

• show considered, sophisticated visual judgement and discrimination when developing your own work and commenting upon that of others

• understand the value of risk and set yourself appropriate but challenging tasks and solve design problems

• apply appropriate research strategies and to provide an extensive and considered foundation for creative design work

• develop ideas through the production of material or virtual outcomes to a completed body of professional standard work

• articulate ideas and information comprehensibly in visual, oral and written forms and show sensitivity in the communication and presentation of design proposals using appropriate media and techniques to specific audiences

• apply resourcefulness and professional skills to support and manage your own practice and apply an entrepreneurial approach to design

• work with a high level and broad spectrum of specialist skills that will contribute to the successful production of design solutions in your chosen specialism

• analyse the contemporary world of design, production, technology and marketing and assess the relevance of those areas to your design practice; anticipate the direction of future products/services in response to these factors

Key Skills

• operate effectively as an independent learner, working in flexible/ creative ways, demonstrating enthusiasm, time management and organisational skills, in supervised and self-directed projects

• anticipate and accommodate change and work within contexts of ambiguity, uncertainty, and unfamiliarity

• interact effectively with others, for example through collaboration, collective endeavour and negotiation, demonstrating abilities to listen, contribute and lead when required

• demonstrate professional commitment and enterprise through personal initiative and independent action, together with ownership of and responsibility for your work

3LEARNING, TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT

3.1The approach to Learning and Teaching within the Programme

Studio-based project work forms a major part of the Graphic Design degree and runs continuously throughout the programme as a series of separate but developmental exercises. These design projects will provide you with high quality, vibrant learning experiences, setting specific challenges that will enable you to incorporate contextual understanding into your design practice. Lectures and seminars provide a substantial theoretical underpinning for this design practice and project group tutorials provide an open forum for the discussion and development of your knowledge and understanding of the issues relating to these projects.

The ability to discuss, critically debate, communicate and present your work are essential professional skills within design and you will be supported /challenged to develop these as the course progresses. At level 4 & 5 we teach you the skills required to plan, structure and deliver a presentation and there are opportunities in most modules to practice this within the supportive framework of small group tutorials. Then progressively throughout levels 5 & 6 the level of challenge increases so that you are using a range of media to present to larger groups and to more diverse audiences. Our intention is that by the completion of level 6 you will have developed, through practice, the confidence and skills to present and critically debate your work with fellow professionals and all relevant target audiences.

Design Projects

As the focus of the course, Design Projects are the vehicle through which you will demonstrate and achieve the Learning Outcomes associated with both modules and the programme as a whole.Each projectbegins with a comprehensive briefing from one or more members of staff. Project briefings typically consist of a short lecture and open discussion to accompany a written briefing document. This document sets out the particular challenge facing you, gives some contextual background to the challenge and includes clearly stated aims, learning outcomes, timescales, submission requirements and assessment criteria. As you progress through the programme you gradually take more responsibility for the development and direction of your own projects, culminating in the final year of the programme when you carry out research to provide the basis for a self-directed programme of design projects.

Skills Development and Workshops

The programme encompasses a broad range of skills designed to underpin your capability as an intelligent maker. These will include ICT and workshop skills, and also communication skills such as drawing and verbal presentations. Support for the development and refinement of these skills is provided in the form of taught classes and group workshop activities. These take place throughout the programme, but are especially concentrated during the first year. In practical workshops you will be introduced to appropriate levels of making based skills, as well as studio community related activities and exercises to help you challenge and broaden your practice. You will be offered a wide range of workshops in Level 4 to extend and diversify existing skills, move onto choosing the most relevant specialised workshops selected from a range offered throughout Level 5 and supported by drop in specialist advice surgeries where you will find expert advice and assistance to support your autonomous practice at Levels 6 and 7. During your study specialist technicians will assist you by providing information and advice.

Tutorial support

Tutorial support is a central aspect of the teaching method of this programme and is key in developing reflective and evaluative practitioners. You will meet with tutors and other students regularly in small group tutorials – normally this will happen on a weekly basis. During tutorials, the group discusses the project work of each student. This discussion focuses around the progress of the individual projects and encourages comparison, cross learning, critical reflection and culminates in a focus for further work to advance the project, (formative feedback). During these sessions you will be expected to make an appropriate record to support your further work. Staff notes are used as a means of checking and recording the development of each individual as they progress through the programme. Your own notes should reflect the potential areas for further investigation and development within your design projects.

Critiques

Critiques are an established and fundamental aspect of art and design education. They take place at the conclusion of a design project and generally take the form of a presentation of the completed project work by the individual students to a group of students and staff. These presentations may be a formal 'stand up' presentation or a formal discussion around a table within a smaller group. Where appropriate, you may also deliver an interim presentation of your progress and direction to a group of staff and students. These critiques and interim presentations form a very important aspect of the learning and teaching methods, as they provide important formative feedback on your work, promote self-assessment, and provide a further platform for critical review, evaluation and reflection.

Live Projects

During Level 5 of the programme some of the design projects are 'live projects’, mirroring the experience of design employment in which you undertake project work as a direct response to a brief set by an industrial 'client'. Typically you will visit the client’s design or manufacturing facilities and receive a briefing from them to set the context and scope of the project. During the project you may make interim presentations to the client and the project will culminate in a final presentation and feedback from both the industrial sponsor and the staff running the project. These live projects help to develop your understanding of the business context of their design work and develop the ability to respond to the financial, project management and market restrictions of professional design work.

Lecture and Seminar Programme

Design projects are normally accompanied by a continuous series of lectures and seminars that provide direct and indirect theoretical underpinning and help to develop contextual knowledge and understanding. Lectures and seminars are both staff and student led, with delivery from both university and external experts within the relevant field being discussed. These theoretical aspects of the programme focus on wide ranging issues from business and marketing factors to technological influences and opportunities. The knowledge and understanding gained through these sessions inform the design project work and establish means by which you are able to develop your approach to research and development, drawing upon wider social, theoretical and technological issues.

Field Trips and Industrial Visits

During Levels 4 & 5 there are staff and student-led visits to design consultancies, industrial facilities, museums and exhibitions. These visits contribute to the development of a deeper contextual understanding of Graphic Design. Sometimes they have a direct link with studio based project work or theoretical studies. For example, in the level 4 module Creative Narrative there is a visit which forms a mandatory part of the course. Where students are unable to attend, the related learning outcomes are supported by alternative forms of context based teaching and learning. Examples of this may include directed research and/or staff, student or video presentations relative to the visit.

There is normally an international field trip during Level 5, which constitutes a visit to an international cultural centre (destinations for previous visits have included Milan, New York, Barcelona). During these international field trips, you will typically visit design consultancies, industrial facilities, museums and exhibitions. Students who, for financial or other reasons, are not able to take part in the field study are set an alternative programme of study in the UK in order to meet the same learning outcomes.

Self Directed Study

Directed reading is aimed at supporting your studies and promoting knowledge of current trends and practices in design. You are also encouraged to be generally aware of your environment during day to day life, and alert to the problems and issues that may influence and offer opportunity to the designer. You are expected to work with increasing independence as the course progresses, and encouraged to extend your skills and knowledge through reading, research and design practice during independent study time.

BlackBoard

‘BlackBoard’ is the university Virtual Leaning Environment (VLE) and you will be introduced to this ‘online’ facility at the beginning of the course. Staff use BlackBoard to communicate with students, to record marks achieved for specific assignments, to publish notices and to update course / module information. Consequently, you will need to refer to it on a daily basis to make sure that you are up to date with the latest news. Your SHU e-mail account is also linked to BlackBoard and from time to time staff will use this to communicate with you personally to provide immediate guidance pertaining recent opportunities or developments that will affect your studies. Again it is important that you monitor your SHU e-mail account on a daily basis.