National College of Art & Design, Dublin. A recognised college of University College Dublin
Undergraduate application and portfolio submission guidelines. Entry September 2015
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Extract from an interview with Sinéad Onóra Kennedy, Student of the year, Fourth Year Fashion, May 2013.
“My process would be to start off looking and then drawing and making shapes. I would then stop and leave it alone. I would move on and create sculptural forms that I could later apply to the body. This way I could simply play with them.”
Undergraduate application and portfolio submission guidelines. Entry September 2015 This booklet gives you the information you need to prepare your portfolio, make an application and become a student at NCAD. We hope you enjoy the challenge of putting together your portfolio submission and we look forward to welcoming you as a student to NCAD in September 2015. NCAD is a community of 1,500 students studying Fine Art, Design, Education and Visual Culture based on Thomas Street in Dublin city centre.
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Study at NCAD What can I study at NCAD? NCAD has a wide range of undergraduate honours degrees in Fine Art, Design, Education and Visual Culture: AD101 – First Year Art & Design (Common Entry) With degree options in: Design Ceramics & Glass, Fashion Design, Jewellery & Metalwork, Textile Art & Artefact, Textile Surface Design, Visual Communication. Fine Art Fine Print, Media, Painting, Sculpture. Design or Fine Art & Visual Culture A BA degree with one of the degree options in either Design or Fine Art and Visual Culture.
AD202 – Design or Fine Art & Education (Second Level Teaching) A Joint honours degree in Education and one of the degree options in either Design or Fine Art, leading to a qualification to teach art or design at second level. AD212 – Product Design Product Design at NCAD is a studio based degree that addresses all the stages and activities involved in the creation of a new product – from concept AD215 – Visual Culture design to manufacture, to The BA Visual Culture at NCAD prototyping and marketing. is the study of the history and theory of art and design in a creative art school setting. This course offers a route that is not studio based for students who aspire to careers in the numerous professional sectors which reside around the arts and design, including arts management, critical and popular writing and interactive and digital curation. There is a work placement in year three. Modules studied include Contemporary Theories, Professional Practice, Digital Cultures, Curating Art & Design, Culture and the Market. This programme does not require a portfolio submission.
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The Application
Do all programmes at NCAD require a portfolio submission? You will need to submit a portfolio as part of the application process for the following programmes:
How Do I Apply To NCAD? There are two parts to the application process for NCAD. 1. CAO Application All applications for full-time, first year undergraduate study must be made through the CAO (Central Applications Office, www.cao.ie) using the NCAD Course Code (AD). This application should be made by the normal closing date of 1st February each year. 2. Portfolio Submission A portfolio submission is required for all studio degrees at NCAD (AD101/AD202/AD212). The portfolio submission deadline is the end of the first week in February. CAO CLOSING DATE: 5.15pm Sunday 1st February 2015 PORTFOLIO SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 4.30pm Friday 6th February 2015
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AD101 First Year Art & Design (Common Entry) AD202 Design or Fine Art & Education (Second Level Teaching) Can I make a late application for NCAD? NCAD Studio based programmes are restricted, which means it is not possible to make a late application. AD215 BA Visual Culture does not require a portfolio submission and is not restricted. It is possible to make a late application for this programme. Can I get an Extension on the deadline for Portfolio Submission? It is not possible to get an extension on the submission deadline – all portfolios must be presented by the published closing date.
AD212 Product Design Important Note: The application process for Product Design has changed. For entry 2015 you should submit your portfolio by Friday 6th February, offers will be based on the portfolio score alone rather than interview+ portfolio score. You do not need to submit a portfolio as part of the application process for AD215 Visual Culture. Places in Visual Culture are offered based on CAO points, the cut-off point for 2013 was 360.
The Portfolio What should I include in my portfolio for NCAD? An entrance portfolio is a collection of visual work that shows your potential to study art and design at third level. We have provided guidelines that set out clearly what is required in terms of the volume and scope of the work you should submit as your portfolio. The NCAD portfolio requirements are designed to reflect the kind of projects students are expected to do in First Year.
Portfolio submission guidelines: A. NCAD Portfolio Guidelines for AD101 Art & Design (Common Entry) and AD202 Design or Fine Art & Education See Page 8 A successful score on this portfolio submission will make you eligible for a place offer in AD101 First Year Art & Design (Common Entry) or AD202 Design or Fine Art & Education. B. NCAD Portfolio Guidelines for AD212 Product Design See Page 16 A successful score in this portfolio submission will make you eligible for an offer in AD212 Product Design. If you have completed Portfolio Guidelines A (above) and would also like to be considered for a place offer on AD212 Product Design you should complete and include Section D – Design Inspiration task from Portfolio Submission B ( see page 17) as an additional item with your portfolio submission. (You are not required to submit a second portfolio.) Important Note: It is important to include all courses that you wish to be considered for on your CAO Application.
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When should I bring my portfolio to NCAD? The deadline for submitting your portfolio is 4.30 PM Friday 6th February 2015. We will accept portfolios any time in the two weeks up to that date. If you need to submit your portfolio earlier please contact the Admissions Office: Fios@ncad.ie Please note it is your responsibility to submit your portfolio on time, we do not send reminders about this date. The address for portfolio submission is: The Admissions Office, NCAD, 100 Thomas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. When can I collect my portfolio? Portfolios can be collected from NCAD for up to 3 weeks after the end of the portfolio assessment. You will be given information on collection dates and times. If you need to collect your portfolio early please let us know and we will arrange to have your portfolio assessed and ready for collection.
How will my portfolio be assessed? Criteria for Assessment for all portfolio submissions: Critical observation You should demonstrate an ability to visually record, describe, explain and analyse your subject in response to a range of source material.
Capacity to sustain work commitment You should demonstrate ability to sustain the development of ideas through experimentation / exploration of subject /sources in a variety of circumstances.
In order to achieve a balanced measurement of the your general overall ability, all sections of the portfolio submission are Visual research – Inventiveassessed under the above criteria. ness and curiosity in research Being able to demonstrate some You should demonstrate an ability for observation, research, awareness and curiosity for ideas development, use of media visual material that is of interest and capacity to sustain work How are offers made? to you: finding, collecting and applies to all sections of the Offers are made in August organising source material. These portfolio submission. through the CAO. All applicants can be documented in any visual are placed on a ranked list based format. Course Offers on portfolio score. Offers are made in descending order from Creative Thinking When will I be told the this list to applicants who have You should provide evidence of outcome of my portfolio met the minimum academic a creative process in your work. assessment? entry requirements. Where and how you have chalWe will write to you by the end lenged yourself to look at things of March with the result of your What are the minimum differently? How were decisions portfolio assessment. This letter academic entry requirements? made and why? Your work will tell you if you have achieved Information on minimum entry should show evidence of a lively the necessary score for a condirequirements can be found at and engaged creative process. tional offer. A conditional offer is www.ncad.ie/study-at-ncad an offer that is dependent on you meeting the minimum academic Interviews entry requirements through NCAD reserves the right to call your Leaving Certificate, FETAC any applicant to interview. Award or other. If you do not get a conditional offer we will tell you if you are on a waiting list for an offer. Each year we make a number of offers to applicants from the waiting list.
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Portfolio submission guidelines for: AD101 First Year Art & Design (Common Entry) / AD202 Design of Fine Art & Education
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The brief starts here for: AD101 First Year Art & Design (Common Entry) / AD202 Design of Fine Art & Education
Section A Mind mapping / Research
Minimum requirements for Section A: One sheet for each chosen mind-map Total: Two Sheets (minimum)
Your first task is about thinking and making mind maps.
Do this Choose two themes: Memory Night-time Habitat Border Movement Tools Do this Make two mindmaps, one for each of your chosen themes.
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Mind maps are a vital research component in the portfolio brief as they help you to demonstrate your capacity for connecting ideas in a lively and inventive manner. This is an essential attribute of all artists/designers.
A mind map is a way to show, in visual form, the relationships between different ideas.
Identify as many unusual and interesting examples as you can think of. (e.g. Is a scar a memory? Could a stain be a border?)
The individual components of your mind maps are called items in the rest of the brief.
The items in the mind maps are also the ones you will use again in section B and section C of the Brief as your source material. Make your mind maps as visually In this way they inform and can interesting as possible. They make the next sections of the should be carefully considered, brief totally individual. inventive, and comprehensive. They can be multi-layered; may take any shape or form and use any media. One mind-map should be composed entirely of images.
The brief continues
Section B Observation / Process
Minimum requirements for Section B: Two sheets for each dismantled item Total: Four Sheets (minimum)
Your second task is about observing and recording in a context.
Do this Choose two items from your mind maps and get a physical example of each of them.
Do this Take apart or carefully dismantle the two chosen items. Do this Visually record (through any medium of your choice) all of the pieces arranged in two new ways for each item, such as stacked, pushed in a corner, hung, floating – or according to a criteria: material, colour, size, weight etc.
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These should be items that you can dismantle and re-arranged in some inventive way and make a record of the results of this process.
This task is about being inventive, and making careful observations using a variety of media, beginning with a drawing process that pays particular attention to line, tone, colour and surface.
Consider the possibilities of also using alternative media such as needle and thread, collage, clay, moving image, stop frame digital. These are intended to supplement the careful drawing and colour studies process.
Any 3d work should be photographed, with prints included on sheets related to the task. If you include moving images, please note that work on disc should be referenced on relevant worksheets and the total viewing time must not exceed two minutes.
Still photography and moving images can also be used to describe, explain, record and invent within this task.
The brief continues
Section C Creative / Process
Minimum requirements for Section C: Two sheets for each crossover Total: Four Sheets (minimum)
Your third task is about generating and recording a range of ideas through a creative process.
Do this Look again at the themes in section a of the brief, and the mind-maps you’ve made. Think about the possibilities if any two of your items (chosen from different mindmaps) were to cross-over interact, borrow from, or influence each other.
Do this We would like you to make two crossovers between two different items taken from any two of the themes.
For example: What is the visual or physical result of a memory item becoming a movement item? Could a tools item become a habitat item? How? There are no ‘correct’ answers or expected responses. We would like to see what you come up with.
So what happens if a knot took on some of the characteristics or qualities of a bird and vice versa? remember the arrows work in both directions (a night-time item becoming a habitat item can be different to a habitat item becoming a night-time item!)
For example Memory (e.g. knot)
Movement (e.g. bird)
Night-time (e.g. torch)
Habitat (e.g. pocket)
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We would like you to deliver your ideas through what we call ‘Ideas Worksheets’. Ideas Worksheets are a way of visually ‘thinking out loud’. On a worksheet, we would like you to use drawings, diagrams and where necessary, short notes to explain your ideas visually.
These are only examples – You should come up with your own ideas.
The brief continues
Section D Invention / Solutions
Minimum requirements for Section D: Two sheets for each task. Total: Four Sheets (minimum)
Your fourth task is about solving a variety of visual problems.
Some of these are based on direct observational tasks; others require you to come up with inventive solutions to a variety of problems.
Your work can be carried out in two or three dimensions, or it can be a combination of 2d and 3d processes and/or moving images.
Do this Invent/record/make at least two of the following: Invent two new kennels for two specific breeds of dog. – Draw/paint/record twenty different toes. – Draw/paint/record half the contents of a cupboard. – Make thirty two-minute drawings of people in motion. – Draw/paint/record four different spillages.
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Draw/paint/record four rippling surfaces. – Draw/paint/record five sleeping people. – Invent/make an extension for part of yourself. – Invent/make/record a floating word. – Invent/make a new musical instrument.
A degree of planning and research into the task is required and presenting this is as important as your actual solutions.
Work can be carried out in any form or combination of drawing, collage, models and/or various media. Presentation should be in the form of ideas worksheets showing developments from initial stages. relevant and informative photographs of any 3d work should be included on the worksheets. Again, if you do include moving images on disc, please note that the total viewing time must not exceed 2 minutes and must be clearly labeled and referenced within the portfolio (see notes for formatting of digital media).
The brief continues
Section E Notebooks
Minimum requirements for Section E: At least one notebook Total: 1 Notebook (minimum)
This task is about creating and maintaining a notebook(s).
In addition to completing the work of other sections you must maintain a visual notebook, which should underpin your ideas as they develop. The notebook should be essentially visual but can contain written elements where necessary as explanations.
Do this Obtain or create, then fill at least one visual notebook.
The notebook should record your incidental ideas/thoughts/ notions which arise during the period of time working on the brief. Your notebook can also show how you might expand ideas that you don’t have time to develop fully elsewhere
in your portfolio. any small drawings, diagrams or studies that help communicate your observations, thoughts and ideas are welcome. These can be from all sections of the brief including the mind maps.
Your notebook(s) are a great way of showing us how you think, and react to a variety of circumstances. The notebook should not be something you create as an afterthought. It should be an integral and active component of your work on an ongoing basis.
of cards you carry around, then combine together for presentation.
The notebook itself can be something you create. There can be different types of notebooks, ranging from something small that you bring with you everywhere in your pocket, or a set
This could then be supplemented by a studio based notebook which contains larger images/ print-outs etc. In other words, your notebook is an additional opportunity for you to show how engaged and excited by your work you are, and to provide some insight into your thinking process.
The brief ends here for: 13
AD101 First Year Art & Design (Common Entry) / AD202 Design of Fine Art & Education
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Product Design Portfolio Guidelines AD212 Product Design
Portfolio Submission Guidelines – Total Requirements: 9 Worksheets based on guidelines 1 Worksheet based on Design Inspiration task below with supporting text (Section D) 1 Notebook
Portfolio Submission Guidelines As an applicant to Product Design you are required to submit a portfolio of work along with some supporting text. We are interested in students who are excited by new ideas, who have an awareness of contemporary design and who have the ability to communicate their ideas. We like to see evidence of problem solving, idea generation and a variety of skills and technical abilities. You may show samples of work including but not limited to: drawing, painting, technical graphics, CAD illustration, three dimensional models or any work concerned with arts, crafts, experimental ideas or practical hobbies. Any three dimensional objects should be represented through photographs. If necessary you may combine multiple drawn images/photographs on each page in order to demonstrate development of ideas. You should also include a notebook to accompany your worksheets. In addittion to the above, please also submit a worksheet based on the design inspiration task (Section D). Notebooks underpin your ideas as they develop, and should be essentially visual but can contain written elements where necessary as explanations. They should record your incidental ideas/thoughts/notions which arise during the period of time working on creative projects. Your notebooks can also show how you might expand ideas that you don’t have time to develop fully elsewhere in your portfolio, any small drawings, diagrams or studies that help communicate your observations, thoughts and ideas are welcome.
The Product Design Brief As an alternative to the guidelines above you are invited to submit a portfolio based on the following Product Design Brief. Design a new product which solves an ‘everyday problem’ that you have encountered. You must show how your design has originated from personal experience and the identification of a problem or opportunity. You must demonstrate a progression from research, to idea generation through to a finished design solution. Emphasis should be placed on the originality of the idea, the function of the product and an appropriate visual appearance.
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Product Design Brief – Total Requirements: A: Research -3 worksheets B: Design Process - 4 worksheets + notebook C: Design Solution - 2 worksheets D: Design Inspiration - 1 worksheet + 200 words supporting text
A Research Requirements: Three worksheets (minimum)
B Design Process Requirements: Four worksheets (minimum) One notebook (minimum)
C Design Solution Requirements: Two worksheets (minimum)
D Design Inspiration Requirements: One worksheet (minimum) Supporting text – 200 words (maximum)
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Your project should start with research. Use photographs, mind maps or a product autopsy (take a product apart and explore how it works and how it is made) to get a sense of the design challenge. Where possible use your own personal experience or the
experience of people around you. You might also find it beneficial to reference magazines and books to find out how other designers have tackled similar issues. Present your research visually through a series of worksheets.
Use your research to generate a large range of ideas for new products. It doesn’t matter how wild and wacky your ideas are you can always modify them later. Think about how your idea might be used, who would use it and what it might look like.
Do your best to sketch out and model all your ideas and present your creative design process through a series of worksheets and a notebook.
Finally, use the ideas you have generated to produce a design solution that you are happy with. Use your creative skills in whatever way you can to show your design. Can you show how it might work and how it might be made? Can you generate a drawing, model or computer model to show your idea? If you are doing Art in school
you might use a drawing. If you are doing Technical Graphics you might like to do a more technical drawing or set of drawings. If you have done woodwork, metalwork or like making things then you might make a model to show your idea. You should clearly show your final solution to the brief through a series of worksheets.
You should produce a worksheet that includes examples of designs and/or designers that inspire you and your work. These images which can drawn, scanned or photocopied could include for example:
People interested in the same subject or theme, now or in the past. – Natural or man-made phenomena, objects, places, events which have inspired or provoked a response.
People working in the same medium or for the same audience, now or in the past. –
To accompany the worksheet you should produce a Supporting text (Max 200 words) stating why you chose these images and why they inspire you.
How can I find out more about NCAD? Web Site www.ncad.ie
Portfolio presentation guidelines – For all portfolio submissions: Your portfolio should be presented flat within one portfolio cover or folder. Items submitted separately will not be accepted.
Your portfolio should weigh less than 10 kilos. (This is to make handling easier for staff.)
If including sound or moving images please ensure that all video or audio files play on NCAD College open day Windows Media Player or Apple Wednesday 26th October 2014 Quick Time Player. It is best to Portfolio information sessions Your portfolio should be securely check the discs on a computer November 8th, 11th, 12th packaged but also easily opened other than the one on which they were prepared. Digital work must Further information will be to be examined. be submitted on DVD or CD only. posted on NCAD web site. A maximum of two discs can be Place your name, address and submitted. Total running time of Careers fairs / CAO number on the top left each digital file must not exceed Information events hand corner of your portfolio two minutes. Digital work must NCAD Staff attend all the main cover. You should also label/ be clearly labelled and referenced national and local careers fairs mark your individual sheets and information events that are and note books in the same way. in the body of the portfolio. Do not write in pencil or put stickers held throughout the year. or labels on discs. Use only Present your work on A1/A2 permanent marker on the disc white sheets or similar light surface. weight material. Avoid using heavy boards, sugar paper or Finally mounting work on both sides Your portfolio should be auof the sheet. thenticated as your own work Any 3D work should be carefully by a third party such as a school principal, art teacher / tutor or photographed in a way that another responsible person (not a clearly shows its scale, range of relative). Use the form at the back materials and making process. of this booklet and remember to Remember to photograph your include it with your portfolio. made pieces from a variety of angles to allow us to fully appreciate your making skills and use of materials. Do not include any material that is framed in glass. Do not include any material that could leak, burst open or be hazardous in any way.
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Design by Red&Grey Design Photography by Matthew Thompson
Check list for applicants:
AD101 First Year Art & Design (Common Entry) / AD202 Design of Fine Art & Education / AD212 Product Design
Each section of my portfolio is clearly labelled including any notebooks
I have included this number of notebooks informing and supporting my work on the portfolio brief.
I have attended one of the NCAD information evenings
Number of notebooks
I have attended the NCAD open day
Important: You must complete this section and attach it to the inside front cover of your portfolio.
Yes
No
Yes I have included a computer disc(s) Yes
No
Number of discs
Work authenticated by:
Yes
No
Position (ie principal, teacher, tutor, other)
If yes, the disc(s) is for Mac
PC Organisation
Do not include any material that could leak out, burst open or be hazardous in any way. Do not include any blades, or medical items such as syringes, condoms or tablets. The college reserves the right to visually document work from applicant portfolios.
NCAD 100 Thomas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. T: + 353 1 636 4200 F: + 353 1 636 4207 E: fios@ncad.ie www.ncad.ie
Undergraduate application and portfolio submission guidelines. Important dates for entry September 2015: CAO Closing date: 5.15pm, Sunday, 1st February 2015 Portfolio submission deadline: 4.30pm, Friday 6th February 2015
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