Aims and content of the course

The course is designed for those with an interest in Graphic Design, Drawing, Designing and Visual Communications. The course will teach you skills required for many careers in the design industry including how to use the Adobe suite. Graphic Design is a great subject for pupils who are creative and also successful in art or graphic design at KS3.

A graphic designer uses text, illustrations, photography, textures and colours to create print and web-based design for a huge variety of clients. They're essentially visual problem-solvers who work fields such as branding, packaging, publishing, advertising and digital design. Movie posters, concert tickets, corporate reports, your favourite apps all rely on effective design to get the user's attention and get to the heart of what the client is trying to say.

Skills you will developIllustration skills: 2D and 3D, technical drawing, shading, rendering, presentation drawings and sketching. Also some art focused drawing techniques.

Graphic design: Working with a range of professional software including Corel draw, Photoshop, Illustrator and 2D Design. Learning about branding, advertising and marketing.

Practical skills: There will be some practical work but the focus here will be on making models and using some Computer Aided Manufacture. If you enjoy ‘making’ the GCSE I Design and Technology is a better option, most making in graphics is model making.

Assessment and ExaminationsInternalAssessments form 75% of the course (25% for 3 units of work) an external assessment is set every January which pupils sit in Year 10 and can resit in Year 11. This is the exam element of the course, however, this is a practical exam which will involve creating a portfolio of work and a final outcome. This forms the final 25% of the course.

Future progression beyond Year 11

It is possible for you to progress to a higher level qualification such as a Level 3 BTECs, Tech Awards and A Levels in Art and Design, Graphic Design or Product Design. It can also lead direct into design apprenticeships. Following completion of the BTEC Award, successful candidates would be able to enter initial employment at a junior level in such areas as computer aided design, graphic design and 3D design. Alternatively, this qualification can contribute to a higher education course in the following areas: Advertising, Graphic Design, Publishing, Web Design, Interactive Media, Interior Design, Animation, Games Design, TV, Illustration, Architecture, Product Design, Engineering or Teaching.

Graphic designers express their creativity every day. As well as picking colour palettes and choosing imagery and type they also have to think 'outside the box' to solve challenging briefs. If you're a creative type, with a good eye for detail, graphic design gives you the opportunity to bring your ideas to life.

This session will be delivered alongside the other technology options in lesson, but here is what it will look like.