Credit Points: 30
Study Time: 300 Hours

The unit Creativity in Context gives you the opportunity to engage in a range of practical projects that enhance your creativity and extend your knowledge and refine your practical skills. It encourages an autonomous approach centred on innovative thinking and creative ability within a professional context. While some projects will be set by tutors and/or industry professionals, there will also be opportunities for you to devise individual programmes of work in preparation for the unit Professional Project, which could include 'live' briefs or competition work. You are also encouraged to collaborate with students and/or professionals of other disciplines/courses, e.g. Graphic Design, Fashion Studies/ Fashion Design & Technology, Digital Media Production etc. This could possibly include the introduction of text or graphics to your work, or working in collaboration with fashion designers or model makers. Students will also be encouraged to use outside photographic service industries, such as prop houses, model agencies, costume hire etc.

Students are expected to work within a specific commercial context, that has to have been researched and can be justified, and all visual outcomes must be derived from conceptually realised solutions. This will encourage lateral and innovative thinking, and evaluation of the relationship between images within a commercial context and their audience/client.

Outline syllabus
(An indicative guide to the content covered by this unit.)

Tutor-devised projects will reflect a range of areas of commercial photography and related research. Areas of photographic practice may include:

• Fashion 
• Advertising 
• Portraiture 
• Editorial/Documentary

Student-devised work will vary according to individual needs and interests. The research and preparatory work for your projects will be articulated in a Learning Agreement in which you will also outline the timetable for the development and completion of the work.

Method of delivery
Presentations, Projects; studio practice; learning teams; independent study; research; tutorials, critiques.

Aims

A1 To enhance your creativity and practical skills through the application of learning. 
A2 To consolidate research and problem solving in the creative process. 
A3 To encourage collaboration with other disciplines. 
A4 To develop your ability to devise and initiate personal projects.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this unit you will be able to:

LO1 Demonstrate enhanced creative and practical skills, including: 

• Project work that shows a high degree of technical skill and creative control 
• The ability to produce photographic work that is designed to work within a particular commercial context

LO2 Demonstrate the ability to apply research in the solving of problems and development of solutions to project briefs, including:

• The knowledge and ability to access various forms of both visual and theoretical information, that is relevant and informative 
• Critical understanding of chosen photographic topics Critical evaluation of own and others work

LO3 Collaborate with others, including professionals in other disciplines, including: 

• The ability to recognise, source and where necessary, give direction to individuals and organisations appropriate in fulfilling creative outcomes
• Liaise with those in the successful completion of project work

LO4 Develop, plan and bring photographic projects to fruition, including: 

• A professional attitude to time management
• The ability to bring together the many variables needed in the successful completion of photographic project work

Reference material
This will vary according to the needs of individual students. You will define Reference Material through negotiation with staff and list it in your Learning Agreement.