BA (Hons) Illustration with Foundation Year

In this module, students will challenge and expand their approach to illustration practice, exploring how innovation, technology, and the increasingly multi-disciplinary landscape of the creative industries push illustration practice into new formats. Their practice will advance through exploration, peer, and tutor feedback, and they will have the opportunity to reflect on, select, and employ materials and methods to visualize concepts through the inclusion or use of processes such as sculpture and 3D making, the application of images to textiles, physical surfaces and objects, projection, photographic processes, moving image, 2D, 3D, and 4D digital and new media. The module culminates in the documentation and presentation of their work in a collaboratively curated showcase exhibition, inviting them to explore and redefine the question, "What is Illustration?"

This module is designed to cultivate visual and intellectual curiosity. It introduces idea generation, experimentation, reflective analysis, and research approaches through practice and process, as students observe, record, and respond to the world around them. By enhancing their creative approach through studio workshops, modes of drawing, printmaking, field trips, and experimental and stimulating projects, students will develop essential, specialist skills in creative thinking, which are fundamental to visual expression, and adopt new approaches to developing and testing creative projects. They will be introduced to a diverse range of drawing techniques, printing methods, digital visualization methods, and materials, as well as recording and visual collecting techniques—both analogue and technological—that will form the foundation of their image-making practice. The exploratory nature of the project's students undertake requires a personal response. The foundations of practice and creative development are rooted in authentic responses to their external environments. Students are encouraged to engage with, test, and explore materials, methods, and processes to communicate their own perspective and showcase it through the ongoing production of visual journals, sketchbooks, and visual outcomes. They are invited to share what excites them, reveal what they care about, and express their thoughts, ideas, visual language, voice, and story.

In this module, students are invited to explore how they and their peers perceive the world and examine how that fits in with creative practice and the wider context of the Creative Industries. The focus is on empowering voices and refining the articulation of ideas. The module aims to develop students' abilities to critically analyse information and engage in thoughtful, sometimes controversial, discussions on contemporary issues. It provides an opportunity to explore concepts including cultural, social, political, economic, and environmental factors and across various disciplines. Additionally, it encourages the exploration of diverse perspectives and fosters the development of collaborative and inclusive communication skills.

This module is designed to help students critically reflect on their practice, explore the creative industries, set future-facing goals, generate new ideas, engage in fast-paced problem-solving, and deepen their understanding of illustration principles, with a focus on illustrative type, letterforms, and direct communication. This module encourages students to reflect on their growth as illustrators from a progressive perspective—considering their past, present, and future. Through activities such as studio work, lectures, group discussions, and individual and group tutorials, students will gain insights into contemporary trends in illustration and the broader creative industries. This reflective process offers them the chance to critically assess their personal style, identify areas for growth, explore where their work fits within the field of illustration and illustrative practice, and clarify their professional goals. It also helps them explore various opportunities in the creative sector, giving them the space to shape their practice. Students will share their findings through peer presentations, fostering independent and group learning. The module also emphasizes idea generation and rapid problem-solving through practical, hands-on projects. These projects incorporate contemporary, experimental illustrative typography, letterforms, language, and, when needed, pictorial elements. The focus is on producing applied outcomes that communicate effectively with specific audiences. Students will work on projects that help them develop the ability to think quickly and communicate ideas clearly through illustrative typography. Ultimately, this module provides a space for experimentation and growth. It encourages students to shape their future as illustrators, image-makers, and visual practitioners, while creating new works that blend type and illustration. Through discussions and explorations, they will address the creative industries as thinkers, makers, and practitioners, developing a forward-looking plan that focuses on opportunities for their careers in the creative sector. In essence, this module fosters critical reflection, creative exploration, and skill development, all aimed at preparing students to engage with the evolving landscape of illustration and the broader creative industries.

Building on students' understanding of creating illustration for diverse audiences and applications, this module will allow them to expand their knowledge of commercial aspects of illustrative practice through a longer, thematically driven, exploratory project. Students will research and understand the broad applications of contemporary illustration practices in the production of physical objects, such as surface patterns for textiles and ceramics, giftware design, prints, decorative and spatial design, and illustration for packaging and branding. They will hone their skills in development and production, culminating in a showcase exhibition that demonstrates the outward-facing capabilities of their work and the commercial application of illustrative practice and image-making. Students will gain a deeper knowledge of, and reflect on, the multidisciplinary nature of the creative industries to select and apply methods and processes appropriate to their own aims and aspirations.

This module is about ‘you’ and your place in the world, with a view to refining your specialism as a professional/practitioner and improving your profile. The module will be delivered across specific course groupings that capture the core values of each course. Across this module students will typically undertake at least one major externally facing project (e.g. live brief, placement, virtual placement, etc) or 2-3 smaller projects by negotiation. These projects will support student transferable skills around employment within the Creative Industries.

This module forms the advancement of students' personal investigation into their specialist practice. They will build on the research and development stages undertaken in semester one, in line with professional and industry contexts that align with their personal aims and ambitions. This module will support students in the generation of a final body of work that will become their outward-facing practice. Through the refinement, development, and outputting of a final body of work that communicates to their intended audience and is presented in its professional formats, students will demonstrate proficiency in subject specialist technical skills related to their area of expertise, equipping them for a career in the creative industries.

This module supports the development of self-directed Major Projects, focusing on idea generation, research, experimentation, and skill development. Students will work on thematic briefs, collaborating with academic tutors to shape their projects. Open, thematic briefs, each with a synopsis, are provided as potential starting points for students who prefer guided direction. These briefs serve as a foundation for further exploration, allowing students to develop work in line with their individual goals and voice. The module involves an in-depth exploration into both traditional and contemporary techniques, encouraging iterative experimentation, and emphasising the importance of critical reflection, research, and documentation. Through regular feedback and peer interaction, students will refine their projects, exploring cultural, social, and historical contexts, while ensuring their work is relevant, innovative, and informed by real-world issues.

This module is about your 'career' after you complete your formal UG study. It is about the realities of (and preparation for) freelance, entrepreneurial, industry and further study trajectories. This pan-school module will hinge around students creating a personal career strategy plan called ‘28 days later’. The purpose is for students to take accountability and ownership over their future direction by creating a career plan that they activate when leaving the course with a view to maximise their long term employability prospects.