Art and Design Portfolio Guidance

BA Art and Design

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

This course is for students with a diverse range of interests, experiences and capabilities.

You might have previously studied art/design/media, but have not identified a pathway to industry yet or are excited about new possibilities in making wider creative connections, through incorporating music, maths, coding, digital technologies, new media, etc.

You might not have previously studied art/design/media, but are interested in science, maths or music, and the opportunity to explore design methodologies. Therefore, your portfolio may not be a typical art and design portfolio.

Format

• This could be a link to a self-shot video of you explaining your interests and why you want to do a creative degree, with evidence of a passion for creative practice in its broadest sense (no more than 5 minutes in length).
• Alternatively, this could be a PDF, PowerPoint or Word Document of experimentations you may have carried out, with links to video, animations and moving image work, etc. (no more than 10MB file size). Please test your links to make sure they work and are easily accessed. We will not be able to view links that require a password.

The aim of the portfolio is to make sure this is the right course for you.

Tips for your portfolio: Content

• Tell us about your interests and why you want to do a creative degree.
• Evidence a passion and curiosity for creative practice in its broadest sense.
• Show us a range of ideas or work, which can be experiments, research or work in progress, using thinking skills, making skills or digital skills.
• We are interested in your thoughts and processes and how you develop your ideas and problem solve.
• You can include work you have made at School or College, or work you have made independently.

BA Art and Design with Creative Technologies

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

This course is for students with a diverse range of interests, experiences and capabilities.

You might have previously studied art/design/media, but have not identified a pathway to industry yet or are excited about new possibilities in making wider creative connections, through incorporating music, maths, coding, digital technologies, new media, etc.

You might not have previously studied art/design/media, but are interested in science, maths or music, and the opportunity to explore design methodologies. Therefore, your portfolio may not be a typical art and design portfolio.

Format

• This could be a link to a self-shot video of you explaining your interests and why you want to do a creative degree, with evidence of a passion for creative practice in its broadest sense (no more than 5 minutes in length).
• Alternatively, this could be a PDF, PowerPoint or Word Document of experimentations you may have carried out, with links to video, animations and moving image work, etc. (no more than 10MB file size). Please test your links to make sure they work and are easily accessed. We will not be able to view links that require a password.

The aim of the portfolio is to make sure this is the right course for you.

Tips for your portfolio: Content

• Tell us about your interests and why you want to do a creative degree.
• Evidence a passion and curiosity for creative practice in its broadest sense.
• Show us a range of ideas or work, which can be experiments, research or work in progress, using thinking skills, making skills or digital skills.
• We are interested in your thoughts and processes and how you develop your ideas and problem solve.
• You can include work you have made at School or College, or work you have made independently.

BA Fine Art

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

This course is ideally suited for students who have previously or who are currently studying A-level Art subjects (Fine Art, Art and Design, Textiles, Photography, Media, etc.), students from BTEC Art and Design or Foundation Art and Design Diploma courses or for those who have developed an interest in art practice via an alternative route.

Alongside examples of completed works, we are also interested in quick experiments, sketches, ideas, notes and photographs that have been influenced by your environment, experiences, exhibitions you have seen, books you have read or research you have done to indicate ideas you have for work which you might not yet have had the resources to make.

We welcome applicants of all ages and from all backgrounds. Your application will be primarily assessed through your portfolio so even if you do not meet our typical offer criteria it can still be worth applying.

You have the option to attend an in person portfolio review or to submit your portfolio digitally for an online portfolio review.

What we would like to see in your portfolio

1. Making and thinking skills
2. The development of ideas
3. Willingness to experiment using a range of media, materials and processes
4. Creativity and visual curiosity
5. Self-motivation, individuality and a sense of your interests, passion and personality
6. Commitment to art practice

Format

1. Please submit your work as one PDF, PowerPoint or Word Document.
2. Aim to include approximately 20 pieces of work.
3. Your digital portfolio should be no more than 10MB. Please compress your file if it exceeds the limit.
4. Add any links to video, animations, and moving image work to your PDF, PowerPoint or Word Document. (Please check that these links work before you submit your portfolio and that they can be easily accessed. We will not be able to view links that require a password).

Tips for your portfolio: Content

1. A range of work which can be experiments, research or work in progress (unfinished pieces). Examples of the type of work that you can include are drawings, paintings, prints, photographs, animations, films, sculptures, installations, multimedia outcomes, digital artwork and textiles (photographs of larger or 3D works can be included as representations in physical portfolios; for digital portfolios please indicate scale and medium in the documentation of work).
2. We are interested in your processes; the way you develop your ideas and approaches to making. As such we are keen to see tests and some sketchbook works.
3. You can include work you have made at School, College or University and/or work you have made independently or outside of an educational curriculum.
4. Include your most recent work and present it in a coherent order. Remember the order you present it in is the order it will be viewed in.
5. Demonstrate your interest and awareness of contemporary art practice by providing evidence of exhibitions you’ve visited and artists whose work you have looked at.

BA Product Design

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

The following guidelines will help you to create your portfolio, but it is important to note that you aren’t restricted to these. Whatever you choose to include, the most important thing to show is that you’re interested and passionate about product and furniture design.

Content

1. Use a front cover, 1st page, with name and course applied for
2. You can use a website, video, or a PDF format. For PDF, please ensure your portfolio is between A3-A2 page size, try to keep below a 20mb file. For video, please either host your work on a platform such as YouTube or upload the original file.
3. Tailor your portfolio towards your audience (the reviewer) by starting with your best piece of work.
4. Provide brief notes (annotations), which explain your work. Try to summarise why, where, and how you did it: we are interested in the details!
5. Show us a diverse range of work, perhaps including: technical drawings, observational sketches, renderings, design process, three-dimensional work, CAD work, graphic designs, or photos of made objects.
6. We suggest between 10-20 pages of work.
7. If you don’t have much work of your own, research contemporary product/furniture examples and explain why you like them, or how they’ve inspired you.
8. If you're coming from a traditional route such as A Level or BTEC training try to include evidence of a 3D design process.
9. If you come from a more specific Product/Furniture background it would be useful to include: research, technical drawings (use of 3D modelling if appropriate), testing models, design development sequence e.g. full projects to completion.
10. Photograph large 3D work and consider the context where it would be used to give a sense of scale i.e. with users and in an appropriate environment.
11. It is important to show final pieces, but it is perhaps even more important to show the development of them. We want to see the thinking behind your work and how your ideas develop. This can be demonstrated through sketchbooks and journals with notes.

Skills we would like to see

1. Hand drawing.
2. Creative thinking.
3. Design Development.
4. Evidence that you’re enthusiastic about the subject.

MA Arts and Education Practices

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

This course is for students with a diverse range of interests, experiences and capabilities in creative fields and with an interest creative education.

You might have previously studied in the creative arts or have an interest in creative education, have experience in working in creative fields of education, and are excited about new possibilities in making wider creative connections, through incorporating social practice, projects, teaching, sculpture, print, coding, digital technologies, performance, painting and pedagogy.

You might not have previously studied art/design/media, but are interested in science, maths or music, and the opportunity to explore creative pedagogic methodologies. Therefore, your portfolio may not be a typical creative portfolio.

Format

• This could be a link to a self-shot video of you explaining your interests and why you want to do a creative postgraduate course, with evidence of a passion for creative educational practices in their broadest sense (no more than 5 minutes in length).
• Alternatively, this could be a PDF, PowerPoint or Word Document of experimentations you may have carried out, with links to work, projects, practices and work with learners and communities, etc. (no more than 10MB file size).
• If you are linking to video & web based work online please test your links to make sure they work and are easily accessed. We will not be able to view links that require a password.

The aim of the portfolio is to make sure this is the right course for you.

Content

• Tell us about your interests and how they connect with MA Arts and Education Practices.
• Evidence a passion and curiosity for creative educational practice in its broadest sense.
• Show us a range of ideas or work, which can be experiments, research or work in progress, using thinking skills, making skills or digital skills.
• Show us how you work creatively with others, be that through teaching, collaboration or social practice.
• We are interested in your thoughts and processes and how you develop your ideas and problem solve.
• You can include work you have made at University, in the workplace or work you have made independently.