Year 1
Unit 1 - Introduction to Textile Design
This unit is an introduction to your course, the college and the university.
Unit 2 - Concept and process
This unit introduces you to textile design through projects and inductions into the textile workshops. You will gather visual information to explore concepts through experimental and observational drawing, photography and related research to inspire your work.
- Drawing and design development.
- Specialist technical workshops.
- Technical processes through workshop practice and sampling.
- Presentation of fabric samples, including digital visualisation.
- Exploration of specialist practices in relation to research and design processes.
- Developing skills in visual analysis.
- Placing images and objects in cultural and historical context.
- Critically reflect on your process and document your practice via your blog.
- Work to demonstrate critical practice.
Unit 3 - Textile contexts 1
- Research, drawing and design development directed towards 2D and/or 3D outcomes for the body.
- The development of a personal approach to a given theme.
- Introduction to body and fashion contexts.
- Exploration of scale in relation to the body.
- Introduction to collaborative ways of working through a group project.
- Group and individual tutorials.
- Technical workshops.
Unit 4 - Textile contexts 2
You will work both digitally and within the studio to engage with current design ideas for interior or exterior space, interactive and experience design.
- Projects will introduce you to the areas of interior and exterior space, interactive and experience design.
- Exhibition showcasing your work from the first year.
- Group and individual tutorials.
- Theory lectures.
- Digital workshops.
- Work to demonstrate critical practice.
Year 2
Unit 5 - Materials design practice
In this unit you will focus on the design process. You will continue to develop your individual direction within your textiles.
- To explore and examine the role of colour and colour theory in the production of textiles.
- Your research will inform the production of designs, samples and other outcomes that explore a theme via the development of a colour palette.
- Projects will strengthen your knowledge of professional context and the international audience for textile design.
- A series of lectures on role of colour in textiles.
- Production of a technical notebook.
- Exhibition of project work.
Unit 6 - Collaborative and collective practices
This unit aims to introduce you to different ways in which collaborative working can focus and enhance your own creative strengths. This unit has 3 core purposes:
- To engage with fellow students with different practices and interests in a collaborative project.
- To engage with external audiences, participants or institutions to consider new contexts for your work.
- To develop your creative attributes to enable you to take on future challenges in a variety of contexts.
Unit 7 - Professional communication
In this unit you will work on a project that has a professional context. This maybe a staff research-led project, competition, trade fair showcase, exhibition or a live project.
Responsible design practices and textile led production times may feature in this unit. You will recognise your place in the global market and potential outlets for your work. These will help inform your future career aspirations.
- To work individually on your design concepts and as a team towards a presentation of the work.
- Fabric and technical development appropriate to a design range.
- The identification of fabric qualities in relation to product and designing for a context.
- The production of a technical notebook.
- Explore key concepts and debates relating to responsible design in your practice.
- Work to support critical practice.
- Lectures and seminars.
Unit 8 - Responsible design practice
This unit encourages you to explore your practice as a responsible textile designer. Sustainable and ethical design has a broad impact. Textile design can inform change and reach outside of the textiles sector. It can cross disciplines into wellbeing, product design and technical performance innovations.
- To look at the key concepts and debates relating to responsible design.
- An exploration of processes and skills associated with your practice.
- A negotiated research project that connects responsible design to your practice and research focus, including the presentation of your project.
- To look at global perspectives, cultural identity and contexts within textiles and fashion.
- To look at design concepts and theory.
- Studio work.
- Proposal for your critical practice project in year 3.
- Lectures and seminars to support your critical practice.
Year 3
Unit 9 - Design synthesis
The unit is about the exploration of ideas, innovation and experimentation in preparation for your final major project.
- To define your practice through a Portfolio of work which includes Design Project(s) and a Critical Practice Project (CPP).
- To be encouraged to develop your design identity and how this connects to wider global issues and external contexts.
- Live briefs and personal direction will inform your project.
Unit 10 - Professional contexts
The unit is about defining you as a designer and how your work connects to a wider context.
- To carry out in depth research to underpin and support your ideas for the final major project presented in a Design Proposal.
- To plan for, risk assess and take part in the graduate show.
- To produce a portfolio of work that includes all your final major project including research, design development, technical experimentation, sampling or prototyping or storytelling/design pitch, design outcomes, and written or visual reflection.
- To produce a PDF Professional Practice Portfolio that includes a CV prepared for sharing in a relevant professional context.
Optional Diploma between year 2 and 3
Between year 2 and 3 you can opt to undertake the Diploma in Professional Studies or the UAL Diploma in Creative Computing. Whilst these Diplomas are an optional aspect of the course, they are designed as an integrated and assessed part of your journey through the course.
