Course Live_AC_paperturn-3 - Flipbook - Page 36
GRAPHIC DESIGN
A Level
In the top 10% nationally, our A Level Graphic Design
course teaches you how to use layout of text and image to
communicate ideas. You’ll be designing logos, branding,
posters, packaging and much more. As a graphic designer,
you’ll explore text, shape, colour and layout, learning
to convey messages effectively across various formats.
The course is a mix of digital and non-digital approaches
and projects on this course can grow out of drawing or
photography so you can work to your strengths.
On this course you will learn Adobe Photoshop as well
as some Adobe Illustrator and InDesign and the graphic
design studio has graphics tablets for every student to
explore digital drawing techniques. The busy practical
lessons include collage, printmaking and typography using
letterpress which are then scanned in and developed
further on the computer. For the majority of our students
the graphic techniques and the stages of a design
process may be unfamiliar to them at first but they enjoy
the challenge of exploring a new way of expressing
themselves and soon gain confidence in their skills and
judgements.
Towards the end of the first year each individual student
establishes their own project brief in discussion with their
teacher and the work in the second year is even more
personal and ambitious. One student might be designing
the branding for a music festival and then design the
posters, tickets and promotional flyers. Another student
might create their own fashion magazine and create the
front cover as well as a series of illustrations for the articles
inside the mag and visuals for the app.
COURSE CONTENT
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
YEAR 1
Standard Advanced Level entry
requirements
Use and application of imagination;
teamwork; creativity; layout, composition,
visual and technical skills.
• Introduction to Adobe Photoshop
• Drawing / illustrating from photographs
and direct observation
• Image making with photographs, collage
and printmaking
• Visual identity / branding project for a
local museum
• Collaborative project working to a live
design brief
assessment
60% coursework,
40% external assignment
YEAR 2
• More advanced Adobe Photoshop and
Illustrator skills
• Develop a personal coursework project
on a theme of your own choice
• Critical essay on a designer linked to your
coursework project
• Externally set assignment under exam
conditions
• Mount and present your final design
work for exhibition
VA R N D E A N S I X T H F O R M C O L L E G E 2 0 2 6
OTHER INFORMATION
You do not need any prior knowledge
of Photoshop or Illustrator to enrol onto
this course. We have designers and
illustrators from industry that visit the
department to talk to our students about
their careers and their design work and
about the latest trends in Graphic Design
and Illustration.
CAREER PATHWAYS
The majority of our students use
their graphic design work as part of a
portfolio to help them progress to an
Art Foundation, to a degree or into
employment and this course equips
you with the skills and knowledge to
work to a design brief for a client whilst
also creating design work that you can
be really proud of. Some students go
onto degree courses outside of the
design field, such as fine art, textiles,
architecture, history, politics
and economics.
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