Visual Communication: Process Over Product

In this short course, you’ll explore visual communication through experimental methods and approaches, focusing on process rather than product. You will engage in hands-on, fast-paced projects that embrace the unexpected, the imperfect, and the inventive across contemporary art and design contexts.

Working with diverse forms of visual culture, including graphic design, photography, 3D works, fashion communication, typography, layout, sound, and publication design, you’ll explore how ideas emerge, evolve, and communicate visually. Emphasis is placed on experimentation, playful risk-taking, and learning from error, helping you develop creative confidence and critical curiosity.

Learners will be taught in a specialist art studio with practical demonstrations, one-to-one support, and group discussion. Access to an internet-connected device is required for access to materials beyond the class contact time. 

You may be asked to bring some materials to the first class. Learn more about material here. Please wait until the first class and speak with your tutor before purchasing further materials. See ‘Entry Criteria’ for details. 

Learning in this course is hands-on, and your skills will develop through practice, discovery, and engagement with materials and techniques.

If you have fully engaged with all the learning activities and have attended regularly, by the end of the course, you should be able to:

• Apply experimental methods in visual communication, generating creative outcomes that prioritise process, exploration, and inventive approaches across diverse media.
• Critically evaluate and reflect on visual ideas and processes, understanding how experimentation, accidents, and iterative practice contribute to the development and communication of concepts.
• Apply and critically reflect on problem-solving, adaptability, creative collaboration, critical thinking, visual literacy and communication, demonstrating these skills through experimentation, creation, and reflection on technical and conceptual challenges. 

This course is for those with little or no experience of design.

Learners with an enthusiasm for creative exploration and making may find this course particularly rewarding. Curiosity about colour, texture and form, and a willingness to experiment and express ideas visually, are encouraged.

We welcome all and are committed to fostering a positive culture and sense of community among learners and staff. We expect learners to treat others with dignity and respect. Learners must be aged 16+.  

If you have a disability, learning difficulty, health condition, or personal circumstances which may affect your learning, please let us know so that we can make appropriate adjustments in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.  

Wherever possible, we mainstream adjustments in line with the University’s Accessible and Inclusive Learning Policy.

Learners will have limited access to the University’s student support services who will signpost appropriate local sources of support. 

This course is suitable for participants with no prior experience. We welcome anyone with a vivid imagination and a passion for creative exploration. While no formal background in art or design is required, the course is hands-on, and a willingness to experiment and express ideas visually is encouraged.

Please take this into account when booking, as there may be a small additional cost. Learn more about course material here. We aim to keep materials affordable while ensuring you have the appropriate tools. Costs may vary depending on the course, and your course teacher will provide further details during the first class.

There is no recommended reading for this course, only suggested reference materials. Your course teacher will guide you to relevant sources during the sessions and through online resources.

Reading, listening and communication skills are essential. You must be comfortable learning in English. You will need basic digital skills, such as using a computer and navigating a website, to access the learning materials.

Booking is available until 23:59 the day before the course is due to start, unless the course is full or cancelled.