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Central Saint Martins
BA (Honours) Graphic Design
Course Handbook 2013/14
2
Course Handbook
Course title
BA (Honours) Graphic Design
Level of Study
Levels 4, 5 and 6
Awards
Cert HE / Dip HE / BA (Honours)
Awarding body
University of the Arts, London
Mode
Cert HE: full time over 30 weeks,
Dip HE: full time over 60 weeks,
BA (Honours): full time over 90 weeks
Attendance
Full time
Enrolment
October 2013
College
Central Saint Martins
Pro ViceChancellor
Professor Jeremy Till
Dean of Academic
Programmes
Mark Dunhill
Programme
Director
Rebecca Wright
Course Leader
Alan Baines
Disclaimer
In the day-to-day context, whilst every endeavour will
be made to provide the courses and services
described in this handbook, the University of the Arts
London HEC reserves the right to make such changes
as may be appropriate for reasons of operational
efficiency or due to circumstances including industrial
action beyond its control.
© 2013 University of the Arts London
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Contents
1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 6
1.1 Pro Vice-Chancellor Welcome Letter ........................................................................................................ 6
1.2 Educational and Creative Industries Context Central Saint Martins ......................................................... 7
1.3 The Geographical Context ........................................................................................................................ 7
1.4 Student Charter ......................................................................................................................................... 8
1.5 Equality and Diversity ............................................................................................................................... 8
2. Aims and Learning Outcomes ............................................................................................................... 10
2.1 Aims ........................................................................................................................................................ 10
2.2 Learning Outcomes................................................................................................................................. 10
3. The Course .............................................................................................................................................. 12
3.1 Graphic and Communication Programme Rationale .............................................................................. 12
3.2 Course Diagram and Assessment Map .................................................................................................. 15
3.3 Course Structure and Outline Curriculum ............................................................................................... 16
3.4 Course Academic Team ......................................................................................................................... 21
3.5 Course Technical Staff............................................................................................................................ 28
3.6 Administrative Staff ................................................................................................................................. 28
3.7 Academic Programme Management ...................................................................................................... 29
4 The Curriculum ........................................................................................................................................ 30
4.1 Unit 1: Studying Graphics at Central Saint Martins: Introduction to Study in Higher Education ............ 30
4.2 Unit 2: Introduction to Graphic Design .................................................................................................... 33
4.3 Unit 3: Textualities .................................................................................................................................. 35
4.4 Unit 4: Orientation toward Routes ........................................................................................................... 37
4.5 Unit 5: Exploring Practice 1 .................................................................................................................... 39
4.6 Unit 6: Bigger Picture .............................................................................................................................. 42
4.7 Unit 7: Exploring Practice 2 .................................................................................................................... 45
4.8 Unit 8: Context 1 ..................................................................................................................................... 48
4.9 Unit 9: Context 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 51
4.10 Unit 10: Situating Your Practice ............................................................................................................ 54
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4.11 Course Reading List ............................................................................................................................. 58
5 Student Learning ..................................................................................................................................... 62
5.1 Strategy for Student Learning ................................................................................................................. 62
5.2 Personal Tutorials ................................................................................................................................... 64
5.3 Credit Rating and Learning Hours .......................................................................................................... 64
5.4 Where You Learn .................................................................................................................................... 65
5.5 Academic Support ................................................................................................................................... 65
5.6 Library Services ...................................................................................................................................... 71
5.7 Technical Resources .............................................................................................................................. 73
5.8 Support for disabilities............................................................................................................................. 73
6 Assessment .............................................................................................................................................. 75
6.1 Assessment as a Learning Process ....................................................................................................... 75
6.2 Assessment Briefings ............................................................................................................................. 75
6.3 Forms of Assessment ............................................................................................................................. 76
6.4 Marking Criteria ....................................................................................................................................... 77
6.5 Assessment Feedback and Tutorial Guidance ....................................................................................... 79
6.6 Assessment Weighting of Units and Credit Weighting ........................................................................... 80
7 Student Life and Representation ........................................................................................................... 81
7.1 Course management, Academic Committee Structures and Student Representation .......................... 81
7.2 Student Services ..................................................................................................................................... 81
7.3 Students’ Union ....................................................................................................................................... 81
8 BAGD Course Glossary........................................................................................................................... 82
9 Health and Safety .......................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
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Introduction
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1.1
Pro ViceChancellor
Welcome
Welcome to Central Saint Martins
You are joining a unique community of art, design and
performance. Central Saint Martins offers one of the most
diverse and comprehensive ranges of foundation,
undergraduate and postgraduate courses and research
degrees in the country, while the University of the Arts, to
which it belongs, offers the largest grouping of specialist
arts, design and communication education programmes in
Europe.
Now that we are nearly settled in to our acclaimed new
building at Kings Cross, the College is moving on to an
ambitious programme of public events, with a view to
opening up the debate about the role of the arts and
design in society. This was started last year with the highly
successful series entitled ‘What’s the Point of Art School?’
In 2013-14 we will be launching a programme called
‘Restless Futures’, which will discuss a range of themes.
Our aim is to make Central Saint Martins a key cultural
institution on the national and international stage and in so
doing enhance your experience of being a student here.
We are also making a major investment in the Archway
campus, modernising the Byam Shaw building.
During the course of last year, we have felt London
coming to our doorstep with bars, restaurants and public
events opening all around us in Kings Cross. This will
continue over the next few years, placing the College at
the heart of one London’s most vibrant areas. Our position
in London also allows us to draw on the resources of what
is widely seen as the world’s leading creative city. In
particular your course, as with all our courses, brings in a
wide range of outside experts and industry leaders, both
to your core curriculum and external events. Live projects
and active collaborations involving students and staff
maintain a dialogue with leading companies, key cultural
institutions, venues, and commercial enterprises to
introduce you to London’s networks of creative practice.
I hope you have a great year. The new building at Kings
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Cross encourages open debate and communication. If
things are going wrong with your course, let us know
sooner rather than later. If you have suggestions as to
how the College could get better, please tell us. If things
are going well, tell us. It is only by working together that
we can make Central Saint Martins one of the best places
in the world to study art, design and performance.
Professor Jeremy Till
Head of Central Saint Martins
Pro Vice-Chancellor, University of the Arts London
1.2
Educational and
Creative
Industries Context
Central Saint
Martins
Central Saint Martins offers one of the most diverse and
comprehensive ranges of undergraduate and
postgraduate courses and research degrees in art and
design in the country, providing specialist education in fine
art, fashion and textiles, graphic and communication
design, 3D design including specialist courses in product
design, ceramic design, and jewellery design, theatre
design, acting and performance and interdisciplinary art,
architecture and design.
Central Saint Martins comprises nine programmes: Fine
Art; Culture & Enterprise; Graphic Communication;
Fashion; Ceramic, Industrial & Product Design; Spatial
Practices; Drama & Performance which incorporates
Drama Centre London; Textile & Jewellery Design and the
Foundation Diploma in Art and Design.
1.3
The Geographical
Context
Choosing to study in London is not the ‘passive’ option.
London is one of the most diverse and challenging cities in
the world. It is also one of the most creative, stimulating
and exciting. London means opportunity:
the opportunity to find yourself, be yourself;
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the opportunity to pursue a successful career or use
the city as a springboard to a successful career
elsewhere;
the opportunity to meet and work with other people
who think like you.
London lives on its reputation for creativity. Studying in
London places you in a special position where, from the
creative shelter of the course, you can begin to take on
the city and the world through projects and competitions
that gradually increase your exposure and integration into
the industry.
London is a global centre for graphic design and other
creative industries. The College is at the centre of one of
the world’s largest communities of practicing designers,
architects and artists. A number of national art and design
institutions and organisations are located in the capital
along with numerous museums, galleries and specialist
collections. The city defines the course and is therefore in
and of itself an important learning resource, formally and
informally.
1.4
Student Charter
The University recognises that in order to helpful fulfil your
creative and professional potential, it is important that we
make clear what you can expect from the University.
Equally it is important that you are aware of your
responsibilities as a student. More information on this can
be found in the student charter; please visit the UAL
website and search: Student Charter
1.5
Equality and
Diversity
The University is committed to advancing equality of
opportunity, eliminating unfair discrimination and
celebrating diversity within a supportive, creative learning
environment for students, staff, governors and other
community and industry partners with whom we work. We
seek to foster good relations in relation to age, gender,
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gender identity, ethnicity, disability, pregnancy and
maternity, sexual orientation, religion or belief and caring
responsibilities.
Equality legislation affords protection from discrimination
for employees and students and provides a basis for the
University’s commitment towards equality of opportunity.
Our approach is reflected in our Equal Opportunities
Policy, which covers staff and students. The Policy is coordinated by the University’s Diversity Team, which also
supports a number of diversity networks, equality projects
and initiatives. If you would like to find out more or get
involved, please visit the UAL website and search:
diversity
Discrimination will not be tolerated at the University. If you
believe, as a student, you are experiencing discrimination
at the University, you should talk to a member of staff in
confidence. Contact the Students’ Union advice workers,
your tutor, Programme Director or the University's Dean of
Students. They will be able to help you decide on your
most effective course of action. You can also contact the
University's Diversity team in Student Services who can
inform you of options for help, support and feedback.
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Aims and Learning Outcomes
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2.1
Aims
The course aims to:
1. sustain a creative community of learning that is student
centred in the provision of opportunities for independent
thought and personalised learning;
2. develop graduate skills essential for professional
practice within the community of graphic and
communication design and the creative industries;
3. support learners to develop autonomy and
responsibility in becoming reflective practitioners, in
order to explore fully its possibilities and to understand
the extended potential of graphic design;
4. encourage critical awareness in students and their
ability to question the purpose of what we do as
practitioners, to refresh and redefine the profession, to
be entrepreneurial in response to change by asking
them to define their own futures;
5. produce graduate graphic designers and designers for
communication media who can contribute effectively to
the future of society and the wider world, for example in
helping to develop creative sustainable solutions within
the discipline and beyond.
2.2
Learning Outcomes
On satisfactory completion of the course, you will be able
to:
1. demonstrate breadth of knowledge of contemporary
graphic and communication design practices;
2. analyse and critically evaluate information and use
visual aesthetic judgement to make decisions and solve
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design problems;
3. work independently or collaboratively in initiating and
realising ideas and concepts;
4. select and use appropriate design methods, materials
and processes within your practice;
5. specify and manage the production of your work and
deliver your projects within set timescales;
6. communicate effectively with your peers, tutors or
clients by visually and verbally presenting concepts,
ideas and designed outcomes;
7. critically evaluate the social, cultural and professional
contexts within which graphic design operates;
8. integrate your practice within historical and theoretical
contexts and demonstrate depth, meaning and
relevance within your work;
9. locate, define, express and defend your position as a
creative practitioner within and beyond contemporary
graphic and communication design practices;
10. demonstrate awareness, critical reflection and creative
skills to contribute professionally to the graphic
communication design industry, society and the wider
world.
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The Course
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3.1
Graphic and
Communication
Programme
Rationale
Our students have always worked at the forefront of their
practices, suggesting future possibilities far beyond the
traditional and technical definition of the profession.
Negotiating complexity, they have extended their creative
settings to develop clear communicative strategies with a
thorough understanding of how their audiences interact in
the production of meaning.
In addition to the traditional how of graphic design, our
understanding of the subject demands that our students
engage with the why and the wherefore of their visual work.
In this context, our activities provide for a coherent throughcurriculum, from diagnostic orientation to post-graduate
and doctoral research, which prepare students to answer
these questions independently and make an informed
choice about their future.
Our teaching framework enables students to explore
increasingly diverse and unique combinations of practice
and imagination and to discover various definitions of
themselves as practitioners. We call this connectedness of
envisioning, doing, making and communicating creative
intelligence. We express it through the process of thinking
through practice.
The Contexts of
Graphic and
Communication
Design
Graphic and communication design are emerging from the
historic activities of commercial art, advertising, and the
longer established printing trades. Their aims are to record;
identify; inform; instruct; promote and persuade; and to do
this through the development of presentational,
organizational and promotional systems and structures.
The presence of clients, along with the scope and form of
our disciplines, clearly distinguish our activities from those,
say, of fine art.
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Graphic designers work in media and for media. They
shape and in turn are shaped by media. The emergence of
television in the 1950s, the shift to photographic imagery in
the 1960s, the change from letterpress to offset‐litho
printing in the 1970s, the appearance of Adobe’s
PostScript page description language and Apple’s first
Macintosh computer in the 1980s, and the World Wide
Web in the 1990s are all examples of this. Each has
provided additional scope to our work.
The convergence of different media languages and
physical environments has moved the sphere of influence
of graphic design towards experiences that are global,
dynamic, interactive and continuous. With this shift, our
personal and ethical concerns have been repositioned.
The accelerating pace of transformation raises important
questions about the future forms the world will take and, as
a consequence, the future purposes and possibilities of
graphic and communication design. Such challenges
demand that practitioners envisage and direct change, and
accept responsibility as managers of material and cultural
resources, data and information. The key concepts of
today’s design society are situated in the sustainability of
multidisciplinary and collaborative approaches.
Over the working lifetime of our graduates, everything will
change again. Although the job descriptions of the future
remain unspecified, our students face the exciting
opportunities presented by new cognitive, social, cultural,
technological, political and economic contexts. They are
independent, adaptable and creative thinkers, aware of the
connectedness between the individual and communities of
practice.
During the course of their studies, our students:
experience the subject areas of design and interaction,
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illustration, moving image, advertising, photography,
printmaking, letterpress, print-production, typography
and writing, with the awareness that these practices are
becoming less discrete and more transferable;
acquire skills and process-knowledge based on both
the historical tradition of our discipline and the potential
of modern technology within the systems and structures
of society, providing a practical expression of the
connections between meanings and audiences;
belong to a large, diverse and international student
community, comprising roughly 800 students across
five continents;
have easy access to one of the world’s greatest cities
and all of its cultural and social resources.
The ability to think critically about the purpose of what we
are doing is crucial in developing a strategy of sustainability
within the discipline and beyond. The future belongs to
those responsible and reflective practitioners who
understand the extended potential of graphic design and
possess the creative openness to explore its possibilities.
We support and encourage our students to imagine,
express and communicate responsibly the new, exciting
and different.
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3.2 Course Diagram and Assessment Map
Graphic Design – Year One
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
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20
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24
25
26
27
28
29
30
40
Unit 3: Textualities
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Unit 1: Studying Graphics at Central Saint Martins: Introduction
to Study in Higher Education
40
20
Unit 2: Introduction to Graphic Design
01
02
03
04
Unit 4: Orientation toward Routes
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
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51
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55
56
57
58
59
60
Graphic Design – Year Two
31
32
33
34
40
40
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Unit 6: Bigger
Picture
Unit 5: Exploring Practice 1
Unit 7: Exploring
Practice 2
Unit 5: Exploring Practice 1
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31
32
33
34
Unit 8: Context 1
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
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90
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90
Graphic Design – Year Three
61
62
63
64
40
80
Unit 9: Context 2
Unit 10: Situating Your Practice
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
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3.3 Course
Structure
and Outline
Curriculum
The Curriculum is delivered as a series of ten units, designed to offer
you the broadest spectrum of study during the first year, and subject
specific curricula in each of four subject disciplines during the second
year and third year. The course is inclusive of contextual studies
(Context) and offers access to a comprehensive range of technical
workshops and resources (both digital and analogue). It also provides
a number of integrated studies (e.g. Typography and Letterpress,
Photography, Printmaking and Bookbinding).
After induction week, the first year presents a common introductory
diagnostic experience, followed by two years of selected specialised
study within one of four subject disciplines called Routes. Each route is
distinctive in character, though many commonalities and shared
experiences mean that each forms part of a collective whole. The
course is arranged over three Stages, each corresponding to the three
years of study. It aims to assist you in defining a personal approach to
practice within the broader subject of graphic and communication
design.
The project brief is the main vehicle for learning and teaching, though
lectures, seminars, workshops and independent study also facilitate
learning. Briefs require an individual response to a problem posed and
the resulting solutions, their content and form, require you to present
unique outcomes. At the midpoint(s) of the project you will explain your
research and initial ideas to your tutors and peers. At the final
presentation you will demonstrate the development of your concept
and explain fully your processes of thinking and production. At both
interim and final presentation, tutors will give formative feedback. This
is the crit (critique), which provides constructive criticism and guidance
to help you in becoming more effective as a student of graphic design.
The unit comprises a number of projects or assignments, ensuring that
formative feedback occurs throughout the period of the unit. Informal
feedback is also given as part of regular studio, workshop and tutorial
activity. Summative feedback is provided at the conclusion of each
unit. Three personal tutorials are scheduled in each stage of the
course; here you receive more comprehensive feedback on your
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progress.
There are regular opportunities to engage with client-led live briefs with
brands, such as LVMH, Samsung, Sony, etc. and to participate in
national and international student design competitions, such as RSA,
Lloyds TSB, D&AD, etc. (the course is a member of D&AD - students
gain from discounts on submissions to the D&AD Student Awards and
other benefits).
Arrangements for work experience or internships are encouraged and
facilitated on an informal basis. Study trips, student exchanges, studio
visits and collaborative projects (either within the university or with
other partner institutions in the UK, EC or overseas) offer further
opportunities to study within a broader context. During Stage Two, a
number of ‘Study Abroad’ students from the USA and other countries
join the course for one, two or three terms. Context ‘creative writing’
groups and student clubs such as ‘book club’, ‘sketchbook club’ and
exhibitions such as ‘heroes and heroines’, ‘work in progress’, ‘pop-up
shows’ and the ‘degree show’, ‘interest groups’, ‘guest lectures’ and
school-wide ‘Bigger Picture’ (unit 6), present additional opportunities
for social interaction or collaboration.
Stage One begins with a unit that introduces the course, the college
and the university (Unit 1), together with a parallel unit of introduction
to the practices and processes of graphic communication design (Unit
2). This is followed by a ‘diagnostic’ unit consisting of project choices
(Unit 4), aligned with a parallel unit of core skills within Context,
Typography and other integrated studies (Unit 3). Stage One
introduces many approaches to design thinking, creative
conceptualising and graphic design practices. The curriculum ranges
from introductions to design and ideas, typography and letterpress,
advertising, photography, animation, drawing, printmaking and
illustration to designing with computer software for print and screenbased media; it provides an introduction to both analogue and digital
media. Stage One has no formal restrictions on the type of work made
or the media used; it supports open attitudes to graphic design,
encouraging multi-disciplinary, individual and team working: you are
encouraged to experiment creatively and critically. The philosophy of
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the course is to foster the development of original and surprising
solutions, rather than to simply focus on technical media or formulaic
outcomes. A student centred ethos encourages the development of
your creative intelligence.
Stage Two offers a choice of subject routes: Advertising, Design and
Interaction, Illustration or Moving Image. The curriculum includes
opportunities to engage in integrated studies: e.g. Typography and
Letterpress, Photography, Printmaking and Bookbinding. In Stage Two,
the routes are introduced through Unit (5): ‘Exploring Practice’ – a
studio unit, which provides orientation and immersion in the core skills,
approaches, tasks, processes and systems relevant to your chosen
route; in doing so, it builds on the experience of the routes you initially
encountered in Stage One. The routes provide a convenient base for
exploration within and beyond traditional subject areas. They also
provide opportunities for you to take increasing responsibility for
learning within a defined structure supported by a community of peers
and tutors. During this period a parallel unit: Bigger Picture: Unit 6,
offers the opportunity to share theoretical lectures and classes with
students from across the College. Unit 7 further develops your
understanding of the historical and contemporary debates, practices,
and concerns within your subject area. Unit 8, which runs in parallel to
Unit 7, invites reflection on practice as a framework for orientation
towards a theoretical position in preparation for your major Context
research project in Stage Three.
Stage Three requires that you manage your time, are self disciplined,
and highly motivated; independence, originality, professionalism, are
all encouraged. There are two major units, which form the assessable
units for degree classification (9 and 10). Stage Three positions
students in relation to their chosen professional trajectory or course of
study at postgraduate level. Unit 9 requires that you evidence your
concluding thesis within an integrated visual and textual presentation.
Over three terms, the final Studio Unit (10), requires you to undertake a
sustained dialogue between research and practice within a
combination of set and/or self-initiated briefs. Stage Three empowers
you to participate in a process of challenging and extending the remit
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of graphic design in relation to the broader socio-cultural contexts of
the 21st Century.
Personal and
Professional
Development
(PPD)
The phrase Personal and Professional Development (PPD) is used
within the University to categorise a highly diverse range of activities
through which you are enabled to build your futures across work
related, academic, personal and social domains.
Personal Development Planning (PDP), the means by which you plan,
act and reflect on your learning, is included in PPD. PDP is a
nationally recognized process specifically concerned with planning,
reviewing and evaluating and is an entitlement for all HE students.
There is extensive overlap with PPD, although the two are not entirely
the same. PPD will offer you the opportunity of developing both
measurable skills (e.g. creative or technical capability, presentation of
self and work, realisation of projects or goals) as well as more
intangible attributes (such as confidence, sense of personal direction,
understanding of their values and own motivations).
All forms of study have the potential to contribute to PPD, as they offer
the opportunity for individual growth.
The College defines PPD as the skills and knowledge necessary for
students to:
be an active member of a learning community
be an active and self sufficient learner
be able to enter the professional world and manage subsequent
career development.
All teaching that aims to develop your personal and professional
knowledge and skills is given in a context which allows you to identify
with it, put it into practice, take ownership of the new awareness and
try out the challenging positions it offers. Your integration into the
professional fields and practices of Design is always related to your
current activity. All parts of the programme are, therefore, identified as
a professional activity and PPD is part of all units. Participation,
meeting deadlines, communicating effectively, giving and receiving
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feedback constructively and positively are all explicitly identified as
professionalism.
Personal development planning is essentially a process of:
thinking about where you are now;
reflecting on your strengths and improvements you would like to
achieve;
planning where you want to get to and what skills; and knowledge
you will need to develop to get there
undertaking your plan of work;
recording the development you make;
identifying when you have reached your goal;
reflecting on your learning and achievement and, in the light of
this…
planning where you want to go next.
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3.4 Course
Team
Academic
Details of the key members of staff, their specialism, interests and
photographs.
Alan Baines, Course Leader
Alan gained a BA in Graphic Design (1971) and a PGCE (1972) at
Liverpool College of Art and Design, Pg Cert Printmaking at Bradford
College of Art and Design (1974), MA Computing in Design at
Middlesex University (1989) and became a Fellow of the Higher
Education Academy in 2002.
Alan balanced his freelance with teaching, working as a graphic artist
from his print studio in Liverpool before moving to London. He
exhibited extensively, winning international printmaking awards. His
prints are in a number of public collections including the Government
Art Collection and the V&A Drawings and Prints Collection, as well as
many private collections.
Alan joined CSM in 1990 as Senior Lecturer and Course Director for
PG Graphic Design for Computers before joining BAGD as acting
Course Director (1991). From 1993 he took over responsibility for
Stage 1, before his secondment to Course Director (2005) and prior to
his appointment as Principal Lecturer and Course Director in 2006.
During his time at CSM Alan has been awarded a University
Fellowship (for research within the field of virtual learning in design
education), an ‘Artworks People Award’ (for his contribution to
Widening Participation), been involved in international recruitment for
the college and university, has sat on BA and MA validation panels and
acted as External Examiner at a number of other institutions.
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Professor Phil Baines, Subject Leader: Typography
Phil gained a BA in Graphic Design (1985), an MA in Communication
Arts and Design (1987) at the RCA, and became a Fellow of the Higher
Education Academy (2002). He has worked freelance since then for
publishers such as Penguin Books, Phaidon, and Thames and Hudson;
arts organisations such as Matt’s Gallery; and on the recent memorial to
the 7 July 2005 bombings. In addition to design work, Phil is a
contributor to Eye magazine and other journals and has written four
books: Type and typography with Andrew Haslam (Laurence King
2002); Signs, lettering in the environment with Catherine Dixon
(Laurence King 2003); Penguin by design, a cover story 1935–2005
(Allen Lane 2005); and Puffin by design, 70 years of imagination (Allen
Lane 2010). He began teaching on the course in 1988 and became
Subject Leader for Typography in 1991. He also supervises a number of
PhD students at the University and is currently External Examiner at
Napier University. With Catherine Dixon, Phil curates the Central
Lettering Record, part of the college’s Museum and Contemporary
Collection.
http://www.publiclettering.org.uk http://www.csm.arts.ac.uk/51542.htm
Douglas Bevans, Subject Leader: Printmaking
Douglas gained a BFA in Printmaking (1970) from San Francisco Art
Institute. He pursued a career as an illustrator, first in the US, and from
1985 in London, with clients such as BBC Education, EMI, Harpers
magazine, OUP, and Warner Bros. Since the mid 1990s he has
combined his freelance practice with part-time teaching at a number of
colleges including CSM, ENSAD Paris, and before taking on his present
role at CSM in 2002. Douglas also lectures at Royal College of Art. A
member of Designer Bookbinders, Douglas is a regular presence at
London Artist’s Book Fair.
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Cath Caldwell, Stage 1 Leader
Cath gained a BA in Graphic Design (1986) from St Martin’s School of
Art and a Pg Cert in Teaching and Learning in Art and Design (2006)
from CLTAD. She has worked as designer at Conde Nast US, Art
Director at Elle and Elle Decoration, and freelance editorial consultant to
BBC Worldwide. She founded the editorial design and consultancy
company Belknap & Co with John Belknap in 1999. Cath is a Fellow of
the Higher Education Academy (2009) and has gained a Level 3
qualification from the Institute of Line Managers (2012). Specialising in
editorial design, Cath’s second edition to 'Editorial Design’ (2005) will be
published in 2014 by Laurence King under the revised title 'Editorial
Design for Print and Screen'. Cath is a founder member of the design
network the ‘Editorial Designers Organisation’, and External Examiner
for BA Foundation Degree in Editorial Design at the University of
Sunderland. Cath’s research is also within the field of digital
technologies in design education. She is a member of the UAL IT
working party, representing Graphic Communication Design on external
facing UAL branding communications and internal digital communication
projects. Cath manages and develops the BAGD Stage 1 VLE site,
which was cited by the UAL Quality Review (2012) for best practice in
the use of digital communication tools. The international Summer Study
Abroad course in Graphic Design is designed and directed by Cath
(since 2008) - the course provides students from emerging nations with
a short and intense experience of studying Graphic Design at CSM.
Clive Challis, Route and Subject Leader: Advertising
Clive gained a BA in Graphic Design (1973) from the Central School of
Art and Design before working in advertising both in New York – Lord
Geller Federico Inc, – and London – D’Arcy MacManus and Masius
before setting up Lester Challis Ltd in 1992. After several years teaching
advertising on the course as visiting lecturer, Clive became Route and
Subject Leader for Advertising in 1996. His book, Helmut Krone, the
book. Graphic design and art direction; concept, form and meaning after
advertising’s creative revolution was published by The Cambridge
Enchorial Press in 2005.
23
Dr. Catherine Dixon, Stage 3 Leader
Catherine gained a BA Graphic Design (1992); a PgDip in
Communication Design; a PhD (A description framework for typeforms,
an applied study, 2003) form CSM; and a Pg Cert in Teaching and
Learning in Art & Design (2010) from CLTAD. As a freelance designer
she works mostly with typographically-based projects, including covers
for the award-winning Great Ideas series for Penguin Books. As a writer
she has a particular interest in type design and lettering, co-authoring
with colleague Phil Baines the book Signs: lettering in the environment
(Laurence King 2003). She also writes for Eye magazine, Matrix, Codex
and Imprint, and is a regular speaker at international conferences, as
well as an organizer herself of design-related events, most notably for St
Bride Library in London. She began teaching on the course in 1999 and
became a Senior Lecturer in Typography in 2002. Between 2011 and
2012 she took up a one year Visiting Professor post at the University of
São Paulo in Brazil. She supervises a number of PhD students. With
Phil Baines she curates the Central Lettering Record, part of the
college's Museum & Contemporary Collection.
http://www.publiclettering.org.uk
http://www.csm.arts.ac.uk/research/staffresearchprofiles/drcatherinedix
on/
Andrew Hall, Route and Subject Leader: Illustration
Andrew gained a BA in Graphic Design (1996) from Saint Martin’s
School of Art and a Pg Cert in Education (Art and Design) (1994) from
De Montfort University. Between 1991 and 1996 he worked as designer
for a variety of theatre companies and productions including the Royal
Shakespeare Company and Kenneth Branagh’s Renaissance Theatre
Company. He has contributed articles about different aspects of
illustration to a number of journals and his book, Illustration in Laurence
King’s Portfolio series was published in 2011. A novel, The Syndicate, is
currently being edited for publication. Andrew was a visiting lecturer on
this course from 1990 and set up the college’s Graphic Design Portfolio
course (1994) and Graphics Summer School (1994). In 1998 he became
24
Illustration Route Leader. Andrew has also worked as a 0.2 CSM Coordinator for the UAL Centre For Drawing.
Amanda Lester, Stage 2 Leader
Amanda gained a BA in Graphic Design (1972) from the Central School
of Art and Design before working as a designer in London for Wolff
Olins, and in New York for Milton Glaser and Anthony Russell Inc before
setting up Lester Challis Ltd in 1992. She taught as a visiting lecturer on
the BA Graphic Design course at Saint Martin’s School of Art from 1979
and became Senior Lecturer and Stage 2 Design Route leader at CSM
in 1992.
Andrea Lioy, Subject Tutor: Context
Andrea studied Theatre Studies and Philosophy (1992) at Università di
Torino, Italy; gained an MA in Communication Design (2000) at CSM; an
MA in Japanese Cultural Studies (2007) from Birkbeck College,
University of London, and is currently studying for a PhD in Creative
Writing. He has written a number of short stories; texts for art projects
e.g. Axel Vogelsang’s Lost Cosmonaut (2004); and film scripts including
Una Notte Come Questa for Alessandro Benna (2004). The film The
Last Day (dedicated to Fernando Pessoa) (2009), which he also
directed, is the first in a series dedicated to modernist writers. He is now
working on the script for INK (2011), about the work of Kuki Shūzō.
Andrea was a visiting lecturer at LCF and the CSM MA Communication
Design before becoming Subject Tutor in Context in 2002 and a Fellow
of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) in 2008.
http://andrealioy.yolasite.com
25
Val Palmer, Stage 3 Leader (with Dr. Catherine Dixon)
Val gained a BA in Graphic Design (1993) and an MA in Communication
Design (1998) from CSM. Her design work has been featured in a number
of exhibitions including ‘Dependence daze’ (Mall Galleries 2005) and ‘The
art of Kent Records’ (Art Vinyl gallery 2007). She is currently design
consultant to Third Window Films. Val was a visiting lecturer for MA
Communication Design from 1998 before becoming Course Director of Pg
Cert Animation in 1999. She joined the teaching staff of this course in
2007 as Senior Lecturer.
Dr. Rathna Ramanathan, Route and Subject Leader: Design & interaction
Originally from Chennai, South India, Rathna gained a BA in Fine Art
(1992) from the University of Madras; an MA in Communication Design
(1997) from CSM; and a PhD (English little presses, book design and
production, 1945–79, 2006) from the University of Reading. Rathna has
been directing design at Tara Books, India, since 1996, and has won
multiple international design awards for book design. Through her studio
minus 9 design, she works with a range of clients including BBC World
(Radio), World Bank, UNICEF and Phaidon. Alongside her design
practice, Rathna both curates exhibitions and writes for conferences and
journals. She is ATypI’s Delegate for India, and she advises Monotype
and Adobe on the design of their Indic typefaces. Rathna taught design in
India, and in the UK has taught at the University of Reading, LCC, and
MA Communication Design at CSM before becoming Design Subject
Leader with Max Ackermann in 2009. http://www.m9design.com
26
Dr. Paul Rennie, Subject Leader: Context
Paul gained a BA in Philosophy and Psychology from the University of
Keele and a PhD (RoSPA’s industrial safety propaganda of WW2, 2002)
from University of the Arts London. Paul established a shop and gallery,
with Karen his wife, specialising in 20C British art and design 1990. The
shop has evolved into Rennies Seaside Modern and is based in
Folkestone. The project celebrates the modernity of beach hut, garden
shed and seaside poster. He has contributed to a series of Design titles
published by the Antique Collectors Club. Festival of Britain Design
(2008) and GPO Poster Design (2010) have been published. Titles about
Tom Eckersley and Fougasse will follow. Modern British Posters (2010)
will be published by Black Dog Press. Paul is a frequent contributor to
various other journals and publications. Paul was Contextual Studies
tutor at Richmond-upon-Thames College and Kingston University before
joining CSM as Context Subject Leader in 2005.
http://www.rennart.co.uk
http://www.csm.arts.ac.uk/51955.htm
Rebecca Ross, Subject Leader: Interaction Design (digital media)
Originally from New York, Rebecca holds an interdisciplinary BA (1999)
from New York University's Gallatin School; an MFA (2002) in Graphic
Design from Yale School of Art; an MSc (2005) in Geography from
University College London; and a PhD (All Above: Visual Culture and the
Professionalization of City Planning, 1878-1931, 2012) from the Harvard
Graduate School of Design. Rebecca’s academic/design practice is
situated at the intersection of visual culture, digital media, and urbanism.
Specifically, she is interested in interactions between graphic design and
civic engagement. How are pictures, media, and data, actively
intertwined with place and material conditions in cities? Rebecca recently
contributed to exhibitions including One Day in the City and Cities
Methodologies. She recently contributed chapters to Urban
Constellations (Jovis 2011) and Camera Constructs (Ashgate 2012)
27
and Journal of Planning History (2013). Rebecca has been an
Osher Fellow at the Exploratorium and is currently an advisor to the UCL
Urban Laboratory. Rebecca has taught at Harvard, Yale, and New York
University, before moving to London and joining CSM in 2008 as Senior
Lecturer. Rebecca became Subject Leader in Interaction Design on
Graphic Communication Design in 2011.
http://rebeccaross.net
View Rebecca Ross's research profile:
http://www.csm.arts.ac.uk/research/staffresearchprofiles/drrebeccaross/
Gary Wallis, Subject Leader Photography
Gary gained a BA in Graphic Design (1994) at CSM before pursuing a
freelance career as a photographer. Clients have included Elle, Marie
Claire, Motorola, Random House and Top Man. He is also a Director of
the film company Big Smile. After teaching as a visiting lecturer on the
course, Gary became Subject Leader in Photography in 2005.
http://www.wallispictures.com
Pat Dibben, Academic Support Librarian
Pat Dibben is the Academic Support Librarian for BA Graphic Design &
MA Communication Design. Pat also supports MA Character Animation
in the Centre for Performance programme.
3.5 Course
Technical
Staff
3.6 Administrative
Please refer to the information about the technical and teaching resource
teams in your King’s Cross Handbook.
Staff If you have an enquiry about anything related to your course or you
would like to access support or the University’s student services please
come to the Student Centre Information Desk at King’s Cross. If
28
necessary, your enquiry will be referred on to the Graphic
Communication Academic Administration team, appropriate staff in your
course, or other relevant adviser.
The administrative support teams are grouped into two areas:
Student Administration and Academic Administration.
The Student Administration team provide administrative support for the
College’s student recruitment, admissions, enrolment, attendancemonitoring and assessment activities.
The Academic Administration team provides support for courses within
your programme including timetabling, Moodle support, course content
related enquiries and co-ordinating assessment deadlines.
Your key contacts are:
Graphic Communication Academic Administration:
Lucy Alexander: Programme Lead Administrator (PLA)
(email l.a.alexander@csm.arts.ac.uk)
From December 2013 Helen Savage will take over the PLA role
(email h.savage@csm.arts.ac.uk)
Andrew Withey: Assistant Academic Administrator
a.withey@csm.arts.ac.uk
3.7 Academic
Programme
Management
Mark Dunhill: Dean; Mark Dunhill is located in the College Management
Team office on the 4th floor; his PA should be contacted if you would like
to see him on any official matter (ext. 7201).
29
The Curriculum
4
4.1
Unit 1:
Studying Graphics at Central Saint Martins:
Introduction to Study in Higher Education
Overview
This Unit has three core purposes:

to introduce you to learning at undergraduate level

to orientate you within your course, the College and the
University

to induct you into the specific practices and knowledge
base of your discipline
The Unit will enable you to acquire and improve your skills,
understanding and approaches to learning that underpin
your studies in Stage I, in your course as a whole, and
beyond. Emphasis is placed on the skills needed to locate,
navigate and communicate information effectively and
appropriately. You will be introduced to resources that
support your studies.
Course position
Weeks 1 - 10
Level
HE1 / Level 4
Credit rating
20
Learning outcomes
and marking criteria
Upon successful completion of this unit you will be able to
demonstrate to an appropriate level:
1. evidence of engagement with the principles and
practices of your discipline; (Subject Knowledge) and
(Personal and Professional Development)
2. an ability to locate and evaluate information from a
30
range of written and/or visual sources; (Research) and
(Analysis)
3. an ability to communicate ideas and arguments in
academic forms appropriate to your discipline;
(Communication and Presentation)
4. evidence of engagement with the principles of Personal
and Professional Development. (Personal and
Professional Development)
Study programme
The programme of study is delivered through a combination
of briefs, workshops, and other activities.
Among topics which will be covered are:
key aspects of the learning culture on your course, at
your college and at university;
critical research skills, both textual and visual;
essential skills for academic writing, with particular
reference to essays, reports and reflection;
essential skills for visual communication;
information and communication technology skills;
collaborative working practices;
verbal and visual presentation skills.
You will receive formative feedback as you progress
through the unit. Summative feedback will be given at the
first personal tutorial of the stage.
Assessment
evidence
To evidence your achievement of the learning outcomes of
this unit, you are expected to submit:
31
presentation of a completed set of projects.
Recommended study
material
Refer to the course reading list in section 4.11 in addition to
material specified per project.
32
4.2
Unit 2
Introduction to Graphic Design
Overview
This unit offers a playful introduction to the breadth and
possibilities of graphic design, through a rotation of weekly
projects and workshops. These range from subject-specific
and conceptually orientated briefs to practical workshop
inductions. You will participate in critiques and, through
contributing to your peer group, help develop a community
of learners.
Course position
Weeks 1 - 10
Level
HE 1 / Level 4
Credit rating
20
Learning outcomes
5. a basic knowledge of graphic design contexts, practices
and approaches; (Subject Knowledge)*
6. production and presentation skills; (Communication and
Presentation); (Technical competence); (Personal and
7. evidence of personal time management; (Personal and
8. engagement with design processes, ideas generation
and development. (Analysis)
* Embedded Personal and Professional Development
(PPD)
Study programme
To enable your achievement of the learning outcomes of
this unit, the programme of study is comprised of a
combination of briefs in various subject areas (e.g.
33
advertising) and workshop inductions (e.g. printmaking).
first personal tutorial of the stage.
Assessment
evidence
this unit, you are expected to:
submit a completed set of projects;
evidence participation in taught activities.
Recommended study
material
34
4.3
Unit 3
Textualities
Overview
This builds on the foundations laid by Units 1 and 2, and
runs in parallel with Unit 4. The focus of this unit is on
particular core processes and systems of graphic design.
By processes we mean activities such as information
gathering, analysis, sequencing of content, and formatting;
by systems we include information management, structural
systems such as grids, and mark-making. The unit is
delivered principally by the context and typography staff
and is supported by workshop activities and other subjects
as appropriate.
Course position
Weeks 11 - 30
Level
HE 1 / Level 4
Credit rating
40
Learning outcomes
9. an awareness of the origins, history and contemporary
contexts of Graphic Design; (Subject Knowledge)
10. the ability to gather, analyse, and appropriately present
information; (Research) and (Analysis)
11. an understanding of organisation, structure and detail;
(Technical Competence) and (Subject Knowledge)
12. the ability to use verbal, written and visual languages in
an inter-related way. (Communication and
Presentation)*
* Embedded PPD
35
Study programme
this unit, the programme of study comprises a series of
projects exploring notions and forms of texts. In Context
you will explore the origins, history and contemporary
contexts of Graphic Design, and be introduced to the
importance of communicating knowledge; the relevance of
three forms of academic writing (paper, report, proposal)
and the importance of notation. In Typography you will
explore hierarchies, other systems of information
management, other structures such as grids, the page, and
narrative.
Assessment
evidence
a completed set of projects.
Recommended study
material
36
4.4
Unit 4
Orientation toward Routes
Overview
After the foundations laid by units 1 and 2, the choice of
projects here is more focused and in-depth, and
concentrates on the development of concepts and their
practical realisation. The aim is for you to establish a
personalised curriculum by selecting briefs that help you
make an informed choice of route in preparation for Stage 2
of the course. The unit can also include opportunities for
you to undertake client-led ‘live’ briefs and enter student
competitions.
Course position
Weeks 11 - 30
Level
HE 1 / Level 4
Credit rating
40
Learning outcomes
13. an understanding of the common design skills,
processes and systems appropriate to the practices of
either Advertising, Design and Interaction, Illustration,
or Moving Image; (Subject Knowledge) and
(Communication and Presentation)
14. the ability to experiment with different approaches and
media; (Experimentation)
15. the ability to make informed independent choices based
on reflection and sense of self as designer leading to an
informed choice of subject route for Stage 2. (Personal
and Professional Development) and (Collaborative
and/or Independent Professional Working)
Study programme
this unit, the programme of study is delivered through a
37
range of briefs related to each of the routes – Advertising,
Design and Interaction, Illustration or Moving Image. Briefs
are typically two weeks in length and each fortnight you
choose which brief you wish to undertake. The focus on
‘tasks’ offers an opportunity for you to develop an
awareness of the diversity of graphic design practices and
helps you to define your particular area of interest. The
route leaders will provide an overview of their subject areas
and the way that stages 2 and 3 operate. At the end of the
unit you will be required to reflect on your experiences by
completing a Learning Agreement in which you state your
choice of route for Stage 2 of the course.
through the unit and at your second personal tutorial.
Summative feedback will be given at the third personal
tutorial of the stage.
Assessment
evidence
a body of completed work.
Recommended study
material
38
4.5
Unit 5
Exploring Practice 1
Overview
This unit entails further orientation and progressive
immersion in the core skills, approaches, tasks, processes
and systems associated with your chosen route. Work to be
undertaken will include a programme of set briefs, delivered
through lectures, studios and workshops.
Course position
Weeks 31 - 45
Level
HE 2 / Level 5
Credit rating
40
Learning outcomes
16. an ability to investigate and employ form and content
meaningfully; (Research) and (Analysis)
17. awareness of effective working methods within your
route; (Technical Competence) and (Personal and
18. the ability to build knowledge and develop core skills
related to your route. (Subject Knowledge)
Study programme
The programme of study is specific to each route; parity of
experience across the routes is planned at the outset and
confirmed at the conclusion of the unit.
Advertising: Comprises a series of briefs that will explore
different modes of communication. You will work with a
variety of media choices and the role of ‘concept’ in
communication. You will learn to investigate both the
product and the audience to which your communication is
aimed in order to produce relevant and exciting messages.
Design and Interaction: Comprises a series of briefs that
39
encourages you to engage with a continually shifting
landscape of evermore challenging and complex media
formats, platforms and environments. The focus will be on
design process, underpinned by skills and theory
necessary to engage in the subject area. You will work with
a variety of approaches to the subject, develop a deeper
understanding of typography, systems of graphic
communication, organisation and interaction, and employ
research and analysis, and relevant production processes.
You will be encouraged to debate contemporary themes
and to embrace a multifaceted approach current and
emerging technologies and processes.
Illustration: Comprises a series of briefs that encourage you
to communicate through the image, both in conjunction with
text, and alone, in a rigorous, direct and engaging manner.
You will employ research and concept development
methodologies, receive technical instruction in aspects of
image-making and in relation to a variety of media (still and
sequential), and be asked to become aware of the context
of historical and contemporary debates within Illustration.
Moving Image: Comprises a series of briefs focused on
approaches to time sequence. You will explore the
relationship between sound and image, learn strategies
involved in building dramatic construction, and consider the
role of a narrative in communicating an idea. By working in
small groups you will learn how to communicate ideas to
each other and to a potential audience. Through practice
you will learn the basic techniques and experience each
stage of the process involved in a short production.
through the unit and at your first personal tutorial.
Summative feedback will be given at the second personal
40
Assessment
evidence
a portfolio and/or viva presentation of a completed set
of projects.
Recommended study
material
41
4.6
Unit 6
Bigger Picture
Overview
The Bigger Picture Unit is the first point in which all Stage 2
students, from some of the undergraduate courses across
the College, work together formally.
The primary purpose of this Unit is to offer you an
opportunity to reflect on your main study subject from a
'bigger picture' context. Through a programme of study in
which you have the opportunity to work with new people
and glean new and differing views and opinions, you are
asked to consider the role and impact of Graphic Design in
relation to and from the perspective of areas such as
sociology, anthropology, science, philosophy, economics,
through the engagement with contemporary cultural issues,
contexts and agendas such globalization, metropolises,
sustainability, etc.
Unit 6 is therefore scheduled to start in week 7 of the
Autumn term and run through to the end of the Autumn
Term.
Whilst Unit 5 offers a re-immersion in your main subject at
the start of Stage 2, the Bigger Picture Unit offers an
opportunity for reflection on that subject. The curricula for
the Units 5 and 6 are therefore mutually supportive, and
staff from your main subject will contribute to the delivery
and assessment of the Bigger Picture Unit.
Course position
Weeks 37 - 40
Level
HE 2 / Level 5
Credit rating
20
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the unit, you should be able to
42
19. an extended, ‘bigger picture’ knowledge of the context
and impact of your main subject; (Subject Knowledge)
20. the ability to synthesise information to offer informed
views on a range of subjects; (Analysis)
21. the ability to listen and contribute responsibly in group
discussions. (Communication and Presentation);
(Collaborative and/or Independent Professional
Working)*
*embedded PPD
Study programme
The study programme will typically include:
Lectures, seminars and tutorials
Team activities
Site visits
Independent study
Peer-group reviews
Symposium presentations
Peer and self-assessment
The Unit begins with an intensive first week of guest
speakers and initial seminars, followed by two weeks of
taught input, to include group work and seminars, and
concludes with a week of independent study ending in the
hand-in of the written submission on the last day of the
Autumn Term.
through the unit and at your first personal tutorial.
Summative feedback will be given at the second personal
43
Assessment
evidence
To evidence your achievement of the Learning Outcomes
of this unit, you are expected to:
make a 10 minute presentation, and answer
questions at a facilitated, conference-style event;
submit written and visual documentation (2,000 words),
in support of your presentation, which demonstrates
your ability to formally align ideas, argument, evidence
and presentation, expressed through the associated
activities of research, reading, writing and design (e.g.
presentation abstract; PowerPoint; blog; written texts).
Essential study
material
Auge, M. (1995) Non-Places, Introduction to an
Anthropology of Super-modernity. London: Verso.
Bauman, Z. (2000) Liquid Modernity, Cambridge: Polity
Press.
Harvey, D. (2010) The Enigma of Capital: And the Crises of
Capitalism, London: Profile Books.
Jameson, F. (1992) Postmodernism: Or, the Cultural Logic
of Late Capitalism. North Carolina: Duke University
Press.
44
4.7
Unit 7
Exploring Practice 2
Overview
This unit furthers an understanding of historical and
contemporary debates, practices, and concerns in the
subject area. Having explored the relationship between
form and content, the emphasis of this unit is on audience
and socio-cultural context. Teaching and learning activities
will be delivered through a programme of set briefs. This
unit forms the basis for self-directed and independent study
in Unit 10.
Course position
Weeks 46 – 60
Level
HE 2 / Level 5
Credit rating
40
Learning outcomes
22. the ability to apply core skills related to your route and
experiment intentionally; (Experimentation) and
(Subject Knowledge)
23. the ability to select and use effective methods in the
production of your work; (Technical Competence) and
(Research)*
24. the ability to examine, present and reflect on your work
and its validity within increasingly challenging and
complex situations. (Analysis), (Communication and
Presentation) and (Collaborative and/or Independent
Professional Working)
*Embedded PPD
Study programme
experience across the routes is planned at the outset and
45
confirmed at the conclusion of the unit.
Advertising: You will build on the understandings gained in
Unit 5. A rapid series of briefs and crits will lead you to an
understanding of the ‘Gestalt’ of a product; the ‘Truth’ of a
message, and how to attenuate the amount of information
given in order to engage the receiver. These ‘Conceptual’
briefs segue into more strategic ones where you will have
to interrogate your product, find benefits, relate them to
your chosen audience and choose an appropriate
‘language’ for your communication.
To lead you to an understanding of present practice, there
are also opportunities to engage with live briefs in real
agency situations.
Design and Interaction: Building on the skills and
knowledge developed in Unit 5, you will gain a broader
understanding of design as you engage with more
challenging and complex situations. This unit asks you, the
designer, to engage with applications of design relevant to
different contexts (critical, social, cultural, historical and
professional) via a series of set and/or negotiated briefs
that are supported by skill-based workshops. You will need
to articulate your concepts clearly, use a variety of
appropriate media and build awareness of your positioning
and relevance as a graphic designer.
Illustration: Comprises a series of briefs that build on
learning in Unit 5, with the study focus shifting to the
sequential image. You will explore structure, visual
narrative systems and character development, whilst
continuing to experiment with, and build on, your technical
skills in relation to the messages you are communicating.
You will be asked to demonstrate an increasing level of
breadth and depth in relation to your research strategies
and content generation, and in the location of your work
46
within the context of historical and contemporary debate.
Moving Image: You will further develop your understanding
of the media. Through working on set briefs across moving
image, design, animation, illustration and typography you
will be encouraged to extend and reformulate the
boundaries of your route title. You will participate in short
practical workshops to build your technical and aesthetic
skills. You will be encouraged to present research as an
invaluable aspect of developing a concept. You will work on
personal briefs as well as in teams. This will help you gain
a better understanding of your own particular strength. By
working on live briefs you will develop an ability to work
within a given criteria and to communicate and ‘pitch’ your
ideas to an audience of professional practitioners.
Assessment
evidence
a portfolio and/or viva presentation of a completed set
of projects.
Recommended study
material
47
4.8
Unit 8
Context 1
Overview
This unit takes you on a journey around the ideas and
theoretical concepts that shape your practice. Further
consideration will be given to the historical and
contemporary debates, practices and concerns of your
subject area. The socio-cultural contexts explored within
unit 7 will become the basis of further development of
personal and professional responsibility. You will recognise
the relationship between you and your professional context
as an important part of the production of meaning.
Course position
Weeks 46 - 60
Level
HE 2 / Level 5
Credit rating
20
Learning outcomes
25. informed reflection on contemporary practice; (Subject
Knowledge) and (Analysis)
26. the ability to give a historical and theoretical context to
your work beyond the scope of your own ideas, and as
connected to other creative practices. (Research) and
(Personal and Professional Development)
Study programme
The programme of study is identical for all students on the
course, independently from your chosen studio route.
However, each one of you will research theoretical and
visual materials pertinent to your practice. Accordingly,
individual differences are to be expected.
Building on the skills, concepts and knowledge acquired in
units 3 and 6, you will be asked to engage with your work
on a reflective level and find its context in contemporary
48
design practice. You will expand and consolidate the forms
of academic writing you were introduced to in Unit 6 and be
introduced to forms of creative writing. You will deepen
your involvement with research and start formulating a
theoretical position in support of the creative work that you
do as part of your studio practice. In short, you will
represent who you are in the context of your field of
practice. It will form the core set of values on which you will
be asked to base the proposal for a project to develop and
complete in Unit 9.
On acceptance of your proposal, the course will pair you
with a tutor, whose practice is relevant to the project you
intend to realise. For this reason, it is vital for your proposal
to be consistently aligned with your studio practice.
Assessment
evidence
A written and visual portfolio to include the following
items:
a review of the sources pertinent to your practice
(500 words);
a project proposal, the realisation of which will
happen in unit 9 (1,500 words);
a selection of possible case studies to inform your
project proposal;
a list of suggested references to further your
49
research (beginnings of bibliography).
Recommended study
material
50
4.9
Unit 9
Context 2
Overview
This unit asks you to shape the exploration you started in
unit 8 into a piece of work that will include creative,
reflective and critical approaches. This does not mean that
your exploration of your practice should stop. On the
contrary, what you make for this unit is the beginning of the
substantial body of work that you will produce in unit 10.
You should be completely aware of your professional
context and able to consider communicating to specific and
non-specific audiences.
Course position
Weeks 60 - 70
Level
HE 3 / Level 6
Credit rating
40
Learning outcomes
27. the ability to integrate your practice with and within
historical and theoretical approaches; (Analysis) and
(Subject Knowledge)
28. the ability to locate, express and defend your position
as a creative practitioner within and beyond
contemporary practice. (Research) and
(Communication and Presentation)*
*Embedded PPD
Study programme
The programme of study is identical for all students on the
course, independently from your chosen studio route.
However, each one of you will research theoretical and
visual materials pertinent to your practice. On the basis of
the proposal submitted in Unit 8, you will be paired up with
and advised by a tutor with relevant experience. This may
51
mean that the individual differences that arose during the
work previously undertaken may reach a peak. This
diversity, within the basic guidelines that the brief will set for
you, is highly encouraged.
You will have the possibility to bring your project to its
logical conclusion. It is impossible to foresee the final form
and content of your project because it is in the nature of
research to find out the unknown and the unexpected.
However, it will have to be clear that the project has
organically developed, in terms of aligning your theoretical
research with your practice.
This Unit is an exciting opportunity for you to explore
connections between abstract ideas, theoretical grounds,
and the form your work takes. As part of your finished
project you will acknowledge further research to be done.
This can provide the basis for your work to grow even more
in Unit 10, where you will concentrate on the visual,
creative and communicative aspects of your own practice.
second personal tutorial of the stage.
Assessment
evidence
A completed research project, developed from the
project proposal presented in Unit 8 and to include:
a piece of visual or written creative work;
a piece of critical writing (6,000 - 6,500 words);
a detailed rationale for the design choices you made
in producing your piece.
52
Recommended study
material
53
4.10
Unit 10
Situating Your Practice
Overview
This unit is focused on the development of a substantial
body of work that has a strong rationale and articulates
your priorities as a creative practitioner. A sustained
dialogue between critical approaches arising from Unit 9
and the diverse field of graphic and communication design
inform the work you will undertake in this unit. You are
expected to envision a programme of study that you will
develop and refine in consultation with your tutor. You will
participate in a process of challenging and broadening the
remits of your practice in relationship to broader sociocultural issues.
through the unit. You will submit your portfolio/book for
evaluation at the interim stage of the unit when feedback
on your progress will be offered. You will also receive
formative feedback at your first and second personal
tutorials. Summative feedback will be offered at a third and
final personal tutorial.
Course position
Weeks 71 - 86
Level
HE 3 / Level 6
Credit rating
80
Learning outcomes
29. the ability to define your position while accommodating
complexity, iteration, nuance and uncertainty; (Subject
Knowledge) and (Experimentation)*
30. development of depth and relevance in your practice;
(Analysis) and (Research)
54
31. the ability to specify and successfully manage the
production of your work; (Technical Competence) and
(Personal and Professional Development) and
(Collaborative and/or Independent Professional
Working)
32. the ability to reflect on your achievements and articulate
your position as a creative practitioner. (Personal and
Professional Development) and (Communication and
Presentation)
* Embedded PPD
Study programme
experience across the routes is confirmed during the
interim review stage of the unit.
Advertising: With regular briefs for increasingly complex
products that require research and deep analysis, you’ll
establish your own strategies and use them to form
creative but strategic concepts that induce an
understanding within the recipient. These will also involve
choosing and exploiting the possibilities of appropriate
media. Your understanding will be supported by lectures,
workshops, attendance at industry events and tutorial
support. During this unit you will collaborate in small
‘creative’ teams, interact with the industry as well as
practicing art directors and copywriters; and, through
discussion and independent reflection form a view of your
potential within the communications industry.
Design and Interaction: This unit is facilitated in parallel
through a combination of set and negotiated briefs. You will
initiate and develop new ideas and applications within a
subject area defined by you in consultation with your tutors;
tutorial advice will be specific and relevant to your
individually negotiated study programme. You will work
collaboratively and independently, setting your own aims,
55
objectives and deadlines. You will be expected to be
intellectually curious, analytical and reflective, and capable
of carrying out sustained independent enquiry. Your
journey through this unit will also involve selecting, testing
and making appropriate use of processes and materials in
the development of outcomes from design concepts. Your
critical approach should consider the contexts of culture,
society, industry, environment, ethics, and history. The unit
employs unit briefings, lectures, workshops, studio
dialogue, group and individual tutorials, and independent
learning.
Illustration: Comprises a combination of negotiated and set
briefs that enable you to reach your true potential as a
professional practitioner. Building on your discoveries in
previous units you will forge a strong and individual identity
to your work, be able to demonstrate its conceptual rigour
and visual integrity, and show clear intentions in relation to
the commercial and/or non-commercial context within
which you intend to locate your practice. To this end, your
study programme will include industry talks, agency visits
and the mounting of external exhibitions that will promote
your work to your future clients and audiences.
Moving Image: This unit will comprise a mixture of set and
negotiated briefs. By now you will have a sound
understanding of the different stages of production and of
the technology involved. To expand those skills there will
be further practical workshops and lectures. Through
regular contact with your tutors, you will be expected to
define your personal projects and develop a position within
your specialist route. You will be encouraged to formulate
your own specific way of working in terms of concepts,
form, techniques and the media you will use. In parallel you
might also take a specific role on your peers’ productions.
The emphasis will be on creating and exploring links
between the disciplines of moving image, design,
56
photography, and animation. You will be encouraged to
take part in competitions and live briefs that will enable you
to interact with the industry.
Assessment
evidence
a portfolio of negotiated, self-directed work.
The degree show is not part of the assessment process.
Recommended study
material
57
4.11
Course Reading
List
Stage One
Albers, J. (1975) Interaction of Color, Yale University
Press.
Baines, P. and Haslam, A. (2005) Type and Typography.
Laurence King Publishing.
Berger, J. (2008 [1972]) Ways of seeing. Penguin Classics.
Bettelheim, B. and Inc, H. (1991) The uses of
Enchantment: The meaning and importance of fairy
tales. Penguin.
Braungart, M. and McDonough, W. (2002) Cradle to
Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. North
Point Press.
Caldwell, C. (2010) Winning Portfolios for Graphic
Designers, NYC, Barrons
Du Gay, P., Hall, S. and Janes, L. (1997) Doing Cultural
Studies: The story of the Sony Walkman. Sage.
Eames, C. and Eames, R. (1997) The Powers of Ten.
(film).
Goodman, D. (2008) A History of the Future, NYC,
Monacelli
Hall, A. (2011) Illustration, London, Laurence King
Hall, S. (2007) This Means That, London, Laurence King
Higgins, H. (2009) The Grid Book, Cambridge MA, MIT
Hollis, R. (2012) About Graphic Design, London,
Occasional Papers
Hollis, R. (1994) Graphic Design: A Concise History.
Thames and Hudson.
Joyce, P. (2003) The Rule of Freedom, London, Verso
Klein, N. (2007) The Shock Doctrine, London, Allen Lane
McCloud, S. Understanding Comics. Kepustakaan Populer
Gramedia.
McLuhan, M. and Fiore, Q. (2008) [1964] The Medium is
the Massage; An Inventory of Effects. Penguin
Classics.
Muller-Brockmann, J. (1981) Grid System in Graphic
Design: A Visual Communication Manual for
Graphic Designers, Typographers and Three
Dimensional Designers.
Orwell, G. (1949) Nineteen Eighty-Four, London, Penguin
Potter, N. (1989) What is a designer: things, places,
messages. Hyphen.
Rennie, P. (2010) Modern British Posters, London, Black
Dog
Shaughnessy, A (2005) How to Be a Graphic Designer,
58
without Losing your Soul. Princeton Architectural
Press.
Zeegen, L. (2006) The Fundamentals of Illustration. Ava
Publishing.
Stage Two
Adam, R. and Robertson C. (2003) Screenprinting.
Thames and Hudson.
Backemeyer, S. (2005) Picture This: The Artist as
Illustrator. Herbert Press.
Barthes, R. (1993) [1981] Camera Lucida: Reflections on
Photography. Vintage Classics.
Bordwell, D. and Thompson, K. (2003) Film Art. McGrawHill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.
Heller, S. (1995) The Business of Illustration. Practical
Design Books.
Hochuli, J. and Kinross, R. (1997) Designing books:
practice and theory. Hyphen Press.
Lupton, E. and Miller, J. (1999). Design Writing Research:
Writing on Graphic Design. Phaidon Press.
McCullough, M. (1998) Abstracting craft: the practiced
digital hand. The MIT Press.
Reas, C. and Fry, B. (2007) Processing: a programming
handbook for visual designers and artists. The MIT
Press.
Sutton, J. and Bartram, A. (1968) An atlas of typeforms.
Lund Humphries.
Tufte, E. and Howard, G. (1983) The visual display of
quantitative information. CT: Graphics Press
Cheshire.
Williamson, J. (1978) Decoding Advertisements: Ideology
and Meaning in Advertising. Marion Boyars.
Zeier, F. (2006) Books, Boxes, And Portfolios. Design
Press.
Stage Three
Bringhurst, R. (1992) The Elements of Typographic Style.
Hartley and Marks.
Campbell, J. (2008) The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
New World Library.
Evans, J. and Hall, S. (1999) Visual Culture: The Reader.
Open University.
Fry, B. (2007) Visualizing Data: Exploring and Explaining
Data. O’Reilly Media, Inc.
Hebdige, D. (1979) Subculture, the Meaning of Style.
59
Taylor and Francis.
Kinross, R. (2008) [1992] Modern Typography: An Essay
in Critical History. Hyphen Press.
Klein, N. (2001) No Logo. Flamingo.
Mitchell, W. (2005) What do Pictures Want: the Lives and
Loves of Images. University of Chicago Press.
Shirky, C. (2008) Here Comes Everybody: the Power of
Organizing without Organizations. Penguin.
Sontag, S. (2009) [1966] Against Interpretation. Penguin
Classics.
Sontag, S. (2001) On photography. Picador.
At this stage in particular, students will benefit from
considering overviews/monographs documenting the
careers and long term projects of specific individual
designers. Some good examples of these include, but are
not limited to:
Challis, C. (2005) Helmet Krone. The Book. Graphic design
and art direction; concept, form and meaning after
advertising's creative revolution. Cambridge
Enchorial Press.
Dunne, A. and Raby, F. (2001) Design Noir: The Secret
Life of Electronic Objects. August/Birkhauser.
Hall, P. and Beiruit, M., and Kalman, T. (1998) Tibor
Kalman: Peverse Optimist. Princeton Architectural
Press.
Kinross, R. Martens, K. Martens, K.(1997) Printed
Matter/Drukwerk. Hyphen.
Vossoughlan, N. and Neurath, O. (2008) The Language of
Global Polis. NAI Publishers.
Weingart, W. (1999) Typography: My Way to Typography.
Lars Muller Publishers.
PERIODICALS
Dot dot dot.
Eye.
Grafik.
60
Make.
Vroom.
See individual briefs for additional suggested and required
reading.
61
5
5.1
Student Learning
Strategy for
The learning and teaching methods used on the Course are
Student Learning
designed to guide and support your development. You are
expected to show initiative, to take responsibility for your own
learning and to substantiate the critical judgements you make
in proposing approaches to your coursework and practice.
The emphasis is on student-centred and peer learning, which
enables and encourages you to enhance your independent
learning skills, manage and progress your work.
Teaching through
Teaching aims to facilitate the aspirations of each individual
Project Briefs
student, as opposed to instilling particular ideologies, dogma
or ‘house style’. This fundamental protection and celebration
of individuality and personal responsibility manifests itself
through the Project brief; the main vehicle for learning and
teaching within the Course. Briefs are initiated by tutors, but
are designed to ensure your individual response to the
problem proposed. The resulting solution, its content and
form, require a unique response. (The exception is when
required to work within a design team. In this case, the group
members collaborate in designing the outcome). Project briefs
can be negotiated with your tutor if you wish to propose or
instigate your own brief. However, this opportunity only applies
in Stage 3 of the course.
There are three key stages to the Project brief: 1. Briefing; 2.
Interim critique (crit); 3. Final presentation (final crit). At the
briefing, the tutor will brief you verbally and issue a brief on
paper (and/or via online means, e.g. Moodle). At the briefing
you will have an opportunity to ‘interrogate’ the brief by asking
questions relating to the task. At the project brief interim and
final presentation stages you are asked to ‘talk to your work’,
meaning to explain your research and developmental work
(interim) and the final outcome to your tutor and your peers.
The brief will locate and contextualise the specific project or
62
assignment; it will specify the learning outcomes being
assessed and what you are required to do (the assessment
task); specify what you are required to submit, including where
relevant, any specific parameters such as a word count, the
format of submission or the number of pieces of work; the
dates, times and place that you should make your
presentation/submission; provide reading lists and other
appropriate references or sources of basic information.
Other Forms of
There are other methods by which you will learn. These will
Learning
include formal lectures, studio workshops, technical
workshops and demonstrations, e.g. printmaking,
photography, etc., feedback tutorials, independent research,
team/group work, field/study trips, national and international
student competitions, sponsored/client-led ‘live briefs’,
collaborative briefs (with students from other courses or
institutions), work-in-progress exhibitions and self-initiated or
negotiated projects.
Graphic Design is by nature an expansive discipline and the
Course seeks to reflect this breadth through encouragement
of the widest possible contextual awareness and inclusion of
diverse approaches to learning. Research, resourcefulness in
the face of ‘problems’, analytical, logical and lateral thinking
and collaborative working are woven together with
imagination, the will to find and ask the question that underlies
the ‘problem’, to develop a personal line of enquiry through
work that engages others, that communicates information,
invokes messages and provokes thought.
The Course does not expect that all your learning is the result
of ‘teaching’, but aims to construct the ethos and environment
that facilitates learning, particularly through peer exchange
and independent enquiry. The diversity of students is
63
supported through working with a team of tutors who are
professional graphic designers, illustrators, art directors,
advertising creatives, film directors, photographers, interaction
designers, graphic artists, typographers, historians, critics and
writers, here to help develop your individual visual graphic
language and independent thinking through dialogue and
critical exchange.
At the end of each unit your achievement is summatively
assessed and reported to you. Assessment is not connected
with any teaching event but is made holistically at the end of
each unit, evaluating your achievement of the learning
outcomes against the marking criteria for that unit. Further
details of assessment are given in section 7 below.
5.2
Personal Tutorials
You can find detailed information about your tutorial
entitlements, the type of contact you will experience on your
course and the University’s expectations in regards to your
attendance on the Course Regulations webpages. These can
be accessed via your course Moodle site: moodle.arts.ac.uk –
look for the ‘Course Regulations’ tab at the top of the page.
5.3
Credit Rating and
The University of the Arts London operates a credit framework
Learning Hours
under which this course is credit rated at 360 credits. 120
credits are allocated at the appropriate level to each stage of
study: Stage 1, Level 4 (HE1); Stage 2, Level 5 (HE2); Stage
3, Level 6 (HE3).
Under the University’s Credit Framework, one credit is equal
to ten notional learning hours. This is the indicative amount of
time it will take to achieve the Learning Outcomes of a Unit at
a given level. Therefore on average it will require you to
commit 1,200 hours of your time to achieve the Learning
Outcomes of the Units and gain the credits for any one Stage
in the course. Credits are awarded on the satisfactory
achievement of all the Learning Outcomes as specified in
each Unit.
64
For details on the number of hours allocated to each unit
please see your course Moodle site or go to the My Contact
Hours (http://mycontacthours.arts.local/). You are expected to
attend all the taught elements of the programme and to plan
your time to make maximum use of supervised facilities,
according to your timetabled entitlement. Time that is
identified as ‘independent study’ indicates the number of
hours you are expected to commit to your learning in addition
to taught and supervised access time. Please make use of
College open access facilities during this time, as well as
taking the opportunity to visit galleries, exhibitions and
learning resources elsewhere, to make site visits or to work
from home if necessary.
5.4
Where You Learn
The physical environment of the programme enables learning
in its open access workshops, libraries, studios and common
teaching areas. The virtual learning environment, Moodle, is
used across the University. The BA Graphic Design Moodle
sites provide much crucial information, blogs and podcasts,
and links with many other useful sites. Both environments are
linked with learning opportunities throughout the College, the
University and other institutions in London and elsewhere. As
part of your responsibility for your own learning you are
expected to take full advantage of the resources that are
offered. Your self-directed learning should be enriched and
informed by these resources throughout the programme.
You must be aware of the progress you are making, able to
account for your self-directed learning time and able to
articulate, during the staff led learning time, problems and
questions which have arisen in self-directed time.
5.5
Academic Support
Academic Support is designed to help you progress and to
achieve to the top of your potential. There are three main
kinds of academic support, offered in addition to the main
teaching and technical support on your course:
1 Study support: taught by the College Academic Support
65
team
2 Information and digital literacy: led by Academic Support
Librarians and Learning Zone Advisers
3 Language support: taught by specialist tutors from the
University’s Language Centre
The Academic Support team in the College works closely with
all courses and with the University’s Libraries and Language
Centre, to develop a wide range of support activities and
resources, including online. For example, you may find group
sessions scheduled within your course, bookable and drop-in
tutorials, reading groups and workshops.
Many opportunities will be offered specifically for your course,
programme or the College, and others will be open to all
students across the University and held at sites such as High
Holborn or the Learning Zones at Kings Cross and Elephant
and Castle. Look out for information on Academic Support at
CSM on Moodle.
Your course is carefully designed to enable your development
towards independent learning and professional practice. Your
tutors are there to guide you through the many choices and
challenges that you will experience – so always try to discuss
your personal development plans with your course tutors and
talk to them about additional Academic Support opportunities.
Improving your
performance:
study support
Study Support provides additional guidance to develop your
learning strategies and knowledges. A team of experienced
tutors work across courses and programmes, leading
workshops, tutorials and other activities to develop the skills
that underpin your success in your course and future, and
develop your independent learning abilities.
We aim to ensure that study support works in relation to your
course - that it is relevant to your subject and level of study and offered early enough to help you in advance of
assessments. It’s all about improvement – you may be
advised by tutors to take up a particular kind of support but
also you may choose to improve an ability such as making
oral presentations, increase your understanding of academic
referencing, or want to explore ways to manage multiple
66
deadlines.
Study support typically includes sessions to develop your skills
and confidence in areas such as academic language and
cultures; time, workload and project management; effective
research, reading and analysis; critical thinking and debate;
reflective and evaluative writing; planning and structuring
written work (proposals, reports, essays, dissertations);
referencing, citation, crediting and bibliography; constructing
effective arguments; making oral presentations; working
collaboratively; and preparing for transition between levels of
study.
The Study Support Team at CSM are all based in the Student
Centre on the ground floor at Kings Cross:
Head/s of Academic Support: Tim Sokolow and Richard
Reynolds: 020 7514 2367 or studysupport@csm.arts.ac.uk
Academic Support Administrator: Laura Davidson: 020 7514
7003
Academic Support Lecturers (BA and MA/MRes): Christabel
Harley and Margaret Wagstaff: 020 7514 8715 email
studysupport@csm.arts.ac.uk
Academic Support Lecturer (Foundation): Pauline Moon: 020
7514 4210 email studysupport@csm.arts.ac.uk
To find out more about study support, see Academic Support
at CSM and your course Moodle site, or email
studysupport@csm.arts.ac.uk
Improving your
performance:
information and
digital literacy
Library Services provide a wide range of collections, services
and facilities to support you in your written and practice-based
work. For general information about the Library at CSM see
5.6 below.
An essential aspect of academic support is provided by the
library: using information resources, especially e-resources,
effectively supports not only your current studies, but your
personal and professional development and your
employability.
67
Library support Inductions at the beginning of your course
introduce the Library and the Academic Support Librarian
relevant to your subject area:
Foundation: Monica Sajeva m.sajeva@arts.ac.uk
Fine Art: Karen Fletcher k.fletcher@csm.arts.ac.uk
Fashion & Textiles: Alex Duncan a.duncan@csm.arts.ac.uk
Jewellery Design: Alessia Borri a.borri@csm.arts.ac.uk
Drama & Performance: May Warren & Monica Sajeva
m.warren@csm.arts.ac.uk m.sajeva@arts.ac.uk
Animation: Pat Dibben p.dibben@csm.arts.ac.uk
Graphic Communication Design: Pat Dibben
p.dibben@csm.arts.ac.uk
Ceramic, Industrial & Product Design: Lucy Ashdown
l.ashdown@csm.arts.ac.uk
Architecture & Narrative Environments: Nick Lloyd
n.lloyd@csm.arts.ac.uk
Criticism, Curation & Communication: May Warren
m.warren@csm.arts.ac.uk
Innovation Management & Applied Imagination: Nick Lloyd
n.lloyd@csm.arts.ac.uk
Further sessions throughout your course help to develop your
understanding and ability to use the library effectively so that
you can find what you need and manage research. This
learning is known as information literacy. Sessions are
designed as appropriate to levels of study and are scheduled
in liaison with your course team to ensure they are relevant
and timely.
If you need additional help using the library you can ask for
assistance at any time or you can book more intensive one to
one support sessions: visit the Information Desk on the lower
floor of the library or call 0207 514 7037/ 7190. The library
68
also offers a range of online FAQs and guides as well as an
online ‘ask a librarian’ facility to help you.
Further information about library support is available on
Moodle, or log in to MyArts and go to Library/Info/Supporting
your study.
Learning Zones These are located within the Libraries at
Kings Cross and at the Elephant and Castle. They are
informal student-focused facilities designed to encourage a
culture of student ownership and peer support, with
professional staff on hand to help you. Advisers in the
Learning Zones are especially focused on digital skills and
can help you if you are new to the University's Virtual Learning
Environment – Moodle - or need help using online tutorials
such as lynda.com.
The Learning Zones are flexible spaces for individual study
and group work, offering new technology (Macs and PCs,
ipads, mobile interactive smart plasma screens) and traditional
study resources. You will find assistive software such as Text
help Read and Write Gold, additional assistive technology
equipment such as headphones plus adjustable and flexible
furniture.
For more information log in to My Arts and go to
Library/Info/Learning Zone or visit the UAL website and
search: Learning Zone
You will see additional Academic Support workshops and
activities on offer in the Learning Zones from time to time,
open to all students. These enable you to network with
students from other courses and colleges, to explore themes
and develop knowledges that cross subject boundaries and
that will help you work successfully and safely in international
and virtual environments. These opportunities will be on
Academic Support at CSM on Moodle.
Improving your
performance:
language support
The Language Centre is centrally located at 272 High Holborn
London, WC1V 7EY. It offers English language support to
non-native speakers of English and a range of modern
language courses to students and staff across the University.
All languages are taught by a team of qualified and
69
experienced tutors.
English Language
Support
To help you prepare and to support you through your college
studies, we offer English language tuition before your main
course starts on the Presessional course and then Insessional
English language support (classes, tutorials and workshops),
throughout the academic year. This is for non-native speakers
of English, i.e. if English is not your first or mother language.
Insessional
English language
Classes and tutorials, described below, are free to students
currently studying a full time course at the University.
Information will be available online from October but you can
also find out about the provision by talking to your course
leader, to your academic support lecturers, or emailing the
Language Centre on language-centre@arts.ac.uk.
English Classes
Once your full-time course starts, you will be informed by your
course leader of the times and locations of English classes.
These are taught in the context of arts, design and
communications and are designed to support you with the
language and academic skills you need to successfully
complete your course. Most classes are taught on the college
sites and take place every week.
English Tutorials
If you would like one-to-one time with a language tutor to look
at your writing, get help understanding a difficult text, or
prepare for a presentation, you can book a tutorial. Tutorials
last thirty minutes and there are sessions every week during
standard term times at all the colleges and also at the
Language Centre. There are three types of tutorial:
drop-in tutorials, where you can just arrive any time within
the time slot
bookable tutorials where you email your Student ID
number to: bookable-tutorial@arts.ac.uk and you will be
given a tutorial time at 272 High Holborn London WC1V
7EY.
online tutorials where you send up to 500 words by email
to an English tutor: english-tutorial@arts.ac.uk You must
give your name, student number and course in the email.
70
The tutor will check your work and reply with suggestions
within a few days.
Intensive English
classes
These run during the winter and spring holidays and are
offered at FE, BA and MA levels. These classes will be
advertised through in-sessional classes and by email from the
language centre at language-centre@arts.ac.uk
Proof reading
service
If you would like your written work to be proofread before
submission, you can bring it to The Language Centre.
Proofreading costs £25 per hour; a 2,000 word text takes
around one hour to proofread although this varies depending
on how much correction is needed. This is not a one-to-one
tutorial, and you do not work on your text with a tutor. To book,
please email: proofreading@arts.ac.uk with your student ID,
assignment title and deadline date.
Pre-sessional
English
We also offer preparation courses for non-native English
speaking students who wish to improve their English before
the start of their UAL course. The Presessional Academic
English Programme is six or twelve weeks duration (+
induction) and starts in June and July. Tuition fees are
additional to the fees for the course you are preparing to join.
For further information visit the UAL website and search:
languagecentre/presessionals
Modern Languages We offer extra-curricular modern languages courses in the
evenings. For more information please visit the website and
search languagecentre/eveningcourses
5.6
Library Services
Central Saint Martins Library is based on floors 2 and 3 of the
Granary Building. The wide-ranging collections within the
University of the Arts Library Services provide an extensive
information resource. In addition to books and magazines, the
libraries contain DVDs and videos and an extensive range of
electronic resources.
The Central Saint Martins Library covers a wide range of
design subjects, the performing arts, fine art, photography and
fashion with an extensive collection supporting cultural and
contextual studies. There is also a Materials and Products
Collection consisting of samples, trade catalogues and
directories. A range of CSM theses and dissertations is held
71
within the Library.
Information about the library collections is available via the
library catalogue, OPAC. This gives access not only to the
collections at Central Saint Martins but also to other libraries
within the University. Library membership gives you borrowing
rights and access to an extensive range of resources and
facilities across the University Library Service. You can search
the library catalogue from any networked computer within the
University or from outside the University via the Library web
page, (http://www.arts.ac.uk/library).
The catalogue allows you to search for books, DVDs and
other items; check what items you have taken out and when
they are due back; place reservations; check opening times
and locations. The Library Services web page also provides
access to databases and e-journals, library catalogues of
national libraries and other universities, a number of digital
image collections, and to subject-based web guides. The
Library contains a small number of computers that can be
used to access the electronic information resources.
The Library has colour and black and white printing and
photocopying facilities available and also scanning facilities.
These are operated by your student card.
The Library opening hours are:
Mon-Fri: 9.00 am – 10.00 pm
Sat: 11.15 am – 5.00 pm
Sun: 12.15 pm – 6.00 pm
Courses have dedicated Course Librarians who understand
information resources in your subject area. They provide
induction, research skill development sessions, and bookable
one to one support (see 5.5 Academic Support above).
Your Course Librarian is Pat Dibben and you can contact by
him by e-mail: p.dibben@csm.arts.ac.uk
The Library always welcomes suggestions and comments
from students and staff for ways to improve the service.
72
Feedback forms are available in the library and via the Library
Services web page.
5.7
Technical
Resources
Access to Technical Resources within your College
As students you have planned access to both technical
workshops and specialist technical resources within the
College you are enrolled in and which have a direct link to
your course learning outcomes. If it becomes apparent that
you may need to work across subject areas within your
College but outside of your course specialism then you will
need to speak to your Course Leader and get their support for
any proposal that indicates a need to access other technical
resources. Your Course Leader would need to contact the
appropriate Technical Co-ordinator to discuss what your
options are and agree access.
Access to Technical Resources not based within your College
There is no student entitlement for you to have access to
technical workshops or specialist technical resources at any
other of the colleges within UAL. The only exception to this is
for PhD students who will need the agreement of their
supervisor so that they can discuss and agree any research
related access with the relevant Head/s of Technical
Resources
Further information on the technical resources available at
Central Saint Martins can be found at otter.arts.ac.uk
5.8
Support for
disabilities
Support for students with disabilities is provided by the
University Disability Service.
The Disability Service staff work with students who are or
believe they may be disabled due to
·
Dyslexia or other specific learning difficulties
·
Sensory or physical impairments
·
Long-term health and mental health issues
·
Autistic Spectrum Disorders
73
·
Neurodiversity
The above list is intended to provide examples but is not
exhaustive.
The Disability Service can
·
Provide confidential advice by phone, email, drop-ins
and appointments
·
Arrange dyslexia screenings and/or assessments
·
Assess what you might need to access your course
·
Help you to access funding
·
Organise appropriate support
·
Provide information about equipment or assistive
technology
·
Arrange extended library loans and other library support
·
Arrange support workers (e.g. 1:1 study skills tuition,
communicators, note-takers, technical and practical
assistants, equipment, mentoring, interpreters)
·
Help to communicate your needs to other staff who may
need to know (e.g. your Programme Team, Academic Support
team, Technicians, Library, Housing or Health and Safety
Teams
·
Sign post or refer you to other relevant support services
Students at Central Saint Martins can contact us in the
following ways:
Phone: 020 7514 7156
e-mail: disability@arts.ac.uk
74
6
6.1
Assessment
Assessment as a
Assessment is a very important part of your course. The
Learning Process
assessment on your course is designed to enable you to
practice and demonstrate the Learning Outcomes. The
marks you receive in the final Stage constitute your degree
results. However, before that, and arguably even more
importantly, feedback on your work supports your learning
by helping you understand what is expected of your work at
this level, analysing what you have achieved so far and
indicating how you can improve your work in future.
Assessment is a matter of academic judgement, not solely
of computation. Assessment can be of yourself: ‘selfassessment’, by your co-students: ‘peer-assessment,’ or led
by your tutors. Using the eight UAL Marking Criteria, you are
assessed according to your achievement for each Learning
Outcome, and must pass each Learning Outcome to pass
the Unit. You must pass all Units to pass the Stage.
Learning can be demonstrated in many ways and may
include evidence such as your contribution to discussions in
crits and seminars, your recording of your own learning,
documented through, evaluative writing, through to your
achievement in realising finished work and projects.
There are two principal forms of assessment:
6.2
Assessment Briefings
You will be given a brief for all your assessments. For
formative assessments, this may be in writing or may be
given to you verbally in a teaching session. Where the
assessment counts towards your final award (summative
assessment), you will receive the brief in writing and it will
be posted on your Course Moodle site. The brief will tell
you about what work is required for assessment, and
includes the submission deadline.
75
Your assignment brief will include the marking criteria matrix
according to which your work will be assessed. The
standard UAL marking criteria feedback form may have
been customised to ensure the criteria’s relevance and
suitability to your course unit or assignment.
Criteria are not weighted (i.e. a particular proportion of your
mark is not attributed to each criterion); markers will
consider your work as a whole. However, some criteria may
be given more emphasis at some times than others, to
support your learning. Any particular emphasis in terms of
the criteria will be made clear in the assignment brief.
Your course Moodle site can be found at
www.arts.ac.uk/moodle. It includes:
• Your assignment briefs, including deadlines and the date
by which you will receive feedback
• The Marking Criteria Matrix
• The UAL standard Assessment Feedback Form
• The University Marking Scale
6.3
Forms of Assessment
There are two principal forms of assessment:
Formative assessment
Formative assessment takes place through critiques and
Personal Tutorials, and is primarily intended to provide you
with effective feedback and guidance on your development,
helping you to learn more effectively.
Summative assessment
Summative assessment is the summation of the assessment
activity that has taken place during the Unit, and results in a
recommended mark for your achievement. It is carried out by
at least two members of staff, normally tutors who have
taught the Unit you have studied and is used:
76
to determine whether you have satisfactorily achieved all
the Learning Outcomes of the Unit;
to judge the level at which you have achieved the
Learning Outcomes i.e. the recommended letter grade.
6.4
Marking Criteria
There are eight standard UAL marking criteria:
Research;
Subject knowledge;
Experimentation;
Analysis;
Technical Competence;
Communication and Presentation;
Personal and Professional Development;
Collaborative and/or Independent Professional Working.
These will be applied to your work to help you understand
what you have accomplished, how any grade given was
arrived at, and how you can improve your work in future. Not
all the criteria will be relevant to every unit Any criteria that
do not apply will be indicated as such on your feedback
form.
The Marking Criteria Website includes more information
about assessment and resources for you to download; you
can find this via the Course Regulations tab on Moodle
(choose My Assessment).
The relationship between
the course learning
outcomes and the UAL
marking criteria
Your course is designed to enable you to demonstrate the
learning outcomes by completing the assessments. Your
work will be assessed through the UAL marking criteria,
which have been developed to help tutors give you clear
77
and helpful feedback on your work. Which marking criteria
relate to which learning outcomes are shown in brackets on
each Unit Specification, see section 4 above. Additionally,
the learning outcomes that relate to the relevant marking
criteria for the unit are indicated on your Assessment
Feedback Form.
The following table shows how Course Learning Outcomes
map against Marking Criteria.
Course Learning Outcomes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
UAL Marking
Criteria


Research
Analysis
Subject
knowledge






Experimentation

Technical
competence
Communication &
Presentation
Personal and
professional
development



Collaborative
and/or
independent
professional
working



The following table shows how Unit Learning Outcomes map against Marking Criteria.
Stage 1
UAL Marking Criteria
Research
Course Unit Learning Outcomes
1
4
5
Unit 2
6
7
8
9

Unit 3
10
11
12
13



15





Experimentation
Technical competence
Communication and
Presentation
PPD
Collaborative and/or
independent
professional working
Unit 4
14


Analysis
Subject knowledge
Unit 1
2
3












78
Stage 2
UAL Marking
Criteria
Research
16
Analysis
Subject
knowledge
Experimentation
Technical
competence
Communication
and Presentation
PPD
Collaborative
and/or
independent
professional
working
Unit 5
17
18
Unit 6
Unit 7
19
20
21
22
23


25






26











Stage 3
Unit 9
27
UAL Marking Criteria
Research
Analysis
Subject knowledge
28

Unit 10
29
30



Technical competence
Communication and
Presentation
PPD
Collaborative and/or
independent professional
working
Assessment
Feedback and
Tutorial
Guidance
31
32




Experimentation
6.5
Unit 8
24






Informal feedback is given as part of normal studio and tutorial
activity. At each summative assessment point, you will receive
the initial marks given by Internal Examiners. You will also be
provided with appropriate written feedback that specifically
evaluates your achievement against the Marking Criteria and
Learning Outcomes of the Unit concerned. Internal
recommended marks are subject to external moderation and to
formal confirmation by the Board of Examiners.
6.6
Assessment
Weighting of
Units and Credit
In all cases, the credit value of a Unit determines the
assessment weighting of the Unit as follows:
79
weighting
Assessment
Credit rating
week
assessment
Unit
Summative
Weighting
Stage 1
1
week 9
20
16.6%
2
week 9
20
16.6%
3
week 28
40
33.4%
4
week 28
40
33.4%
100%
Stage 2
5
Week 43
40
33.4%
6
Week 40
20
16.6%
7
Week 58
40
33.4%
8
Week 58
20
16.6%
100%
Stage 3
9
Week 75
40
33.3%
10
Week 86
80
66.7%
100%
Your degree classification is based on the aggregation of letter
grades from the two Units in Stage 3 according to the credit
value. As an example, if you were to be awarded the following
letter grades you would achieve the classification indicated
Weighted mark
weighting
Assessment
Points Value
mark
Recommended
Credit rating
Unit
below.
9
40
A-
13
33.3%
4.33
10
80
B
11
66.7%
7.33
Total mark before moderation and confirmation
11.66
The final grade for the year is rounded to the nearest whole
number: 11.66 becomes 12/ B+ / 2.1 Merit.
80
7
7.1
Course Management
Course
The Course Regulations webpages include detailed
Management,
information about your Programme Committee, the Student
Academic
Representative System, the processes we use to monitor
Committee
the quality of your programme and the variety of ways in
Structures and
Student
Representation
7.2
Student Services
which you can provide feedback to help us improve your
course. You can find the Course Regulations pages via
your course Moodle site: moodle.arts.ac.uk – look for the
‘Course Regulations’ tab at the top of the page.
The Course Regulations tab on Moodle includes detailed
information about Student Services. You can find the
Course Regulations pages via your course Moodle site:
moodle.arts.ac.uk – look for the ‘Course Regulations’ tab at
the top of the page.
7.3
Students’ Union
All enrolled students of The University of the Arts London
are automatically deemed to be full members of the
Students’ Union, unless you choose not to be.
Every enrolled student has the right not to be a member of
the Union and therefore has the choice not to be
represented by it. The University of the Arts London
publicises this option through its joining procedures prior to
enrolment.
81
8
Glossary
This explains the key curriculum, learning, teaching and
assessment and other terms you will encounter on the
course and in this handbook.
Body of work
A substantial amount of your own creative work produced
during a unit using the resources such as studio space,
workshop access and independent learning time. Work
may be material, virtual, onsite, off site, individually or
collaboratively made.
Brief
A brief is a specific practice assignment or a brief for an
activity directed toward making or doing something given to
you in writing and usually presented verbally by a tutor.
(see ‘Project’ below)
Briefings
Briefings are arranged to inform you about particular
events or activities. They incorporate written
documentation as well as oral clarification of a whole
Stage, Unit, project brief or assignment, induction, visit,
assessment deadline, timetable or assessment schedule,
etc.
Client-led brief/Live
brief
Are opportunities to work with commercial clients, charities
or sponsors, usually run as competitions, often referred to
as ‘live briefs’, which offer money prizes plus the sale of the
IP (intellectual property rights) for an additional fee.
Collaboration
Collaborative working is fundamental to successful
professional contemporary practice. The skills and
implications of working collaboratively, in a team, are
encountered throughout the Course, for example when
working within Moving Image and when planning and
hanging the Degree Show for example.
Context Major
Within Context (contextual studies) your writing may be
82
Project/Critical
Writing
referred to as a ‘major piece of writing’ rather than a
‘dissertation’. (A dissertation is an extended essay, which
presents a sustained and referenced argument, based
upon substantial research and critical investigation. It
recognises the problems and possibilities which arise with
the argument and presents these coherently). Critical
writing within Context is similarly a piece of critical writing
but the topics arise from questions implied or arising out of
graphic design practice. In Unit 9 you will produce a visual
and written ‘major project’ that explores the potential of
graphic design, communication and presentation, as
integral parts of successful research and critical writing.
Crit
The crit or critique, is a review of your work, usually in a
group situation, led by a tutor. Crits are held during each
project brief within each unit as a means of providing
feedback related to your performance during the phases of
project. Work is presented as part of a discussion, helping
you to develop your communication skills and critical
judgement, by relating and evaluating your performance to
that of your peers. The crit will test and evaluate the
communicative effect of your work by discussing issues of
concept development, design outcomes and production
values. You are expected to contribute and receive critical
feedback in developing the skills of objective debate as the
author and audience.
Degree Show
Is a collaborative exhibition at the end of Stage 3 and is
usually held at an external venue. It offers an opportunity
for you and your peers to show work publicly to attract
potential employers and demonstrate your achievements to
a broad audience, including your family and friends.
Students form a degree show committee to plan and help
fund their show. The show is accompanied by a student
website and other publicity materials designed by students.
(The degree show is not part of the formal assessment
83
process).
Development
Planning
Development Planning is part of your Personal and
Professional Development, and helps to ensure that critical
reflection on your progress leads you to conclusions and
decisions that inform a forward looking personal study and
potential career plan. It is expected that self-evaluation and
self assessment procedures, your contribution to tutorial
reports - and Development Planning - are all mutually
informing. In addition to discussion of your progress at
tutorials with academic staff, you can also get help with
planning through ‘Creative Careers’ at the University
Dissertation
An extended essay, which presents a sustained and
referenced argument, based upon substantial research and
critical investigation. It recognises the problems and
possibilities that arise in the argument, and presents these
coherently. Within Context your writing may be referred to
as a major piece of writing rather than a dissertation.
Context topics arise from questions implied or arising out of
practice.
Essay
The essay is a traditional communicative format of western
cultural discourse which structures information around a
single argument. The terms essay and dissertation attach
to specific forms of academic research, writing and
presentation.
Feedback, formative
and summative
During a personal tutorial your tutor will share with you an
overview of your performance during the unit or units. This
will normally include discussion of your attendance,
submissions of work, academic progress, clarification of
project briefs or assignments, helping you to understand
the process of assessment and feedback, and reporting
and monitoring your marks/grades and overall
achievement. This is a Summative level of feedback.
84
Formative feedback is ongoing feedback that occurs during
a unit. Each unit comprises a number of projects or
assignments, ensuring that formative feedback occurs
throughout the period of the unit. Informal feedback is also
given as part of regular studio, workshop and tutorial
activity. Summative feedback is provided at the conclusion
of each unit. Three personal tutorials are scheduled in each
stage of the course; here you receive more comprehensive
feedback on your progress as explained above. (see
Formative and Summative Assessment).
Field trips / Study
visits
Happen periodically throughout the Course,
visiting/attending:
professional advertising, illustration, film, design studios
gallery collections and design exhibitions
production facilities
conferences
international cultural centres
collaborating institutions
locations for drawing, photography, filming, etc.
Guest Lectures
Guest Lecturers are distinguished visitors, alumni and
University professors who come to present and discuss
with students their work and ideas. These are a valuable
opportunity for students to see and hear visiting
professionals and experts from within the subject area or
from other fields of practice, theory or history.
Group/Team work
Collaborative working is fundamental to successful
professional contemporary practice. The skills and
implications of working collaboratively, in a team, are
85
encountered throughout the Course, for example when
working within Moving Image and when planning and
hanging the Degree Show for example.
Independent study
Independent Study is fundamental throughout the course
and is increasingly expected as you progress towards
Stage 3. These are the learning hours in which you carry
out your research, writing, experiments and design work
that is not taught, supervised or requiring specialist
facilities.
Inductions
Inductions are comprised of briefings and introductory
information and activities, most significantly at the outset of
the Course to orientate and familiarise you with procedures
and expectations. Technical inductions instruct you on safe
working practices and Health and Safety issues, including
risk assessment, the basic use of equipment and the
protocols for access to workshops. Attendance at technical
inductions is recorded.
Integrated studies
Are subject areas of the Course that are integrated within
your studies across all Stages: Typography and
Letterpress, Photography, Printmaking and Bookbinding,
Interaction Design and Print Production. Some aspects of
these are incorporated into the curriculum at Stage One or
within your Route or you can engage with them by booking
into workshops.
Learning Agreement
At the conclusion of Stage 1 you are required to complete a
written Learning Agreement in which you state your choice
of Stage 2 Route following talks by the Route Leaders for
Advertising, Design and Interaction, Illustration and Moving
Image.
Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes define the particular types and levels
of skills, knowledge, understanding and attributes that you
are expected to demonstrate in each Unit and over the
86
Course as a whole. You are assessed in each Unit, using
the marking criteria, according to your level of achievement
of the specified learning outcomes. (See also Marking
Criteria).
Lectures
Lectures are presentations to large groups, by a member of
staff or a visiting specialist. Lecturers present a subject,
information or ideas in a more formal way than seminars.
They are normally supported by visual material and include
opportunity for questions.
Marking criteria
There are eight standard University marking criteria:
research, subject knowledge, experimentation, analysis,
technical competence, communication and presentation,
personal and professional development, and collaborative
and/or independent professional working. These criteria
are used in assessment to judge how well you have
achieved the learning described by the Unit Learning
Outcomes. Feedback against the marking criteria should
help you to understand how to develop and take your work
forward.
Peer learning
The Course emphasises the learning you gain from one
another both formally and informally. Strategies include the
sharing of events, workshops, studios, group tutorials,
seminars and crits to encourage the process of discussion,
exchange and peer evaluation.
Portfolio review
A review is an assessment. A portfolio or folio is a body of
work prepared for assessment. A folio is a generic term
and can take many forms, e.g. a conventional black folder,
archive boxes or digital media such as a CD, Website,
PowerPoint or PDF file containing a body of work. Folios
must have your name and CID number clearly displayed.
You will usually be required to enclose copies of project
briefs, including any negotiated or self-initiated project
87
explanations.
Practice
Practice incorporates all work, within the broad subject
span of Graphic Design, including Advertising, Design and
Interaction, Illustration, Moving Image and Writing. Practice
is a primary component of the Course and refers to the
process and designed artefacts and scripts that constitute
your creative production. You benefit not only from the
formal input of tutors but also from the informal interaction
and awareness of the development of your peers occurring
within shared working spaces.
Presentations
Presentations are both visual and oral and are a means of
communicating individual experience, concepts, ideas,
work in progress or completed work. Presentations are a
key feature of the Crit where you are asked to ‘talk to your
work’, meaning to explain the outcomes to your tutor and
your peers. Presentations also refer to more formal lecture
or seminar situations such as when giving a Power Point
presentation. (see ‘Crit’ above).
Progress File
A record of your progress is kept on file, and is referred to
as the Student Progress File, maintained by the Stage,
Subject and Route Leaders. You can ask to view your file
at any time. (Currently, files are paper documents, though
it’s anticipated that online/digital files will be made available
in the future).
Projects or Project
Briefs
A project is an assignment, a specific piece of work, or an
activity directed toward making or doing something. All
project briefs and assignments that contribute to decisions
about your progression are given to you in written form.
You can expect these to:
locate and contextualise the specific project or
assignment;
88
specify the learning outcomes being assessed;
specify what you are required to do (the assessment
task);
specify what you are required to submit, including
where relevant, any specific parameters such as a
word count, the format of submission or the number of
pieces of work;
the dates, times and place that you should make your
submission;
provide reading lists and other appropriate references
or sources of basic information.
(see ‘Brief’ above)
Reflective and
evaluative writing
Reflective writing communicates your individual
consideration of your learning, progress, experience, or a
subject. Your personal view and unique experience is
fundamental to the development of your creative identity
and it is the process of reflection (especially combined with
the exercise of writing) that transforms experience –
whether ‘good’ or ‘bad’ – into learning. Reflection, however,
is inevitably closely linked with evaluation.
Evaluative writing communicates judgements: it questions
the results of reflection, compares and contrasts with
previous experience or the ideas of others, considers
evidence, and may express preferred conclusions which in
turn make material for further reflection. Evaluative writing
is analytical and may challenge assumptions and
established doctrine. Together, reflection, evaluation and
the activity of writing build your ability to maintain and
articulate an informed critical position.
89
Report
A report is an edited, coherent presentation of experiences,
activities or research that has recently been undertaken. It
may be written or oral and include documentary images.
Research
Research is required to generate, test, substantiate and
extend ideas. Emphasis is placed on both the relevance of
investigation and critical evaluation of evidence, which
inform your creative decisions and proposals. Evidence of
research can range in form, from images and textual
information gathered for example from libraries (secondary
research) to your own documentation, experiments and
findings (primary research).
Units in Stage 1 explore basic research techniques in
relation to the development of practice and critical theory.
Methodologies are further explored throughout Stage 2 and
in the development of your Context proposal in Unit 8.
Research skills and a critically evaluative approach to
findings are fundamental to success in your Context work
and in your practice as a whole.
Routes
At the end of Stage One you select a route for Stages Two
and Three - Advertising, Design and Interaction, Illustration
or Moving Image. If you wish to transfer from one route to
another, you must first speak with your Subject Leader and
then the Leader of the subject you wish to move to. If it’s
acceptable, your Stage Leader and the Course Leader
must be informed. You must also make sure that you report
the transfer to the Programme Lead Administrator to
ensure that your Student File is transferred correctly (see
‘Learning Agreement’ above).
Seminars
Are meetings of groups of students brought together to
debate and discuss particular topics or issues, to share
views and experience and to help to establish what actions
should be taken to further develop understanding in selfdirected learning. Seminars can have both a practical or
90
theoretical focus and can be led by staff, students or invited
practitioners.
Technical workshops
Technical workshops are facilities for the making and
production of design work and artwork. BAGD students can
access letterpress printing, digital colour printing,
photographic studios, digital editing and darkrooms,
printmaking and bookmaking, moving image animation and
video edit suites and Apple Mac computers with Adobe
creative software, etc.
‘Workshops’ also refers to events that are training sessions
in specialist facilities; in early stages of the course (e.g.
‘Digital Boot Camp’), these will be scheduled group
sessions related to Units (e.g. interaction design
‘processing’ and coding). Later they may be organised in
relation to teaching events and particular needs (e.g.
bookbinding)
At the new CSM building in King’s Cross, BAGD students
will share 2D Workshop facilities such as Photography and
Printmaking and 4D facilities such as Moving Image, with
students from other disciplines (e.g. Fine Art). Letterpress
printing, digital colour printing and Apple Mac computers
will remain for the priority use of Graphic and
Communication Design students.
Tutorials and
Personal Tutorials
Tutorials may be one to one, or in small groups where a
common issue has been identified by the tutor. They are
concerned with the particular needs of the individual or
group and monitor progress, advising on future
development, and are the key means of formative
assessment.
Personal Tutorials are formally scheduled at least three
times in each Stage. They are one-to-one usually with your
personal tutor who takes an overview of your progress
91
throughout the Stage, across the Units. A personal tutorial
is documented with a report enabling you to set the agenda
and receive written feedback from your tutor(s). Tutorials
offer time to discuss any concerns that you or the course
team may have about your progress.
Group tutorials develop your ability to make evaluative and
critical judgements and engage in constructive dialogue in
relation to work in progress for a particular project. They
may be student or tutor-led.
Tutorials also provide a forum for discussion of nonacademic issues that may be affecting your work. Tutorials
may be orientated on request to your Year or Route Leader
or personal tutor, or an additional pastoral tutorial can be
arranged with the Course Leader.
Work in progress
Shows and Pop-up
Shows
Offer you an opportunity to show your work publicly as a
Written assignments
Within the course, written assignments may be interpreted
learning experience in preparation for your Degree Show at
the end of Stage 3.
as essays but normally facilitate a diversity of approaches.
Alternative media can be negotiated in cases of disability or
exceptionally for other reasons. Written assignments are
used to help you form a concise structured discussion or
line of enquiry and normally concern current thinking based
on immediate and present circumstances, often involving
historic precedent and secondary research. This means
that in accordance with common University standards for
academic writing you must acknowledge the sources of
your ideas and fully reference all quotations/illustrations
from other people’s material (known as citation) in
presentation of your work. Guidance on this is provided in
the Unit specifications.
92
9
Health and Safety
The Court of Governors of the University of the Arts London
recognises and accepts its legal responsibility to provide a
safe and healthy workplace and learning environment for all
its employees, students and visitors to the sites of the
University.
You will be introduced to your duties and responsibilities
regarding health and safety both at the outset of your course
and in relation to specific facilities and activities as you
progress. Health and safety standards are integral to good
professional practice in all fields and are not seen as a
limitation to creativity or a design constraint, but another
criterion in the challenge presented: to transform concept into
artefact or activity with the minimum risk.
The University publishes an extensive set of Standards notes
as part of its Health and Safety Policy, which will be referred to
from time to time. These can be viewed in the libraries or
online at http://www.arts.ac.uk/healthandsafety/manual/
Materials
You will be shown how to work with a range of relevant
materials and equipment safely, to protect your health and
that of others working in the area. Many materials can be
hazardous. Always, therefore, use the protective measures
which the College provides or requires, and handle all
substances with respect. Understanding the properties of
materials is an important factor and throughout professional
life you may need to be able to assess the usefulness of new
materials or techniques. COSHH (Control of Substances
Hazardous to Health) Assessment data is available in all work
areas for reference.
There are constraints on the use of materials found, for
example in skips, due to the risks of contamination (Guidance
93
Note 19 refers) and you should seek advice from staff in this
situation as a Risk Assessment (see below) will be necessary.
Process, machinery
You will also be taught about Safe Systems of Work (SSOW),
and equipment
through induction sessions on the safe use of machinery and
processes. These inductions are logged and you will not be
allowed to use a process or machine without the training.
Machinery is graded according to a traffic light system:
Green = may be operated by a trained member of staff
and students after health and safety induction, training and
initial supervision;
Yellow = may be operated by a trained member of staff
and students after health and safety induction and training
and with staff supervision;
Red = may only be operated by a trained member of staff;
in exceptional cases by students after health and safety
induction and training and receiving 1:1 supervision.
If you need to bring in your own electrical equipment (e.g.
power tools) you must have written permission from your
Course Leader: appliances must be proven to have been
electrically tested (known as PAT, Portable Appliance Testing)
for safety before use in College. Electrical modifications or the
construction of circuits are not permitted without Risk
Assessment (see below) and work being carried out in
accordance with Electricity at Work Regulations. Constraints
also relate to use of ladders and working at height (Guidance
Notes 17 and 38), where again Risk Assessment is required.
Risk assessment
There will be times when you are proposing an interpretation
of part of your programme of study - an activity within an
event, a show, installation /performance or live/external project
- that requires an individual ‘risk assessment’ to be produced.
94
The element of risk may be, for example, involve working in
unusual conditions, with members of the public, a child or
animal, or images/information that incite censorship debate.
The purpose of risk assessment is to identify and reduce
potential hazards before undertaking the work. Completion of
the risk assessment form supports your ability to make a
professional work proposal: the forms are available from the
technical and teaching resources team.
If in any doubt as to the necessity of completion of a risk
assessment form, seek advice at the earliest possible point
through discussion with appropriate tutors and technicians. If it
is judged necessary for you to complete a form, ask for
assistance if you need. You should return the form as directed
to a tutor who will help you to negotiate adjustments to your
proposal with technical staff or do further research as
necessary: you may need to update or monitor your initial risk
assessment. When the level of risk associated with your
proposal is judged reasonable, you can progress the work in
accordance with the measures agreed.
It is important to keep a copy of the form attached to your
relevant proposal document and/or evaluative report as it
should help evidence the professionalism of your approach at
assessment.
Accidents and
It is not permitted that less than three students remain working
Emergencies
unsupervised in an area, in case of accident: this ensures that
if one person is injured, one can remain with them whilst the
other goes for help. Notices giving details of designated first
aiders and the location of first aid boxes are displayed on blue
notice boards. The College is legally required to maintain a
record of accidents which occur on its premises - if you are
injured at College, a member of staff will help you to report it
for the log held at the reception desk at each site.
95
During the College open times a senior member of staff is on
duty as a point of contact, to liaise with the Buildings Staff and
emergency services. The name of the Duty Manager is held at
the Information Desk in the Granary Building.
Discovering a fire
If you discover a fire:
raise the alarm;
call the fire service; and
use a fire extinguisher if you are certain it is safe to do so.
Fire or bomb alert
In the event of a fire or bomb alert, the procedures are:
Fire: when the alarm sounds leave the building immediately by
the nearest signed fire exit route; do not stop to collect
belongings; assemble at the designated point:
Please refer to your King’s Cross Handbook and to the
information given to you at Induction.
Bomb: the alarm will be given by word of mouth; keep calm,
move away from the windows and be ready to evacuate when
word is given, taking your personal belongings in case the
building has to be searched; switch off mobile phones as their
use can detonate bombs; if evacuated, assemble as above.
In any evacuation, including drills, the Duty Manager will be
located at the reception area, moving to the assembly point to
give instructions as soon as possible. Do not return to the
building until word is given by the Duty Manager or emergency
services.
Personal awareness Much health and safety practice is common sense and you
are asked to be alert to your own and others’ safety not only
through compliance with signs, instructions and filling in forms,
but through day to day consideration for the shared learning
96
environment. You are expected to clear up after yourself, to
participate in keeping areas in good order to prevent accidents
or the creation of fire hazards, and to report any faulty
equipment, unsafe situation, alarming incident, or person
behaving suspiciously immediately to a member of staff.
For security you must always carry your University ID card
with you and show it to gain entry at all sites.
Concerns relating to health and safety can be referred (via
your Student Representative to Course Forum) to the College
Health and Safety Committee, which meets termly.
97

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