BA (Hons) Design

Year 1 (credit level 4)

Your first year is made up of:

Studio Practice

Studio projects are formulated to allow you to develop your own ways of thinking. You will be challenged to push your ideas, and given space and support to develop an understanding of artefact, user, site and situation. Studio Practice is where the majority of practical, project-based work is delivered, discussed and assessed.

Contextual Studies

Contextual Studies provides the theoretical core of the programme. In your first year you study:

• Histories and Theories – lectures, visits and practical exercises on the historical and theoretical context of design in the 20th century unravel the main theoretical influences on design and designing.
• Design and Meaning – lectures and practical exercises looking at the roles that psychology and semiotics play in design. You'll examine the complex nature of design thinking and creative techniques, and the ways in which these relate to actual practice. You'll also be encouraged to explore your own personal responses to the design process.
• Philosophy and Design – this course aims to explore an expanded sense of the ecological through philosophical politics and ethics, and design philosophy, to challenge the embedded logic systems and structures of consciousness that perpetuate ecological problems within a complex global world.

Methods and Processes

Concentrating on the techniques and processes in research, modelling and drawing, this module equips you with a set of tools for designing, looking at research methods and ways to generate and record ideas.

Technical Studies

These workshops focus on specific areas within the discipline. They'll give both a critical and technical introduction into areas such as making, still image, graphic communication and textiles.

Year 2 (credit level 5)

Your second year is made up of:

Studio Practice

You'll explore ways that the contemporary designer can negotiate a changing social, cultural, ecological and political terrain. You'll be encouraged to adopt a personal, ethical and ideological stance in tackling projects concerning the social, cultural, environmental and political domain.

In the spring term, you'll work on ‘industry-based projects’, the briefings for which come from the commercial sector. These projects allow you to present to design professionals, gaining valuable experience and insight. The projects are set by a broad range of design professional and commercial sectors.

Previous collaborations have been with Imagination, Microsoft, Apple, ARUP, Lunar Energy, Flickr Foundation Pentagram, Lewisham Council, Heatherwick, The Serpentine Gallery, The Natural History Museum, Wellcome Collection, Es Devlin, Studioilse, Punchdrunk, Unit 38, Reskinned, WeMadeThat, Graphic Thought Facility, and Taskmaster.

Contextual Studies

• Society and Culture – this one-week intensive course investigates ideology and design in the context of society and culture. It examines a number of socio-cultural influences on designers, design processes, systems, and architectures. The course introduces various readings of society and culture, to give a sense of the ideological context of design, but also to show how design creates ideology itself.
• Material Culture – this course investigates design in the context of what has become known as Material Culture. The course explores various attitudes to cultural production, examines notions of consumption and taste, and investigates the various processes and practices that have been built around these notions. Though a series of lectures, practical exercises and self-directed learning, you'll be encouraged to explore the ways in which your own designs are framed by material (and immaterial) culture.
• Design Politics and Ethics – from national-level parliamentary enquiries to the founding of design-led policy labs and the realisation of new design-led government departments like the Government’s Digital Service, design has emerged as a significant practice in the shaping and realising of our political and moral landscape. But how has design practice responded to this opportunity?

Methods and Processes – Professional Practice

This module asks you to engage in design as a professional practice and prepares you for workplace environments. You will engage in collaborative workshops, receive advice from industry experts on how to communicate your work, and hear from a diverse range of BA Design alumni as they talk you through their career journeys.

By exploring the breadth of the design industry, helping you articulate your developing practice, and supporting you in building your professional network, this module prepares you for the Summer Term Placement Module.

Technical Studies

These sessions cover a range of skills, which build upon the previous year. We offer workshops such as interactive design, moving image, electronics, object manufacture, rapid prototyping/CAD and graphic communication.

Professional Practice

During the summer term, you are expected to secure and undertake a placement lasting at least six weeks. At the beginning of Year 3, you will present and be assessed on what you learned during your placement and consider how it has influenced your practice.

Year 3 (credit level 6)

Your final year is made up of:

Studio Practice

During this module, you will lead a self-directed, studio based project shaped by your interests and unique design direction. Alongside your Studio Lead Tutors, you will be supported throughout the year by a dedicated Studio Practice Mentor who will work with you to shape your learning and development.

Through experimental workshops and focused conceptual enquiry, you will develop and realise a major body of work as your final project. This project is not restricted by discipline or medium and can take the form most appropriate to your research and investigation, enabling you to work across and beyond traditional design boundaries.

The final stages of Year 3 are oriented around the presentation of your project. The course culminates in the Degree Show, a public exhibition where, together with your cohort, you build critical skills in teamwork, organisation, exhibition design and networking, all vital for your future career.

This platform serves as a springboard into industry; our graduates frequently go on to showcase their degree projects at high-profile industry platforms, including New Designers, ICA New Contemporaries, and the Shoreditch Design Triangle during the London Design Festival. For more information please take a look at @ba.design.gold on Instagram.

Contextual report

Parallel to your studio work, you will produce a 7,000 word Contextual Report. This written piece establishes the theoretical framework for your studio project and takes the form of a designed and printed publication.

You will be supported by a dedicated Contextual Studies Mentor who will support and guide your investigation. Alongside this, you will also take part in a series of workshops exploring different forms of design writing and approaches to practice oriented research.