APP: The Overall Brief and Learning Outcomes Analysis

Project: Advanced Professional Practice
Level: Honours
Date Set: 30.09.2013
Date Due: Part 1: 16.12.13 and full submission 23.01.14

Preamble
This module is designed to encourage and enable students to use graphic design and the 'client' to expand and develop their professional style and to produce bodies of work for public scrutiny and evaluation. The module will enable students to synthesise theoretical, conceptual and technical skills gained during the programme to manage projects in a variety of areas of design practice and produce appropriate practical solutions.

The brief is designed in such a way as to allow open interpretation within the given theme and allow flexibility within chosen pathways. To ensure clear direction and intent from the outset of the course, you will need to determine and agree with the teach staff, your chosen pathway, i.e. typography, illustration, etc.

The Brief
The 'weight' of the dissertation that you have chosen will determine how many of the themes you will have to cover. The following indicates how many themes you are to choose:

Title
Pathway Option A -
Dissertation - 15 credits (3000-4000 words)
Advance Professional Practice - 60 credits (4 projects)
Major Project - 45 credits

Pathway Option B
Dissertation - 30 credits (5000-6000 words)
Advanced Professional Practice - 45 credits (3 themes)
Major Project - 45 credits

Pathway Option C
Dissertation - 45 credits (7000-8000 words)
Advanced Professional Practice - 30 credits (2 themes)
Major Project - 45 credits

Choose theme(s) from the following:

Arrival
Identity
Words
Conflict
Adventure
Home

Conclusion:
With all of this in mind, I will now need to decide which of the themes to choose which I shall do by creating mind maps of each one. Luckily the brief is allows for open interpretation so that I could create something that I'm interested in.


Learning Outcomes
Here are the learning outcomes for the APP, and I have analysed each one just beneath it.

[1] Gain an understanding of the needs and requirements of professional practice.

I am doing this by analysing the design brief and learning outcomes so that I aim to meet each point made. I know that it might be impossible to cover absolutely everything but I shall try my best! I would also like to look at existing products to see how other designers tackled similar briefs.

[2] Develop effective communication skills through the medium of [specialist] graphic design.

This is quite new to me as I haven't had this learning outcome before, so I'm assuming what they mean by "effective communication skills" is asking for feedback from both my classmates and the public and to write them down so that I can show how they have helped me through my designing process.



[3] Develop research and analytical skills relevant to contemporary professional practice.

This could cover doing relevant research to my design brief and make sure that whatever I do, I would need to look back so that I'm not going "off the grid". Doing too much research might cut down the time that I need to spend designing, meaning that my final product might not be as strong as I hoped. 

To avoid doing this I could create a loose "to-do list" of relevant research so that I could just work down the list or expand on each point if required.

[4] Develop skills of independent study, resource utilisation, problem solving and decision taking
[5] Develop skills of critical thinking, analysis and evaluation.
[6] Develop your ability to learn through reflective practice and experience.
[7] Develop your ability to scan and organise data, abstract information and communicate in oral, written and visual formats.
[8] Analyse problems and identify appropriate solutions.

These are quite similar to one another as they are all about my researching stage, and that I clearly analyse everything so that I could understand my project to make it more successful. I will have to rely on my own initiative as if I'm working for a client, so cut down the amount that I ask my tutors for advice for things that I could easily find out for myself. 

By using my own initiative I would come across some problems along the way, and by identifying it and solving it would cover another learning outcome. I could write down what I have learnt and how it had helped me for my project (and this will then cover the "evaluation" pointer).

[9] Develop your ability to work with complex material.

This is another new pointer for me, so I assume that "complex material" would be different paper textures, printing techniques, or even different softwares. 

Material could also cover the research stage as "material" might also mean "information".

Conclusion:
By taking all of this into account I have made a list of bullet points that I will achieve so that I could cover all of the learning outcomes:

• Do a break-down of my brief to ensure that I understand it completely
• Only do research that is relevant - don't go off target. I should make an analysis on everything that I have researched (existing designs, etc)
• Try and figure out how to handle the brief on my own... I won't have any help when I finish university, so I have to get used to it
• Show that I can sort through relevant research

Overall Conclusion:
By analysing both the main brief and learning outcomes I can break all of the points made down into smaller sections so that I could understand it. I can now move onto thinking of some design briefs!