Fashion Communication Welcome Guide

Preparing for your course

We're delighted that you've chosen to join our creative community at Arts University Bournemouth. We can't wait to see what you'll create.

Welcome to BA (Hons) Fashion Communication

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 we look forward to meeting you in September.

A message from your Course Leader

Welcome to Fashion Communication, where your studies will expose you to the diverse career opportunities within fashion promotion, image making, branding, styling, publication design, fashion film, app design, and new media.

Fashion Communication at Arts University Bournemouth prides itself on its industry links, live projects and collaborations, and graduates have gone on to have successful internships and careers with brands such as: Skinny Dip, Urban Outfitters, Allsaints, Flannels, Harvey Nichols, The Telegraph, Glass Magazine, Nowness, The Future Laboratory, Protein Studios, Amplify, as well as establishing successful freelance careers.

Recent student successes and awards have included: Graduate Fashion Week New Fashion Media Award and The Terry Mansfield Fashion Publication Award wins, and First Runner-up for The FACE Excellence Prize, as well as finalists at Aesthetica Short Film Festival.

We very much look forward to working with you and playing an important part in helping you achieve your dreams and career aspirations.

– Corinna Budnarowska, Course Leader

Before you join us

If you're joining AUB in the first year, you'll be required to do a summer project before the course begins. This project is about opening up your mind, expressing your individuality and preparing for the creative challenges you're about to embark on during the BA (Hons) Fashion Communication course.

Brand Narrative: Storytelling in a digital world

Part 1: Research

Start by looking at a range of fashion brands that Instagram to communicate their brand narrative. Consider:

What type of narratives (stories) are you seeing from brands? (i.e., are they just telling you about their products, or do the stories communicate something else interesting about the brand – if so, what?)
What sort of content (storytelling) makes you stop scrolling and why?
What do you think makes for a successful Instagram post and why?

Use this research to complete Part 2.

Part 2: Creative Response (Instagram post)

Use your research on what makes a successful Instagram brand narrative (story) to help you create an Instagram post that tells us something about you and your creative practice. Through your post, show us something interesting about you; e.g., a favourite memory, a hobby, an object or piece of clothing that you love, something creative that you like to do, or a place that you feel inspired by, perhaps.

How to submit your summer project

When you are happy with what you have created, post it to your creative Instagram account (if you don’t have one, then this could be an opportunity to start one!) and tag us (@aub_fbc) in the post, telling us that you're joining the course soon. If you're unable to post publicly, email it to cbudnarowska@aub.ac.uk before you join us, as we'd love to know a bit more about you and what you love to do.

The Library here at AUB is extremely well resourced and includes all key texts that you'll need. The list below indicates the key texts that will be useful throughout your studies, all of these are available from the Library at AUB. You might want to borrow a copy from your local library to look at before you arrive.

Kelley, T. and Kelley, D. (2014). Creative Confidence. Unleashing the creative potential within us all.
Porter, C. (2021). What Artists Wear.
Posner, H. (2011). Marketing Fashion.
Thanhauser, S. (2022). Worn. A People’s History of Clothing.

The Andy Warhol Diaries (2022) (Netflix)
Abstract Series 1 and 2 (2019) – we recommend Series 1, Episodes 2, 3, 6 and 7; Series 2, Episodes 2, 4, 5 and 6. (Netflix)
Helvetica (2007)
The Next Black (2014)
The True Cost (2015)

Fashion Revolution Podcast
Creatives Lives – In Progress Podcast

Current student work

Have a look through some of the work our current students are producing to get an idea of the type of work you may be making on our course.

A person sitting next to a giant A sign with flash bulbs in it.

Various pieces of paper branding materials and three black folders laid out on a large sheet of paper.

Close up of a model with flowers in their hair.

Close-up of paper branding materials in a black folder lying on a table.

Close up of a shirtless model with their eyes closed and plants and flowers on their head.

Shirtless model with a black suede jacket held over their shoulders standing against a purple background.

Shirtless model sitting looking over their shoulder with flower petals on their back.

A shirtless model raises their arms above their head with flower petals falling down in front of them.

Shirtless model with translucent white material draped over them poses for a photo with their eyes closed.

Course Equipment

The core units throughout your first year require specialist equipment and resources that we provide for use in sessions. Throughout your studies, you may wish to build your own collection of equipment dependent on the specialist routes you decide to take, but we recommend that you come to university with the following equipment:

Drawing pencils
Eraser
Sharpener
Black fine liners
Steel ruler
Paint brushes
Black ink
Watercolours
Oil pastels
Charcoal
Scissors
Glue stick
Scalpel
Cutting mat
Sketchbooks
Notebooks
Minimum 32 GB SD Card (SanDisk recommended)
Minimum 2 TB external hard drive (Seagate, Western Digital and Lacie all recommended) Please format for use across both macOS and PC Windows. During your studies, you'll have access to OneDrive for cloud storage, but for additional storage, we recommend the purchase of an external hard drive.

Please note: While we fund a lot of the materials for the core learning, you'll also be required to buy additional materials outside this for your coursework based on your own personal requirements. All educational trips will be subsidised.

What to bring on your first day

On your first day, bring along:

A notebook and something to write with
Your ID and documents for face-to-face registration (see the "Next Steps" tab for more details)
Your Temporary ID card from your Welcome notebook inside cover if you have one