DI1S05 - Communication Studies 1 01 Sep 2020 - 31 Aug 2026 | Version 1

Associated Module Information

Module Code: DI1S05
Module Title: Communication Studies 1
Faculty: Faculty of Business and Creative Industries
Faculty Group: Games and Design
Faculty Sub Group: Design
Module Leader: Elizabeth Norris
Module Team: Liam Barrett, Matthew Morgan, Emma Marshman
First Intended Intake: SEP 2020 Final Year of Intake: 2025
Date Closed:
Credit Value: 20 Credit Level: 4
Language: English
Percentage of Module Taught in Welsh: 0
Equivalent Module:
HECOS codes: 100062 - illustration
HECOS Code Weighting: 100

Document Version Information

Version 1
Valid From 01 Sep 2020
Valid To 31 Aug 2026

Module Aims

Introduce and highlight the key movements and features of past, present and future illustration practice.

Encourage and develop basic critical research, analytical skills and academic methodologies.

Support the student to contextualise written communication in relation to illustration practice.

Content Summary

This module will introduce students to the historical and cultural background of illustration practice. Students will examine the key design movements across the past two centuries and determine how illustration has been shaped and influenced by them. Students will learn about the impact of the social, political and economic influences on Illustration and design together with the key points of transition from modernism to postmodernism and the rise of a consumer society.

Visual communication, the use of visual language and the application of images within the context of design and cultural history will be studied with an introduction to basic critical research methods and methodologies.

A combination of lectures, seminars and workshops will allow progression through this theory-based module.

Learning and Teaching Methods

Activity Type Hours
Lecture 12
Seminar 12
Project supervision 18
External visits 6
Independent Study 80
Directed Study 71
Formative Assessment - Scheduled 1
Total Hours Selected 200

Learning Outcomes

# Learning Outcome
LO1 Provide written evidence of work that is informed by critical, contextual, historical, conceptual and ethical dimensions within the practice of Illustration and its related areas.
LO2 Produce written work relevant to Illustration, which displays competence in form, structure, spelling and grammar.

Module Requisites

N/A

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Category Assessment Type Description Duration Word Count Weight (%) Best of? Pass Mark
Asynchronous Assessment Research Plan / Proposal / Project/ Log 1 A detailed record of the critical area of study 0 800 20 No 40
Asynchronous Assessment Essay 1 Critical Illustrated Essay 0 2500 80 No 40

Assessment Matrix

Assessment Type Learning Outcomes
LO1 LO2
Research Plan / Proposal / Project/ Log 1
Essay 1

Reading List

Berger, J. (2008), Ways of Seeing, Penguin Classics; Reprint Edition.

Doyle, Grove, Sherman. (2018), History of Illustration, Bloomsbury, London.

Harrison, C. (2002), Art in Theory 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, Wiley-Blackwell.

Heller, S. (2008), Illustration: A Visual History, HNA Books.

Male, A. (2007), Illustration: A Theoretical and Contextual Perspective, AVA Publishing.