Welcome to NCAD’s portfolio brief & application guidelines for entry into NCAD September 2017.
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Brief One: AD101 First Year Art & Design (Common Entry) + AD202 Design or Fine Art & Education pg 4 - 11
Brief Two: AD212 Product Design pg 12 - 13
Undergraduate application guidelines and portfolio submission for entry into NCAD September 2017. 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 2017. NCAD is a community of 1,500 students studying Fine Art, Design, Education and Visual Culture based on Thomas Street in Dublin city centre. NCAD is ranked among the world’s top 100 universities for Art & Design (QS University Rankings World Wide by Subject, 2016).
“ I came straight from secondary school. I wanted to be a painter, I think, because that’s the only thing I’d been exposed to. Then I came here and realised I can make things too.” Extract from an interview with Dennis Shankey Smith, Fourth Year, Sculpture, April 2015.
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Portfolio Brief One The portfolio brief is evolving, and now features a new pathway option that recognises and embraces other independent work and coursework that fully meets the expectations of art and design study at third level. You might, for example, be working independently or you may be studying on a course in animation, textiles, model making etc. Applicants may now choose to include a body of independent work or coursework, along with other sections of the portfolio brief. This is not instead of the portfolio brief, but an opportunity to customise the brief. Section A – Mind-mapping Section B – Observation Process Section C – Creative Process Section D – Invention/Solutions Section E – Notebooks Section F – Independent work/ Coursework AD101 First Year Art & Design / AD202 Design or Fine Art & Education Sections of the NCAD Portfolio Brief, September 2017.
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How to use the brief: For Common Entry AD101 and Education AD202 you have two options to complete brief one: Option 1: The first way is to complete all of the Sections:
A (Mind-mapping) B (Observation Process) C (Creative Process) D (Invention/Solutions) E (Notebooks).
Option 2: The second way is for you to complete Sections: A (Mind-mapping), E (Notebooks) and F (Independent work/Coursework). along with your choice of one of the following: B (Observation Process), C (Creative Process) or D (Invention/Solutions).
The new Section F is the way for you to present an edited selection of your independent work or course/programme work. Please note that Section A (mind-maps) and Section E (notebooks) are compulsory. Present your work on A1/A2 white sheets or similar light weight material. 5
Brief One: AD101 First Year Art & Design (Common Entry) / AD202 Design or Fine Art & Education
Section A
Mind-mapping/ Research Your first task is about thinking and making mind-maps.
Minimum requirements for Section A: 1 sheet for each chosen mind-map Total: 2 Sheets (minimum)
Choose two themes from the following six: Growth Openings
Medical Networks
Confectionary Motion
Mind-maps are a vital research component in the portfolio brief as they help you to demonstrate your ability for finding and connecting ideas in a lively and inventive manner. This is an essential attribute of all artists/designers. Mind-maps are a way to show in visual form the relationships between different ideas. Mind-maps are your opportunity to totally personalise your response to the next set of tasks contained in the portfolio brief.
do this
Make two mind-maps, one for each of your chosen themes. Identify as many unusual and interesting examples as you can think of (e.g. Is a pocket an opening? Could a city be a growth?). The majority of each of your two mind-maps should be made of drawn images. One entire mind-map should be totally image based with no words used.
Make your mind-maps as visually interesting as possible. They should be carefully considered, inventive and thorough. They can be multi-layered; may take any shape or form and use any media. 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. In this way they inform and should make the next Sections of the brief totally individual.
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Brief One: AD101 First Year Art & Design (Common Entry) / AD202 Design or Fine Art & Education
Section B
Observation/ Process Your second task is about observing real items and recording in a context.
Minimum requirements for Section B: 2 sheets for each dismantled item Total: 4 Sheets (minimum)
We want you to show us how much you enjoy observing and inventively recording the world of objects that surround us. Choose two items from your mind-maps and get a physical example of each of them. These should be items that you can actually dismantle and re-arrange in some inventive way, then make a record of the results of this process. This task is about being inventive, and showing the value of making careful, direct observations. Use a variety of media, beginning with a drawing process that pays particular attention to line, tone, colour, form and surface.
do this
Take apart or carefully dismantle your two chosen items. 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 one consistent criteria: material, colour, size, weight etc.
Consider the possibilities of also using other media such as needle and thread, collage, clay, moving image, stop frame motion. These are intended to supplement the careful drawing and colour studies process. Still photography and moving images can also be used to describe, explain, record and invent within this task. 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. (See guidelines for submitting digital work on page 18).
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Brief One: AD101 First Year Art & Design (Common Entry) / AD202 Design or Fine Art & Education
Section C
Creative/ Process
Your third task is about generating and recording a range of ideas through a creative process.
Minimum requirements for Section C: 2 sheets for each task Total: 4 Sheets (minimum)
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 mind-maps) were to meet each other and merge, or swap over some of their characteristics to create hybrids. For example: what is the visual or physical result of a Medical item meeting and exchanging characteristics with a Confectionary item? Could a Networks item become a Growth item? How? There are no ‘correct’ answers or expected responses. We want to see what you come up with. 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.
do this
Make two hybrids between two different items taken from any two of the mind-map themes. These are only examples – you should come up with your own ideas. medical item (e.g. x-ray) Required: 2 worksheets
confectionary item (e.g. ice-cream cone)
network item (e.g. map) Required: 2 worksheets
growth item (e.g. vine)
So, what happens if an x-ray meets an ice-cream cone and they create a hybrid? What would it look like? Try to think of the items being the parents, and the hybrids are their children... what characteristics do these strange children inherit? Obviously they acquire a mixture of features from each of their “parents”. Remember the arrows can work in both ways (a network item becoming a growth item can be different to a growth item becoming a network item!)
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Brief One: AD101 First Year Art & Design (Common Entry) / AD202 Design or Fine Art & Education
Section D
Invention/ Solutions
Minimum requirements for Section D: 2 sheets for each task Total: 4 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.
do this
Invent/record/make at least two of the following:
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. A degree of planning and research into the task is required and presenting this is as important as your actual solutions.
• invent a hairstyle for an animal • draw/paint/record 5 different knots • draw/paint/record 5 different reflections • invent/make/record 2 different ways to divide a room in half • draw/paint/record 5 different piles of vacuum cleaner dust • add 3 different colours to a meal • draw/paint/record 3 unmade beds • invent/make/record a wearable story • draw/paint/record 3 different places where 3 different materials meet • invent a way of slowing down or speeding up time • design/make a form of housing for 15% of yourself • design/make 2 different holes in the wind • draw/paint/record 4 different gaps • invent/make a portable container - functional and/or decorative Produce at least two worksheets for each task. (See guidelines for submitting digital work on page 18)
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Brief One: AD101 First Year Art & Design (Common Entry) / AD202 Design or Fine Art & Education
Section E
Notebooks
This task is about creating and maintaining a notebook(s).
Minimum requirements for Section E: At least one notebook Total: 1 Notebook (minimum)
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. 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.
do this
Obtain or create, then fill at least one visual notebook.
Your notebook(s) are a great way of showing us how you think, and respond 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. 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, to a set of cards you carry around, then combine together for presentation. 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 you are by your work, and to provide some insight into your thinking process. This is as important as your finished pieces of work. In all cases your notebook should show evidence of your awareness and interest in artists and designers.
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Brief One: AD101 First Year Art & Design (Common Entry) / AD202 Design or Fine Art & Education
Section F
Independent work/ Coursework
Minimum requirements for Section f:
Total: 8 sheets of work
This section is about your independent work/coursework
This section is for you if you are already engaged in producing work that shows you have the potential to meet the challenge of degree level work.
do this
Inclusion of Section F (independent work/coursework) presents you with these possible pathways:
If you opt for including Section F (independent work/ coursework), then combining this work with Section A (mind-maps) (compulsory) of the portfolio brief + one other of the Sections, B (observation), or C (creative process) or D (invention) + Section E (notebook) (compulsory) this will result in the same volume of work as that of completing Sections A+B+C+D+E.
F (independent work/coursework) + A (mind-maps) + B (observational drawing) + E (notebook)
or
F (independent work/coursework) + A (mind-maps) + C (creative process) + E (notebook)
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F (independent work/coursework) + A (mind-maps) + D (invention) + E (notebook) Organise, clearly label, date and present a body of your recent independent work/coursework. Your recent independent work/coursework should demonstrate your ability to research and develop ideas and show us how inventive and creative you are in your thinking and use of materials. This could be (for example) drawings or paintings about a particular place, theme or idea; moving images; sound work; something you have made with materials of your choice; prints you have been working on etc. Please include only recent work. It should be presented with the other sections of the brief you’ve wchosen. This work should be recent and cohesive rather than a collection of random disconnected elements/images.
Brief One ends here.
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Brief Two: AD212 Product Design
Brief Two starts here – Do you like making? Are you interested in how things work and why things look the way that they do? Do you still secretly play with Lego? Are you doing Design and Communication Graphics (DCG) for your Leaving Certificate? If your answer is yes to any of the above then we think you should apply to Product Design! You have two options when applying to Product Design.
Option One: Send in work you already have.
Yes - simple as that! Often the best applicants are already doing things that could make them great Product Design students. This could be through practical hobbies, arts, crafts or work experience. Whether it’s modifying your bicycle, sketching ideas for a new product, taking your smartphone apart or making a piece of furniture for your room - these are all things that we like to see. Does this sound like you? Then simply document your work and send it in. Please also include relevant work from your current studies including DCG / Leaving Cert Art / A level Art / BTEC / FETAC. Any 3D work should be presented through photographs. If you have completed the NCAD Portfolio Brief One for Common Entry/ Education and have included Product Design as one of your choices on the CAO then we will assess your portfolio for entry to Product Design. You don’t need to do anything else. Try to show us as many of the following as you can: your design taste, your observation skills, your sketching, your making and experimenting, and the way you think.
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Brief Two: AD212 Product Design
Option Two: Follow this simple design brief.
If you feel you don’t have the material for Option One or perhaps you want to take on a new design challenge then this is the route for you. The brief Design something that improves your journey to school. Whether it’s confusing bus timetables, bicycle helmet hair, tangled headphone cables or uncomfortable schoolbags - we want to hear about your design ideas for everyday problems like these. Step 1: Do some research (3 x A3 worksheets) Find out what the main problems are on the school journey. Ask your friends, document your own journey or find examples of good and bad products. How have other designers tackled these issues? Identify the problem that you are going to try and solve or the opportunity you have uncovered. Step 2: Brainstorm! (4 x A3 worksheets) Use your research to generate lots of ideas. Draw these in a sketchbook or make simple models to develop your thoughts. Think about how your idea might work, who would use it and what it would look like. Look at www.sketch-a-day. com for inspiration on drawing technique. Step 3: Present your Design (2 x A3 worksheets) This is where you present your finished idea. Show us what’s great about your design - how does it solve the problem you identified? This is also your opportunity to show what your design looks like, how and where it should be used and how it’s made. You can use drawings, physical models or even a computer model to show your idea. Step 4: Show us who or what inspires you (1 x A3 worksheet) Present a range of images of designs or designers that inspire you. These can be drawn, scanned images or online prints. Explain why each image means something to you. Check out www.core77.com for examples of some great product design work. Have a look online to see examples of Product Design student work at: https://www.facebook.com/productdesignncad/
Brief Two ends here.
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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 Fashion Design, Jewellery & Metalwork, Textile Surface Design, Visual Communication. Fine Art Fine Print, Media, Painting, Sculpture, Applied Material Cultures (Textile Art & Artefact, Ceramics & Glass). 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. These include arts management, critical and popular writing and interactive and digital curation. There is a work placement in Year 3. 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 Wednesday 1st February 2017 PORTFOLIO SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 4.30pm Friday 10th February 2017
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
AD215 Visual Culture 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 calculated from final school leaving exams (www.cao.ie). The minimum points for entry in 2015 were 340. Important Note: It is important to include all courses that you wish to be considered for on your CAO Application.
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The Portfolio
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.
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.
When should I bring my portfolio to NCAD? The deadline for submitting your portfolio is 4.30pm Friday 10th February 2017. 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: admissions@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 D08 K521, Ireland.
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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. Visual research – Inventiveness and curiosity in research You should demonstrate an awareness and curiosity for visual material that is of interest to you: finding, collecting and organising source material. These can be documented in any visual format.
Creative Thinking You should provide evidence of a creative process in your work. Where and how you have challenged yourself to look at things differently? How were decisions made and why? Your work should show evidence of a lively and engaged creative process.
Course Offers
When will I be told the outcome of my portfolio assessment? We will write to you by the end of March with the result of your portfolio assessment. This letter will tell you if you have achieved the necessary grade for a condiCapacity to sustain work tional offer. A conditional offer is commitment an offer that is dependent on you You should demonstrate an meeting the minimum academic ability to sustain the development entry requirements through of ideas through experimentation your Leaving Certificate, FETAC /exploration of subject /sources Award or other. If you do not get in a variety of circumstances. a conditional offer we will tell you if you are on a waiting list In order to achieve a balanced for an offer. Each year we make measurement of your ability, a number of offers to applicants all sections of the portfolio from the waiting list. submission are assessed under the above criteria. Being able to demonstrate some ability for observation, research, ideas development, use of media and capacity to sustain work applies to all sections of the portfolio submission.
How are offers made? Offers are made in August through the CAO. All applicants are placed on a ranked list based on portfolio grade. Offers are made in descending order from this list to applicants who have met the minimum academic entry requirements. What are the minimum academic entry requirements? Information on minimum entry requirements can be found at www.ncad.ie/study-at-ncad Interviews NCAD reserves the right to call any applicant to interview.
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How can I find out more about NCAD?
Portfolio presentation guidelines – For all portfolio submissions: Web Site Your portfolio should be www.ncad.ie presented flat within one portfolio cover or folder. NCAD College open day Items submitted separately Wednesday 30th November 2016. will not be accepted.
Your portfolio should weigh less than 10 kilos. (This is to make handling easier for staff.)
Preparing Digital Submissions If including sound or moving images please ensure that all video or audio files play on Windows Media Player or Apple Portfolio information sessions Your portfolio should be securely Quick Time Player. It is best to The College has a number of packaged but also easily opened check the discs on a computer other than the one on which they portfolio information sessions to be examined. were prepared. Digital work must in October/ November each year. be submitted on DVD or CD only. Further information will be Place your name, address and A maximum of two discs can be posted on the NCAD web site. CAO number on the top left submitted. Total running time of hand corner of your portfolio each digital file must not exceed Careers fairs / cover. You should also label/ two minutes. Digital work must Information events mark your individual sheets be clearly labelled and referenced NCAD Staff attend all the main and notebooks in the same way. in the body of the portfolio. Do national and local careers fairs not write in pencil or put stickers and information events that are Present your work on A1/A2 or labels on discs. Use only permaheld throughout the year. white sheets or similar light nent marker on the disc surface. weight material. Avoid using heavy boards, sugar paper or Finally mounting work on both sides Your portfolio should be of the sheet. authenticated as your own work by a third party such as It is not necessary to put your work in plastic portfolio pockets. a school principal, art teacher Any 3D work should be carefully / tutor or another responsible person (not a relative). Use the photographed in a way that form at the back of this booklet clearly shows its scale, range of and remember to include it materials and making process. with your portfolio. Remember to photograph your 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.
Work authenticated by:
Number of notebooks:
Yes I have included a computer disc(s): Yes
No
Number of discs
Mac
PC
Position: (ie principal, teacher, tutor, other) Organisation:
Contact details: I have attended one of the NCAD information evenings: Yes
If yes, the disc(s) is for
Important: You must complete this section and attach it to the inside front cover of your portfolio.
No
I have attended the NCAD open day: Yes
No
I have completed: Brief One AD 101/202 Option 1 Option 2 Brief Two AD 212
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.
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NCAD 100 Thomas Street, Dublin D08 K521, 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 2017: NCAD Open Day: Wednesday 30th November 2016 CAO Closing date: 5.15pm, Wednesday 1st February 2017 Portfolio submission deadline: 4.30pm, Friday 10th February 2017
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