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Exploring Visual Communications at BCU
10 January 2025
In December, Year 11 and 12 Art and Design students attended an 'Explore Visual Communications' event at Birmingham City University's Faculty of Arts, Design & Media. The day was filled with a mix of tours, workshops, and insightful talks giving students a glimpse into undergraduate life and the potential pathways into the creative industries.
Olivia, Kate, and Ayesha kindly shared their experience of the day at the university with us.
They started by meeting their guide and two student ambassadors, who provided an overview of the courses and lecturers at the university. They also learned about some of the professions and companies that graduates are working with, such as Gymshark, ASOS, and the BBC.
Next, they toured the state-of-the-art Parkside building, exploring the amazing facilities. This included a stop at one of the three green screen rooms, the largest of its kind in any UK university. They also explored the various levels of the building, where creative courses like photography, textiles and architecture take place, enabling them to gain a clearer understanding of each of the courses.
A highlight was the photography studio, where they used DSLR cameras to experiment with lighting, poses, and angles. They were able to take home the creative photos they captured!
After lunch, the group joined an illustration workshop led by Andy Hulland, known as Mr. the Beef. He shared his journey as an illustrator and gave a tutorial on his method for illustrating characters. Using this information, the students created their own characters, constructed from facial features cut from magazines. Their task was to create peculiar looking characters from these features and develop them into final designs using black marker pens.
All the students left feeling inspired and excited to apply what they’d learned to their GCSE and A-level projects.
The day wrapped up with a group photo, marking the end of a fantastic and enriching experience. A big thank you to the Art Department for organising such a memorable
trip!
Exploring Visual Communications at BCU
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