Section:GDN BE PaGe:40 Edition Date:160126 Edition:01 Zone:
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Sent at 25/1/2016 16:40
The Guardian | Tuesday 26 January 2016
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education
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Special report
The art of design: from trad to tech
Technology has opened up new creative courses – but fine art is as valuable as ever
We train our students to be creative practitioners. That means pulling all the channels together
Lucy Jolin It may be a competitive area in which to forge a career, but undergraduate creative art and design courses are as popular as ever: 48,880 students enrolled in 2013/14 – up 5% on the previous year. Aside from the simple fact that making things is tremendous fun, perhaps the popularity of creative courses has to do with their ability to move with the times. Technology has created whole new areas of creative expertise, from animation to computeraided design, while vocational skills such as interior design and textile design are increasingly in demand. The University of Derby, for example, is starting its first ever BA in interior design in September 2016. “Demand is high for this new course as it offers and responds to a niche in the interior design market – core interior design skills and knowledge,” says David McGravie, head of art and design. Students will be encouraged to collaborate with those studying BA textiles and BA product design, and will explore how people relate to the architectural space around them. “It’s encouraging them to discover space through a critical engagement and understanding of human need, user experience, material form or texture, colour, site context and culture, and the role these aspects play in good design,” says McGravie. “They will also examine the different sectors within commercial and residential interior design, with a focus on the employment opportunities open to an interior design graduate.” At Birmingham City University’s art
Different strokes: some art and design students will work with traditional materials; others work on computers or in 3D environments Getty
and design faculty a range of designbased BAs are on offer, including landscape architecture, urban design and its new 3D designer maker course, which began in 2013. “Each course introduces specialist content related to design across all scales of manufacture, from design of bespoke and batch items to high-volume production,” says Jason Nicholson, programme director for product design.
Thom Hughes is currently in his second year on the 3D designer maker BA. “I spend my time making, designing, imagining, creating, being inspired and having fun,” he says. “Most of my week is spent in the workshops, be that ceramics, glass, wood or metal. There are all sorts of different facilities open to us, depending on what you want to work on. Being a designer maker, I find myself drawn to these areas perhaps more than the studio spaces – making models, testing ideas, using real materials from the outset, rather than speculating what I could achieve in my sketchbook.” Another course that’s responding to industry needs is Falmouth University’s BA in creative advertising. The course, says head of creative advertising Sion Scott Wilson, a former creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi, seeks to prepare students for the rapidly changing advertising world – where the growth of online advertising is providing new opportunities for digital storytellers. “A lot has changed since the days of Mad Men,” he says. “Our students partner up as copywriter and art director – but because the way the media landscape and traditional advertising has changed, these descriptions are no
longer hard and fast. It’s more a case of two slightly different minds working together to create a third mind that comes up with the creative solutions. That’s where the industry is these days. “We train our students to be creative practitioners. That means pulling all the channels together – anything from print to TV to outdoor, and all the digital channels, including apps and social media – to create a conversation. Look at the John Lewis Christmas advert: it’s always deployed in different ways across media. The industry is really looking for people who understand how to deploy an idea across all the different channels.” Despite all the new angles on art and design, however, the classic fine art degree is still very relevant. Students of Newcastle University’s BA in fine art are taught by a wide range of expert artists and curators, as well as specialists in contemporary and historic art. The course is designed to support students wherever their interests lie – whether it’s the more traditional skills of printmaking, painting and sculpture to the more contemporary installation, sound art, digital and interactive media, video and film. “Some of our students will become professional artists, although that is never going to happen overnight; the reality for most is that it can take several years to establish yourself and become recognised for what you do,” says Richard Talbot, head of fine art. “Others will use the skills and knowledge that they have acquired in other ways. Studying fine art requires tenacity and flexibility, an inquiring mind, an ability to think laterally and an affinity for writing and presenting ideas, as well as the ability to plan and deliver projects. These skills are very much transferable to many other areas and professions. We aim for our fine art students to graduate as well-rounded makers, doers and thinkers.”