Design courses at the School of Art

In 2006 the School of Art introduces two Design Arts courses – the Bachelor of Design Arts and the Master of Design Arts – which build on the resources and expertise of the visual arts programs of the School of Art’s Workshops and Studios.

The Bachelor of Design Arts follows the structure of the Bachelor of Visual Arts in the School of Art, beginning with a common Core Studies program in semester one. In later semesters, Design students share space resources and expertise with Visual Arts students, while at the same time developing professionally-oriented applied design outcomes through project-based coursework and application of existing media and technologies. The methodology of the Design Arts programs will utilise a variety of skill sets gained through a combination of old and new technologies, employing both hand-built and computer-aided design and manufacturing processes.

These programs will enable students to prepare for careers as professional Designer/makers based on the range of contemporary visual arts, crafts and design practices encompassed by the School’s Workshops and Studios. Students will develop their creative, critical, analytical, research and communication skills enabling them to participate and contribute to the practical and theoretical discourse in their professional field. The programs will provide students with personal support and academic guidance in making informed judgements and choices relating to their path of study and career development.

Graduates of these degrees will be able to run a contemporary Design-oriented professional practice in their major media disciplines. They will design and create individual objects ready for exhibition, studio-based production, manufacture or potential mass production. As a Designer/Maker they will also be able to respond creatively to a design brief, working on solutions individually, or as part of a team. Graduates will draw on an extensive material and process knowledge combined with professional skills in Computer Aided Design and Prototyping, and digital information and communication literacy.

The student-centred teaching and learning approach will focus on intellectual independence and project-management skills. A student’s initiative in learning, skill development and research capacity will be developed through a project-oriented study proposal which will embody an emphasis on design processes and principles such as design for reproduction, design for economies of scale, materials, and processes as well as ecological imperatives. A growing expertise in the relevance of style, fashion and communication outcomes appropriate to the level of study is embedded in each program. Such studies will be directed to professional/commercial design for production and small scale individual craft production.

The Master of Design Arts course is intended to provide continuity of studies for students completing the Bachelor of Design Arts, within the existing framework of Coursework Master programs offered within the School of Art. The MDA enables graduates of the BDA (or equivalent) to undertake project-based design studies at a higher level of achievement than undergraduate studies. Direct entry candidates will take advantage of this pathway to pursue design-oriented careers which build on the expertise and resources available in the School of Art.

The MDA admits students on the basis of an approved studio-based project, and will be supervised from within existing staff resources in the relevant Workshops of the School of Art. The MDA takes advantage of existing technical resources, while accommodating the growing demand for graduate studies which have an emphasis on Design outcomes. In the first instance the MDA will have particular relevance to the glass, gold and silversmithing, ceramics, textiles and furniture areas. Methods and outcomes which are relevant to the design discipline are constructed on an individual basis, subject to the approved study project, and extending studies provided by the BDA.

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