GD5015 - Graphic Design for Social Change

In this is creative practice module, you will develop teamworking strategies alongside your evolving practical design process to help manage your creativity.



You will learn through a series of activities including lectures, workshops, studio-based critiques and peer-learning, and group and one-to-one tutorials. You will be responsible for organising your workload and driving the project forward. This structure will challenge thinking around process and practice whilst opening new, authentic and efficient ways to operate as a designer.



You will be supported through the module by technical staff who will provide specific intermediate support in:

Technical demonstration and support in the Adobe Creative Cloud tools depending on the needs of the module brief. (This could include InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, Dimensions, Firefly, Premier Pro, After Effects, XD as well as other 2-D and 3-D visualisation software and techniques)

Access and support to making, finishing, prototyping, model making, book binding, physical 3-D visualisation techniques and finishes.

Studio Photography, lighting, creative techniques and image creation.

Technical staff will provide specialist workshops and on-going consultancy support throughout the module. You will also have access to the technical resource centre who can loan you any specialist equipment needed for your project outcome.



You will continue to develop a professional and intellectual understanding of your role as a graphic designer through the experience of creation, reflection, presentation, and the use of the design process, mirroring contemporary industry practice.

Support and feedback will be provided throughout the module.



Staff contact

Module tutors will provide academic support.

Informal staff-student critiques will help you to discuss, understand, develop and inform design project specifics in a collaborative way.

Formal group critiques, mirroring industry practice allow for detailed project critique, evaluation and feedback on the development of the creative responses.

Project requirements are normally introduced via a briefing session, where the module will be fully explained.

Blackboard will be used to communicate all relevant module information, updates or modifications.



Studio contact time

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

Studio Culture is an important aspect of your development. It also mirrors industry practice.

Independent study hours should be utilised to continue the development and progression of your studio-based practice.



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.

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 ability to use cultural knowledge and conceptual insights to analyse issues of responsibility, sustainability, and ethics in the realisation of effective graphic design outcomes positively impacting social change. (KU 1,2)



Intellectual/Professional Skills & Abilities (IPSA):
Demonstrate proficient use of intellectual and technical creativity through analysing and communicating graphic design concepts realising positive social change. (IPSA 1)

Show knowledgeable integration of multiple perspectives in the experimentation and development of creative ideas and concepts. (IPSA 2,3,4)



Personal Value Attributes (PVA):
Demonstrate in-depth appreciation and competent use of craft and technical skills through continual reflection and refinement. (PVA 1,2)

Evaluate self-directed project management skills to an intermediate level, both aesthetically and conceptually. (PVA 2,4)

You will be assessed against a creative response to a set brief with consideration given to the creative processes deployed and evidenced and against the module learning outcomes.

 

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

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 impractical.



As you move through the programme, the emphasis on attaining a higher level of engagement in each 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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Graphic Design for Social Change allows you to understand what Graphic Design can do, and be, in making change in the community and wider world.

You will explore and develop your knowledge and working practices through the application of graphic design processes and methodologies. The module fosters an understanding and appreciation of the creative graphic design process while allowing you to explore, consider and reflect on your ethical position and responsibilities as a contemporary graphic designer.



You with explore how graphic design can have a measurable impact on communities and the wider world by contributing to social change.

You will demonstrate an understanding of the given topic and a justification for your design response by using appropriate levels of creativity, empathy, and respect demonstrated through your subject immersion and working journal.



You will explore and develop your knowledge, working practices and understanding of graphic design through the application of appropriate design processes and methodologies. During the module you will be presented with social challenges and will apply graphic design thinking to navigate and broaden your understanding of how graphic design can impact societally, politically and ethically. You will understand how design experiences can drive individual actions, and how and why it can support meaningful change.