Batley School of Art and Design

On Wednesday 18th November 2009 we had the privilege of having three courses present to us their presentations on Further Education. They compiled together an overall rundown of what the course consisted of, how it was assessed/applied for and how it worked best for us. In order is what I thought of each course and my opinions on how I feel it would benefit me.

Foundation Degree in Digital Photography
We were welcomed into what would be our study room if we were to choose the course, after sitting down we were each given an example of work that the students had individually produced. The books that we were given all had a them, this ranged from a sports catalogue, a lingerie brochure, a cocktail recipe book, a tourism booklet etc. The books were made by a company called blurb.com, the finished product was a hardback book consisting of both words and images and possessed a look equal to that of a professional photo book.
The next piece of work we were shown was a video about snowboarding, I wasn't as wooed by this so I didn't absorb much of it.
Overall, I enjoyed the presentation that we were given and the examples of work that we had been show were excellent. I feel that although this looks like an interesting course, I would much rather study something that does not have to be mostly digital based.

Foundation Degree in Graphic Communication
We were shown into the room that would be our home for the next three years, if we were to study Graphic Communication. Examples of work were limited, as the course had just recently been revamped. The modules to all of the semesters were clearly explained, they were - rebranding a genre of music, designing badges based on the theme of self, bottled water and company logos. The course favours fluency in digital practices, even though I have this skill I much prefer the freedom to improvise, the ability to use the world around me as inspiration and to be able to involve a wide spectrum of materials to answer a proposed problem.
The presentation was mainly focused on the functions of digital media, experimenting with cardboard was mentioned a few times.

B.A. (Hons) Fine Art For Design
This talk took place in the lecture theatre. As we sat down various examples of work were being passdd around the room - things previous students have made, such as activity books, issues of magazines, badges, books etc. Once everybody had had a look at the items the talk began. A slideshow presentation was shown with narration from the course coordinators, samples of animations were shown; my favourite being a simple illustrated cartoon about a boy named Johnny who shrank, the narrator of the story communicated with the audience on a level that was both charming and heartbreaking. The presentation went on to describe just some of the many things that people had created on the course, they featured a 9-seater cinema, sculpture, self/identity based work, books, gouache paintings, screenprints, clothing design, graphic novels, postcards, furniture, films etc.
This was my favourite presentation of the day (even though the room was stuffy, kind of like being stuck inside a toy box), the tutors explained everything about the course and how they operated. The exhibition show in London particularly appealed to me as it is a chance to plan, organise and showcase your own individual works to a wider audience.

N.B. The day after the presentations I spoke to Richard Gray (a tutor for B.A. (Hons.) Fine Art For Design) and discussed more in depth what is studied in the first year. The variety of projects and the fact that you are at liberty to use any materials is ideal as I can broaden and further my understanding of different types of media, rather than being fixed to one in particular such as a camera or a computer.