GCSE Art, Craft and Design AQA

This subject is broken down into 16 topics in 3 modules:

  1. Knowledge and Understanding 5 topics
  2. Skills 6 topics
  3. Art, Craft and Design 5 topics
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This page was last modified on 28 September 2024.

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Art, Craft and Design

Knowledge and Understanding

Development of Ideas

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Development of Ideas

  • 'Development of Ideas' is a major part of your creative process, where you use your research to develop and refine your original idea.
  • Starting with your preliminary idea, you should be continually developing and changing it. This is a process of exploration and experimentation.
  • Sketching and using other visual representations are vital ways of developing your ideas.
  • Ideas can also evolve by trying out different materials, techniques and processes, seeing how these affect what you're trying to communicate.
  • You need to critically analyse your own work as you progress. What's working, and what isn't? Are there elements that could be improved?
  • It's crucial to reflect on both the aesthetic and conceptual aspects of your work. Aesthetically, are your designs appealing and do they effectively use principles of design like balance, contrast, and unity? Conceptually, are you effectively conveying your intended message or theme?
  • As your ideas develop, continually reference your sources of inspiration. Artists, styles, historical periods, societal issues, personal experiences; these should all be serving to inform and motivate your work.
  • Iterate and refine. Trial and error are part of the process and should lead to you refining your ideas.
  • Use ongoing analysis and evaluation as part of the development process. Consider how your work relates to that of others and how it fits into wider contexts.
  • You should consider both form and function in your design. How does it look, and what does it do? What are its physical characteristics, and how does it communicate or interact with its audience?
  • Make your idea development visible in your portfolio. Track your thoughts, changes, and evaluate decisions. This review and reflexion may lead you to new branches of ideas or improvements.
  • Final thoughts should be revised considering the peculiarities and requirements of the media and materials you choose for the realisation of your final piece.
  • Remember, the 'Development of Ideas' stage is about progress and transformation, not about having a perfect final piece from the start. Keep an open mind, experiment, and learn from your mistakes. Your best work will often come from exploratory risks and unexpected discoveries.
  • The development phase is not linear, and your ideas could take several different paths before you settle on a final design. Don't suppress those different paths - explore them and see if they enhance your final outcome.

Course material for Art, Craft and Design, module Knowledge and Understanding, topic Development of Ideas

Art, Craft and Design

Skills

Recording Ideas, Observations, Insights and Independent Judgements

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Recording Ideas, Observations, Insights and Independent Judgements

• Understand the Importance of Recording Ideas: Regularly writing down thoughts and concepts helps to solidify them and provide a reference point that can be revisited later. The practise of recording helps in the development and refining of ideas.

• Document Observations: The physical world can deeply inspire artistic work. Using diary entries, sketches, or photographs to document and assess these observations can support in idea development.

• Develop Insight: This involves thinking deeply about the themes and ideas encountered. It encourages the expression of personal responses to artworks, themes and the world around.

• Evaluation Skills: Developing independent judgements about your own work as well as others' work and clearly articulating reasons for these judgements is a key skill to master. This nurtures the ability to evaluate work constructively and improve continually.

• Use of Sketchbooks: Sketchbooks aren't solely for drawing; they serve as a journal of creative progress. They can hold anything from written notes on your thoughts and ideas, to photographs, fabric samples, found objects, sketches and final drawings.

• Experimentation: Try different mediums, techniques, styles, formal elements, and so on. These should all be documented as part of the creative process.

• Reflect Regularly: Consistently reviewing and reflecting on your own ideas and progress, as well as that of others, will help shape future work. It's important to apply independent judgements in this reflexion.

• Connect Different Elements: It's important to draw connections between observations, insights, and independent judgements. For instance, noticing a pattern in a series of observations could lead to a unique insight. Equally, a series of insights could lead to an independent judgement.

• Keep Record of Inspiration: Inspiration can strike unexpectedly, therefore, maintaining a constant method of recording—whether it's sketching, writing or clicking a picture—will help to capture ideas the moment they strike.

• Research and Critical Thinking: Look at works by other artists and designers to deepen understanding and broaden perspective. Always document your thoughts and ideas stemming from this research.

Course material for Art, Craft and Design, module Skills, topic Recording Ideas, Observations, Insights and Independent Judgements

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