Mode of Study

Full-time

Start Date

25th Aug 2025, 1 year

Location

City Campus

Applications from International Students Welcome

Overview

 

This foundation course allows you to build a creative portfolio of art, graphic design and illustration projects. The course can lead to further study at HN level specifically HND Graphic Design and HND Illustration. You'll learn to research effectively and work creatively from sketchbook through the design process to finished work, all of which is continuously assessed.

You'll develop an individual and personalised portfolio for whatever follow-on course you wish to apply for. The course will be entirely on campus for 2.5 days per week.

 

The course is placed on the Scottish Credit Qualifications Framework at Level 6. 

Entry requirements

Minimum entry requirements

• National 5 Art and Design and National 5 English at Grade C or above; OR
• Other equivalent qualifications or experience.

Submission of Digital Portfolio

Create a single document that contains 5-10 images and save it as a PDF.  Include your best work, we would rather see quality over quantity. Under each image, write a short sentence that explains the work. 

Submit a portfolio of art and design work that contains:

• 2-3 examples of finished art or design work that could include 2D or 3D work.
• 2-3 examples of research for art or design work that might include observational drawing. 
• 2-3 examples of development work for art or design work where you show us sketches, thumbnails, experiments and developments. 

Photograph your work carefully, preferably in natural light. Crop the image so that we can see it. You can include more than one image on each page, especially if it is from the same project. 

Successful candidates will be invited for a course information session.   

Additional selection requirements

• You'll be invited for a group and/or individual interview where you can find out more about the course and tell us why you're interested in this subject area or we'll make an offer based on your application form.
• You’ll be asked to provide examples of your art and design work - Portfolio Information.

ESOL entry requirements

Applicants whose first language is not English should have minimum SQA ESOL National 5 or equivalent for NC/NQ courses and ESOL Higher or equivalent for HNC/D courses.

What you study

Emphasis is on research, development of ideas and experimentation of media. You'll gain a thorough understanding of the design process.

You'll work on graphics projects exploring:

• Media & Illustration techniques.
• Sketchbook Development.
• Creative Thinking.
• Design and/or Illustration Projects.
• Page Layout.
• Typography.
• Advertising.
• Corporate Identity.
• Digital Imaging.
• Study Trips.

After the course

Careers

The course is an opportunity to build a portfolio to move onto further study.

Continuing Study

After the course you can apply to HND courses at City of Glasgow College including the following subject areas:

• HND Graphic Design.
• HND Illustration.
• HND Digital Design.
• HND Creative Animation.

Teaching

Assessment methods

Additional Information

Materials