Textiles for Fashion & Interiors – (B.A.)

Contents

Syllabus (11/12*)

Year 1

You are introduced to the main elements of the course, including the basic making-skills and materials-based enquiry required to design and make printed and woven textiles. You are encouraged to develop your basic conceptual and contextual knowledge in relation to textile design practices.

* Understanding textiles - provides you with a basic understanding of woven and printed textile processes and design.


* Research and design development for textiles - you extend your visual research into design through the exploration of scale, composition, pattern and repeat, and methods of abstraction including colour and observation.


* Design discourse 1: historical and critical contexts - introduces design discourse as a framework by which changes in design practice might be better understood. With a focus on design history since the time of the Industrial Revolution, the unit will detail a number of contexts in order to examine the possible relationships between form and meaning.


* Researching specialisms - through your exploration and research of a given brief you are required to produce a sketchbook that reflects your personal interests.


* Textiles from traditional and contemporary sources - introduces you to methods of textile development in relation to traditional / historical and contemporary source material.


* Design discourse 2: object analysis - this unit gives an account of the variety of contexts by which design might be better understood. Taking as its starting point the belief that objects and images need to be studied both specifically and in relation to their social, cultural and economic environments, the unit offers a series of contextual and practical research tools that will allow for detailed and involved analysis to be applied to the evaluation of designed objects.



Year 2

During this stage of the course you choose to specialise in woven or printed textiles. In this intermediate stage you continue to enhance your employability and creativity by developing your conceptual and practical knowledge and skills.

* Innovative technologies for design and make - further technical learning is provided at this point in the pathway in order to allow you to innovate and expand your developing textile practice.


* Design and make - introduces you to a series of project briefs. This allows you to focus on the process of addressing a design concept, researching and developing a 'solution', contextualising a practice, and presenting it in finalised design sample form, with supplementary technical, design and contextual material.


* Craft in context - this unit addresses a number of theories and dialogues with regard to craft practice and its history, and examines the changing values attached to the hand made object.


* Textiles in production - recognises the value of taking a completed design idea from sample scale to a larger scale fabric length. As well as being an opportunity to experience working on a larger scale, this is also a chance for further creative development of the original sample and specific consideration of fabric context.


* Design projects for contemporary contexts - a series of textile briefs for a range of contexts (fashion, public or domestic interiors, architectural location, designer-maker practice, etc).


* The uses of things: design, consumption and identity - a series of textile briefs for a range of contexts (fashion, public or domestic interiors, architectural location, designer-maker practice, etc).



Year 3

You have the opportunity to demonstrate your capacity for self-determined, self-sustained and self-directed study though major projects and the dissertation. You determine the objectives, direction and outcomes of your final year and will be supported by interaction and communication with tutors and peers.

* Major project 1 - you fully engage with the concept of 'research, design and make'. These three elements form the basis for your learning and shape the internal structure of the unit.
* Dissertation - a period of self-directed research on a subject that is related to the historical, theoretical, critical concerns of your discipline or professional area.
* Major Project 2 - you complete your undergraduate learning by defining a specific and personal brief for highly focused development and conclusion.
* Design and creative enterprise - considers the role of the creative practitioner and the notion of the creative entrepreneur in the broader context of design activity and the creative industries.
* The language and practice of design - provides an opportunity for you to reflect on your studio practice and develop critical debate about the language and context of that practice. You locate your study within the subject/theme of practical work on the course and use the opportunity of this unit to develop a clearly articulated and theoretical discourse about the language and practice of design.
* Aesthetics and experience - following a series of lectures and seminars you then investigate the relationship between language and experience through self-directed research into an appropriate area of study driven by text–based analysis.

* Please note the syllabus content is for the academic year indicated and is provided as a guide. The content of the course may be subject to change.