Graphics
Head of Department/Faculty
Mrs R Robbins
Joint Head of Visual Arts
rrobbins@commonweal.co.uk
Miss E Lord
Joint Head of Department
elord@commonweal.co.uk
Overview
“The art or skill of combining text and pictures in advertisements, magazines or products”
With a background in Graphic design you could work in areas such as engineering, packaging design, interior design, model making, costume design, 3D art and digital/game design.
“I like Graphics because you can explore art, design and computer work, it’s really mixed. In Graphics you will learn to make a series of cool products that you get to develop and take home, from ear phone wraps to Cinema pop corn cups.”
All students develop their designing and making skills through drawing, modelling, ICT work using the Adobe suite. Students will explore a wide range of designers, materials and process to product mini projects linked to the KS4 exam criteria.
Tops Tips to do well in Graphics
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Develop your design skills.
Make sure to practise outline and drawing, focus on shape and shading to enhance drawings.
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Use digital technology.
Practise taking photographs and looking at tutorials for Photoshop and Illustrator. The more confident you are using the mouse and shortcuts on the keyboard the more professional your products will become.
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Annotations and analysis
In order for you to achieve high levels in Graphic Design you must add detail in your analysis and answers. For example when drawing a logo you need to explain your thinking behind the design, examiners aren’t mind readers!
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Annotation and analysis.
In order for you to achieve a high level in Graphics you must add detail and examples in your answers. For example when drawing a logo you need to explain your thinking behind the design and how it is suitable to meet the requirements of the brief.
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Be creative.
The most successful designers create unique and interesting product in saturated markets. You should use creative skills and explore ideas to enhance your work and develop a range of exciting products.
The Curriculum
In KS3 students develop a range of skills in Graphic Design, ranging from character design to digital illustration and photoshop. In years 7-9 students will have 1 hour of Graphics per fortnight.
Year 7
The students study two projects such as an ‘Introduction to Graphics’ and ‘Drinks packaging’. These projects will help students become familiar with some of the fundamentals of Graphics such as typography, repeat pattern and packaging nets. It will also introduce them to working and designing within programmes such as PowerPoint, Canva and Adobe Illustrator.
Year 8
Students study two projects throughout the year such as Cinema promotion and pop-up books/cards. The cinema promotion project continues to explore development in digital skills using the software Adobe Illustrator. Students develop ideas from pencil through to a finished product. The pop-up project explores different mechanisms in paper design and hand drawn illustration.
Year 9
Students study two projects over the course of the year, Photoshop Vinyl cases and Mini Pop Vinyl characters and packaging. In the first project, Students continue to develop their digital knowledge within the Adobe suite by exploring a process called ‘Double Exposure’ created in Photoshop. In the second project, Students study product design and packaging by using companies that already exist such as Pop Vinyl and create their own packaging using card constructed nets.
Year 10
KS4 produce a portfolio of work over the course of two years, students study digital graphic design through the form of illustration, geometric shapes, photo manipulation and drawing skills. Students have studied projects such as- ‘DVD/Game case design’ using digital illustration and photoshop, ‘Festival merchandise’ including posters, photography, wrist bands and t-shirt designs and ‘Food Truck’ developing a brand identity by looking into logos, colour schemes and packaging.
| Entry Option | Title | Weighting | Assessment |
| Coursework consisting of 2-3 projects
Final Piece |
Coursework
Two projects such as DVD/Game Case and Festival promotion merchandise |
60% | Sketchbook/portfolio |
| Exam | Exam paper provided by the awarding body.
Students produce a sketchbook of work from a title in the exam paper and produce a final piece in 10 hours. |
40% | 10 hour exam over 2 days
Sketchbook and final piece. |
Independent learning
Students complete regular home works to extend their learning outside of the classroom. Practising shape and developing drawing skills outside of the classroom will help students progress in Graphics. Researching digital design and how packaging works will help students to understand the logistics of branding and digital design.
Assessment
KS3 – Base line tests
All students are required to produce a baseline test at the beginning of the year to show what their Target should be for the year. As students have strengths in different areas of design such as drawing, digital work and research students assessment is averaged throughout the year to provide an overview of their skills.
KS4
Assessment involves producing coursework in sketchbooks as well as undertaking an examination. There is a single tier of entry.
