Design Foundation Course
Start a design career at our highly recognised Marbella Design Academy!
The 12-week Design Foundation Course is the perfect solution for all students that would like improve their passion for design or who has the dream of a BA university degree in Design, but do not have the required academic background to enter directly into our Bachelor of Arts Validated programmes.
The aim of this intensive Design Foundation Course is to introduce students to the practice of being a designer. It will help them develop creative expression and their ideas, add meaning and context to their designs, and to identify where their design skills best lie.
On successful completion of the Design Foundation Course of the Marbella Design Academy, students are awarded a Design Foundation Course certificate of completion. Additionally, they will be eligible to enroll in one of our three-year International Bachelor of Arts validated programmes:
*Fashion Design & Development, *Interior Architecture & Design, *Graphic Design & Media validated and awarded by our UK partner – the University of Bedfordshire.
General Information: Duration: 12 weeks, 4 hours daily: Mornings (Monday to Friday): Language: English:
Calendar: The programme starts three times a year, in February, May and September:
Fee: 3.500 Euros ( From February 2024 the Fee is: 4.000 Euros)
Course Description: The aim of this course is to introduce you to the practice of being a designer. The course will help you understand how to develop your ideas and add meaning and context to your designs. To ensure that all students have the opportunity to access our three-year undergraduate design programmes, we are now offering the very flexible opportunity of attending this Design Foundation Course either at the Academy itself or even without leaving the confines of the home on both February and May intake.
Any student that chooses to attend virtually will still benefit from 100% tutor attention and guidance through an interactive live streaming system. Students will be able to connect with our tutor in real-time and ask any questions they might have as they arise.
Course Structure: The Design Foundation Course is divided into Introduction, Experimentation, Specialisation and Presentation. In the introduction, the course will cover the fundamentals as follows:
- Visual Communication
- Colour Theory
- Drawing Skills
The experimentation stage is to challenge your creativity and to enhance your skills. You will work with traditional media, photography and computers to develop the basic skills required; through research and exploratory drawings, you will create some basic design projects.
Each project is designed to encourage you to develop your own ideas and to familiarise you with the design process to produce a high-quality body of work and cover a range of design-industry-standard mediums.
In the Specialisation stage, you will decide which area of design interests you the most. You will be involved in graphic, interior and fashion projects. The Specialisation stage will also introduce you to the concept of working with a given brief, and it will give you an understanding of how design works in the commercial world.
An essential aspect of being a designer is compiling and presenting your work. The Presentation stage will be divided into two parts to help you gain confidence in showing your work:
First, you will give a short presentation of your work, where you focus on the relevant parts of your projects and explain your design options. Then, you will build a portfolio fit for degree level interviews. It will show finished pieces along with research, development and the thinking process.
Why should you take the Design Foundation Course at Marbella Design Academy? The Design Foundation Course is suitable for students who cannot enter directly into our 3-year Bachelor of Arts with Honours Validated Programmes or are unsure which programme to pursue.
Testimonial: “It was a pleasure for me to be part of the Design Foundation Course. It was a wonderful class. I was able to discover many things and new software. The Design Foundation Course taught me so much, especially how to be creative and have a designer mindset. The course was challenging, and the teacher was always there supporting us and ready to help.I enjoyed the course tremendously.”
Benedicte Ndongo Kulengula (Republic of Congo) Design Foundation Course – online
Head of our Design Foundation Course at Marbella Design Academy. Jean Pierre Costa. Graphic Designer
Jean-Pierre has been a professional designer and teacher for more than 20 years within the fields of graphic, industrial, interior and web design. Jean-Pierre is passionate about design and the thinking process associated with it. He is always looking for a creative outside the box solution.
Classroom teaching is supported by comprehensive study materials and resources developed by the Marbella Design Academy, including access to all workshops and facilities. Internationally qualified tutors, with a strong backgrounds in the industry, will developed the students skills and knowledge, preparing them for the ambitious undergraduate validate programme.
To ensure that all students have the opportunity to access our three-year undergraduate design programmes, we are now offering the very flexible opportunity of attending this Design Foundation Course, either at the Academy itself or even without leaving the confines of the home.
Any student that chooses to attend virtually will still benefit from 100% tutor attention and guidance through an interactive live streaming system. Students will be able to connect with our tutor in real-time and ask any questions they might have as they arise.
Choose to attend the Design Foundation Course at Marbella Design Academy in house or online from home.
This 12-week Design Foundation Course is the perfect solution for students that:
• Do not fulfil the entrance requirements for entering our three-year Bachelor of Arts validated programmes.
• Are in doubt as to which BA (Honours) validated programme in Design to choose.
Computer help for students:
Should students have a problem with their computer, then we can strongly recommend using WEBCOMUNICA in Monda. JJ (the owner) is a genius when it comes to fixing computer problems. JJ can help students with their PC or MAC problems for a special Marbella Design Academy student price. Students can call JJ any time on +34 686 515 371 or can pass by his shop in Monda, in Calle Hospital 6.
When the Design Foundation Course has been completed the students can continue on the *Bachelor of Arts validated three-year programmes in Interior Architecture & Design, Graphic Design & Media or Fashion Design & Manufacture.
Next intakes for the Marbella Design Academy BA validated programmes are the 27th September 2021.
Study Plan
Study Plan – Introduction (2 weeks)
Basic visual communication and introduction to the design process. In the introduction of the course we will cover the following:
- Visual Elements
- Composition
- Visual Perception
- Introduction to Colour Theory
Through interactive lectures and exploratory exercises, the students will be able to understand the basics of visual communication and perception. The students will work with photography, developing the basic skills required.
Study Plan – Experimentation (5 weeks)
During this period the students will tackle a wide range of design and drawing challenges, spanning many areas of design. The students will be introduced to industry-standard software (Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Indesign). Therefore it is relevant for the students to bring their computers with the required software installed. This stage aims to enable the students to understand their interests and abilities in different design fields.
The experimental stage is to challenge the creativity of the students; through an established project where they will complete a variety of design work. The project is organized so that the students try elements of each discipline, from fashion, graphics and interior architecture.
The students will also have the opportunity to visit a museum and/or a gallery to open their horizons in the art and design field. Through their research and documented drawings, the students will have the opportunity to design a new brand, create a space and design a fashion item.
The project is written to encourage the students to develop their ideas. They will start with a design brief, then are expected to research the topic, and produce a high-quality body of work.
This will be perfect training for what the students will be facing after enrolling in one of the Marbella Design Academy three-year Bachelor of Arts Validated programmes.
Study Plan – Specialisation (4 weeks)
Students will be involved in several areas of design and engage in self-directed work. This stage aims to enable the students to conduct the project in different design fields. At this stage, students will know which area of design interests them the most.
All the project will be discussed and agreed in advance with the tutor. The tutor will be able to suggest solutions, although the student will be encouraged to develop ideas and concepts of their own.
Study Plan – Presentation (1 week)
The students are expected to present their self-directed project. They will also build a portfolio of their work to show prospective degree courses. An essential aspect of being a designer is compiling and presenting a project. This short stage will be divided into two parts to helps students gain confidence in showing their work.
Students will give a short presentation (15 minutes maximum) of their projects. They will not aim to show everything that they have done, but focus in on the best of their projects.
Then, each student will build a portfolio fit for degree level interviews. It will be neat, orderly and show all the work developed for the project. It will show sketches alongside to finished deliverables, all sustained by a development process.
The specialisation stage will introduce students to the concept of working accordingly to a brief. The project will give the students an understanding of how design works in the commercial world.
Each student will participate in a project covering interior architecture, graphic design and fashion design.
Tuition Fee: 3.500€
(From 2024 the Fee is: 4.000€)
Tuition Language: English
Duration: 12 weeks
Monday to Friday
Next Design Foundation Courses starts:
2023
25th September 2023 to 15th December 2023 (On campus only)
2024
05th February 2024 to 26th April 2024 (Online and on campus)
21st May 2024 to 09th August 2024 (Online and on campus)