Art and Design

Course summary

This course will allow you to explore your creativity and further your knowledge and skills in the visual arts through a combination of practical and theory-based learning. The course is designed to improve your understanding of visual language and support your personal and creative development. You will be encouraged to recognise not only the unique characteristics of different disciplines but also the dynamic and potentially innovative relationships between those disciplines, particularly in a technologically driven environment. The course will support you in developing a coherent and effective working practice to enable you to react positively and creatively across a diverse range of assignments and creative activities. In the first year of the course, you will develop basic skills in painting and drawing, photography, digital imaging, 3D, textiles, printmaking, graphics, fine art and contextual studies, as well as in the use and application of both new and existing technology. You will develop your skills in the second year through more personal practice which will underpin further your creative and personal development. The course offers you the opportunity to develop your technical art and design skills through a process of self-evaluation, practice and review. You will also develop your personal and transferable skills that are highly regarded by higher education and employers, for example, communication, project management and problem-solving. There is also an optional Level 4 unit available in your second year of study.