GD4010 - Practice Based Graphic Design: Process and Methodology

Through a series of practical, graphic design project tasks and projects designed to facilitate immersive learning you’ll learn about the expressive and creative potential offered by graphic design technical processes, methodologies and techniques.

Historical and contemporary introductions will accompany learning through making to help you understand established and experimental approaches to visual problem solving through the application of graphic design using both analogue and digital processes.



Your learning will be supported through practical studio and workshop-based learning activities, in addition to independent study.



You’ll study and work alongside your peers in a studio environment which aims to replicate the creative industry workplace.



Emphasis is on explorative making to understand the theoretical, expressive and creative potential offered by graphic design processes and techniques.
This will be further enhanced by technical induction sessions introducing a variety of Graphic Design processes and methods in appropriate workshop environments.

This will give you a confident grasp of the fundamentals of graphic design and the ability to use the acquired skills and deploy these to a high standard of realisation in preparation for solving creative problems in subsequent years.



You will be supported through the module by technical staff who will provide introductions and support in areas including:

Introductions to the Adobe software suite.

Introductions to the Making Space Studio and specialist finishes and techniques.

Introductions to Photography.

Introductions to Screen Printing.

Introductions to Relief Printing and letterpress.



Technical staff will provide you with ongoing support and specialist workshops throughout the module. You’ll also have access to any technical resources needed in realising your project outcomes.

Support and feedback will be provided throughout the module as follows:



Academic staff contact

• Module tutors will give you ongoing academic support / feedback and will provide an initial overview presentation of the module and its assessment method.

• Staff / student critiques will help you to discuss your work, understand the value of feedback and develop projects in a collaborative way.

• Presentation of your work within group critiques mirrors industry practice and will give you the confidence to communicate your ideas effectively.

• Project or task requirements are normally introduced via a briefing presentation session, subsequently available for review on Blackboard Learning Portal.

• Blackboard will be used to communicate and release all relevant module information, including updates / modifications, attendance, and assessment.



Studio contact time

Delivery is through a blend of lectures, studio-based critiques, practical demonstrations, and independent learning.



Technical support

• Experienced technical support staff will provide technical knowledge through demonstrations and timetabled on-line and / or workshop-based sessions.



Peer and independent support

• Studio culture and independent study also supports personal development and fosters an appreciation and evaluation of your own and your peer’s working practices.

• Studio Culture is an important aspect of your development as a graphic design student. It also mirrors industry practice.



Course support

• You’ll have access to a well-resourced library and support staff, access to Adobe Creative Cloud, LinkedIn Learning, a well-stocked technical resource centre, and student support services

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding (KU)

Demonstrate elementary knowledge of the graphic design process, and use critical judgment to understand, synthesis, to communicate effective creative responses. (KU 1)



Evidence fundamental knowledge of visualised iterative thinking and reflection and basic practical design skills, through incremental refinement of your selected creative approaches. (KU 2)



Intellectual/Professional Skills & Abilities (IPSA)
Document, annotate and reflect on design research, creative ideation, experimentation and iterative development through layout pads and working journals. (IPSA 1)


Demonstrate awareness of the understanding of the theory, techniques, processes and potentiality of graphic design practice.  (IPSA 2,3,4)



Personal Value Attributes (PVA)

Evidence basic creative risk-taking, curiosity and wide exploration of creative possibilities in studio and self-directed study. (PVA 1,2)



Demonstrate the essential ability to understand and communicate fundamental graphic design processes in relation to the communication of visual concepts through creative outcomes. (PVA 2,4)

You will be assessed against a creative response to a brief with consideration given to the creative processes deployed and evidenced and against the assigned learning outcomes highlighted in this module descriptor.

 

The assessment and feedback strategy is;

a. Formative Assessment ?You will receive verbal formative feedback both individually and in groups throughout the module. This feedback will facilitate the development of your assignment. This feedback will allow you to reflect upon your own work and act upon feedback prior to final submission.



b. Summative assessment (100%)

The project brief driving the module will identify the

assessment ask and criteria including submission requirements (deliverables) appropriate to the topic of the project.

 

You will generate throughout your project a physical document we call a Working Journal. This documents your creative journey, understanding and authorship of the creative response. It also demonstrates the originality and provenance of your work, as well as your understanding, through the appropriate application of processes, methodologies and technical/craft skills developed throughout the module.

 

 

 



 

 

Final project submission will be as a physical portfolio of work. You may also be asked to complete some form of self-reflection as part of the submission, this could take the form of a written or video rationale/reflection. Whilst this component is not assessed as a deliverable, it may serve to support or inform Personal Values Attributes.

 

This module is exempt from the Anonymous Marking

Policy. The nature of working closely and directly with

the student in class makes anonymity unfeasible.

 

As you move through the programme, the emphasis or percentage weighting of the learning outcomes will also adapt to reflect your subject advancement to focus on the production of highly sophisticated and professional levels of proficiency in thinking and making.

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‘Learning by doing’ is the focus for the projects and tasks within this module. You will be introduced to a wide range of processes, methods and techniques to build the ways and means for realising your creative graphic design solutions. You will engage in studio-based practical project work alongside introductions to our technical areas which cover a range of printmaking processes, craft methods and software tuition. This blend of intellectual, creative thinking, visualising, experimental, technical, and making skills approach to coursework enables you to improve core skills and inform your visual communication sensibilities while building a foundation of experiential and technical knowledge that you can apply to your own future design practice.