ba (hons) design for art direction explores the practical, conceptual, and communications skills central to art direction. you’ll prioritise critical and reflective approaches to collaboration, shared leadership and visual culture while considering broader social, economic, political, and environmental contexts. you’ll engage with a range of practices involved in becoming an art director, working in the creative industries, and/or preparing for postgraduate study. these include editorial, curation, moving image, digital and analogue print production. your learning journey enables you to question the norms, practices and biases in societies, cultures, and industry sectors. you'll develop a voice and practice based on strong contextual awareness, sensitive to place and culture, whilst advocating for community and planetary wellbeing. you'll work together with staff to gain new insights in the pursuit of mutual learning, supporting personal and professional growth, and realising change. what to expect learning and working with others: collaborate and explore ways of working inclusively to support mutual learning. visual communication and storytelling: gain expertise in the practical and critical aspects of design, using visual, gestural and textual methods that question historical norms. work on projects: specific projects will offer you the freedom to explore self-directed approaches to shared themes and contexts, while exercising your voice and values in your work. develop technical skills: learn a range of digital and analogue skills including, but not restricted to, editorial, moving image, web and print processes. preparation for a variety of roles: experience insight into roles across the creative industries in areas such as exhibition curation, fashion, galleries and museums, sound production, print publishing, moving image and photography. industry experience and opportunities there are opportunities to work on competition and live briefs at different times during your studies. you are encouraged to take a critical approach to these briefs and consider the relationships between, social, racial and environmental needs, and innovation. course lecturers and guest speakers share industry insights as part of unit curricula, and cross-year learning activities. we support you to build your career, helping you to understand how to find employment opportunities, freelancing, applying for public and private funding, identifying relevant open calls, accessing institutional support, and other ways of working. additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to undertake the diploma in professional studies or the ual diploma in creative computing between years 2 and 3 to enhance your learning experience and employability skills. mode of study ba (hons) design for art direction runs for 93 weeks in full-time mode. it is divided into 3 stages over 3 academic years. each stage lasts 31 weeks.