Digital Technology (Design) Welcome Guide

Preparing for your course

We're delighted to have you join us at Arts University Bournemouth, and hope that your time here will be rewarding, challenging, creative and enjoyable.

Welcome to BA (Hons) Digital Technology (Design)

This welcome pack is designed to give you an idea of what to expect during the first weeks of your course. Please take the time to read it carefully and take particular note of the pre-course preparation. We hope that you'll enjoy a happy and productive time with us and look forward to meeting you in the autumn.

A message from your Course Leaders

We will begin the course with a thorough introduction to studying at Arts University Bournemouth, and a collaborative induction week with students from the design course. In your course studies, we will start by considering critical issues that impact the creative industries, design practice, sustainability and how these can be applied using technological solutions, and of course, we will tinker with technology.

We value your imagination and determination, but also your positive thinking and your knowledge of the worlds issues. We are all close to issues that can be addressed, maybe in small ways, maybe in revolutionary ways with creative thinking. We encourage you to be inquisitive, curious, experimental, and hard-working, the course offers an extraordinary range of opportunities and a place in a unique creative community.

We look forward to meeting you.

- Claire Holman and Ed Ward, co-Course Leaders

Before you join us

Now more than ever, designers and creatives are being called upon to consider issues of social, economic and environmental sustainability. Only by working together, sharing ideas and focusing on common goals can we make the most of our creativity and address these issues.

One of the ways that we can come together in this aim is to work towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Refer to the Reading List for information about the SDGs.

As preparation for joining us here this September, we have a creative challenge for you.

We want you to produce a collage-style poster that highlights one of the SDGs and tells something about why it's important to you. Choose any of the SDGs that interest you (except Number 17, Partnerships for the goals – we'll be using this one as an example...)

The poster should be A3 portrait format, but can be designed however you like. It should communicate clearly, but also express your own design style. It could be complied digitally (we can print it for you), or it could be a collage of images and hand-rendered text.

Illustrate your poster by considering both the problems and solutions. Show examples of where you see that the SDG could improve a situation. Show examples of how design, innovation and/or technology is being used in pursuit of the goal. We want to see what inspires you about the work of other designers and/or technologists.

You could find examples from anywhere, but we're particularly interested in what you see around you, examples you can see and experience.

These posters will be a way to introduce ourselves when we come together, and complete an introductory project that'll introduce our exciting new course to the rest of AUB, and the world!

If you have any questions about this challenge, please contact us at cholman@aub.ac.uk and/or eward@aub.ac.uk.

How to submit your summer project

Simply bring your poster with you when you join us on campus for the first time, or email it to cholman@aub.ac.uk and/or eward@aub.ac.uk.

Bell, A. (2020) Can we save the planet: A primer for the 21^st century. Thames & Hudson.
Kelly, D. & Kelly, T. (2015) Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential within Us All. Harper Collins.
United Nations (no date) The 17 Goals. [online] Available from: https://sdgs.un.org/goals Accessed on: 11.4.24
United Nations Publications. (2017) The Sustainable Development Goals. United Nations Publications.