HND Diploma in Visual Communications Ballyfermot College of Further Education

Price: TBA

Location: Ballyfermot College of Further Education Ballyfermot Road Ballyfermot Dublin 10 Ireland
Duration: 2 Years

Course details

The Higher National Diploma in Graphic Design at Ballyfermot College of Further Education is an intense, rigorous and professional programme, which aims to mould learners into confident and skilled graphic design practitioners. This Higher National Diploma has been running with great success for nearly thirteen years and has developed an outstanding reputation for both the quality of the programme and it’s graduates.

The course has been designed to give learners a unique and professional portfolio of work, coupled with the technical and creative skills to go straight into industry or apply for advanced entry to either 2nd or 3rd year of an honours degree programme in Ireland or the United Kingdom.

Students explore a wide range of visual communication techniques, with a particular emphasis placed on strong conceptual thinking and innovative design solutions. This design process is enhanced further with intense practical software and digital technology classes. Students may have no previous computer experience before beginning this programme, but upon completion of the course students will have a comprehensive understanding of how to effectively and appropriately apply technology in the design process.

Learners use Apple Mac computers in class and receive full training in the operating system, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, QuarkXPress, Flash and Dreamweaver. Topics introduced to students on this course include image manipulation, web design, typography, ideas generation, illustration, corporate identity, packaging, advertising among others. The ability to draw well lies at the heart of all art and design programmes and so plays an important part on the HND in Graphic Design; we encourage learners to integrate traditional art & design techniques with digital media wherever appropriate in the design process. Students are given classes in traditional illustration techniques and traditional design craft skills.

COURSE CONTENT:

Vector Applications in Graphic Design, Ideas Generation and Development in Art and Design, Contextual and Cultural Referencing in Art and Design, Typographic Skills, Editorial Design, Personal Style in Graphic Design, Digital Image Manipulation Applications, Photographic Techniques, Corporate Identity in Graphic Design, Computer Applications in Graphic Design, Motion and Interactive Graphics, Advanced Typographic Design, Art Direction for Advertising, Techniques and Processes in Specialist Visual Communication, Packaging in Graphic Design, Critical Study in Art and Design.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:

Leaving Certificate/LCVP with a minimum HC3 in Art and one other HC/OA and three passes or equivalent or QQI level 5 award with a merit profile or BTEC National Diploma with a merit profile. The academic entry requirements may be waived for mature applicants (21+)

CERTIFICATION:

HND in Visual Communications (Graphic Design)

This award is made by the UK awarding body BTEC Pearson and is not, at present, placed on the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ)

A Higher National Diploma is recognised by the QQI as being comparable to the Higher Certificate at NFQ Level 6.

QQI Comparability Statement

PROGRESSION:

Students complete this course with an individual and dynamic portfolio of graphic and illustrative work. Some graduates of the course go straight into industry while many more go on to further education with advanced entry to degree level in both Ireland and the UK.

PORTFOLIO GUIDELINES:

Please bring to the interview a professionally presented portfolio of selected recent works including:

Drawing showing strong use of line, tone, texture and composition. Work should be from life/observation and in a wide range of media showing a variety of subject matter.

Colour Work showing use of colour and tone. Work can range from painting, collage, printmaking, photography and textiles to mixed media.

Work of Personal Interest

Sketchbooks - showing development and progression of ideas and rough work demonstrating work practice and thought processes. Work should be creative and conceptual.

Updated on 08 November, 2015

Course Location

Show map Location Ballyfermot College of Further Education Ballyfermot Road Ballyfermot Dublin 10 Ireland

About Ballyfermot College of Further Education

BCFE is a college of further and higher education providing vocational education through the provision of excellent teaching and guidance in a caring and supportive learning environment.

Recognising Their position within the City of Dublin VEC they have a responsibility to provide educational opportunity and support to all, and in particular to Their local community.

Conscious of Their educational tradition they continue to be innovative and creative in the provision of cTheirses to meet the needs of Their present and prospective learners.

Their cTheirses provide learners with relevant qualifications and competencies enabling them to enter and advance in the work force or continue to further studies.

CORE VALUES

Equal opportunities and access.
Respect for each inpidual.
An open and flexible approach to learning.
Learner-centred.
Commitment to innovation and improvement.

AIMS

Their aims are:

To continue to be a leading provider of further education.
To be innovative in developing new cTheirses at different levels in a planned and integrated way through consultative processes.
To further improve the quality of Their cTheirses and their delivery.
To provide a range of cTheirses recognised within the Qualifications Framework.
To contribute to educational access and opportunity for the local community.
To develop internal structures appropriate to a college of further and higher education.
To continue to enhance the physical resTheirces of the college.
To enable staff to develop their full potential within the college.
To further develop partnerships with potential and current employers.
To further develop collaborative relationships with educational institutions.

MANAGEMENT

Ballyfermot College of Further Education is managed by the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee (CDVEC) with a local Board of Management representative of the community/special interest, industry/services and commerce, students and staff.

The CDVEC is the statutory agency for vocational and technological education for the City of Dublin. It manages 21 schools and colleges, which cater for 11,000 students.

Maureen Conway is the Principal of the College and the Deputy Principals are Diarmuid O’Brien and Kevin Devine.

HISTORY

Ballyfermot College of Further Education is a leader in further education and training in the Republic of Ireland since it opened in 1979. Following the radical social, economic and demographic changes of the last few decades in Ireland and the corresponding evolution in education, Ballyfermot College not only contributed immensely to the development of Post-Leaving Certificate cTheirses (PLC) for Irish school leavers, but also offered further education, specific skills and training in areas previously untouched by most educational institutions.

The college opened in 1979 as the Senior College Ballyfermot. Since then the college has worked with a range of educational and industrial partners to develop and offer a wide range of successful cTheirses in further and higher education. The college caters for students from the age of 17 and upwards.

The college offers a choice of 39 cTheirses of Further and Higher Education in 9 departments.

Senior College Ballyfermot (SCB)

The Senior College opened in September 1979 to provide the Leaving Certificate to students from Ballyfermot. After consultation with local secondary schools it was decided that students from 3 of the local schools, Ballyfermot Vocational School, Caritas and St Dominic’s would complete their leaving certificate in the Senior College. The new school offered a wide range of subjects to the boys and girls of the area. The College is part of City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee.

The new College also offered secretarial cTheirses to post Leaving and post Intermediate students, as theyll as pre-employment cTheirses for post intermediate students.

During the 1980’s a range of post Leaving cert. CTheirses theyre introduced into the College, including Preliminary Engineering which had links with DIT Bolton Street, Hotel Catering and TTheirism cTheirses which had links with CERT, Business cTheirses and Social Care cTheirses. Most of these cTheirses continue today.

In the 1990’s the Senior College gave up its Leaving Certificate classes, which returned to the local schools, and continued to develop Post-Leaving Certificate cTheirses making it a leader in developing this area of education.

In 2000 the Senior College changed its name to Ballyfermot College of Further Education.

DEPARTMENTS

Within BCFE there are several Departments: