The Course

The Art and Design A Level in Graphic Communication is aimed at students who are looking to develop their visual creativity and will encourage you to explore and enhance your design skills using a range of graphic design processes, media, techniques and workshops that explore graphic visual language. The design skills you develop will include visual communication, printmaking, illustration, typography, advertising, digital media and animation. In addition to specialist graphic design skills, the course will also give you a solid grounding in a number of essential skills and the exploration of the formal elements necessary to the successful realisation of your design ideas and outcomes.

The core graphic communication skills you develop on the course will enable you to gain a solid grounding in a number of essential approaches to explore the formal elements necessary to successfully realise your design ideas and outcomes. The course has been developed to help you create a graphic-based portfolio, which will aid progression onto university level art and design-based courses or onto the HNC/HND in Graphic Design here at the College.

A1 Units:

• 7243/C Component 1 (60%): Coursework: You will create a portfolio of work based on a theme. The coursework will be delivered in two parts, initially with introductory graphic application through a range of hands on practical workshops, then leading onto a practical assignment.
• 7243/X Component 2 (40%): Externally set assignment: A range of questions set by AQA. You will produce a portfolio of preliminary studies and a 10-hour controlled test, in your chosen option following practical skills developed and utilising the design cycle from your coursework developments and graphic application.

A2 Units:

• 7203/C Personal Investigation (60%): You will conduct a practical investigation, into an idea, issue, concept or theme, supported by written material. The focus of the investigation must be identified independently and must lead to a finished outcome or a series of related finished outcomes. This will include a personal study, a journal and reports on gallery visits. An important aspect of communication is the care and control of the design and presentation of the study.
• 7203/X Externally set assignment (40%): A range of questions set by AQA. You will produce a portfolio of preliminary studies and a 15-hour externally set assignment, in your chosen option following practical graphic design, skills developed utilising the design cycle.

Why study Art and Design Graphic Communication?
The Art and Design A-Level in Graphic Communication is aimed at students who are looking to develop their visual creativity and will encourage you to explore and enhance your design skills using a range of graphics, media, techniques, processes and workshops that explore graphic visual language.

What else can you do on the course?
Active workshops form key part of the course and investigate the relationships between your own work and the work of a range of graphic designers and artists. There are also visual imagery workshops and gallery and exhibition visits to support your study and understanding.