BTEC Level Two (Unit 13)

1. BTEC First Certificate in
Creative Digital Media Production
Year 10
Unit 13: Graphic Design for Digital Media
Name:
...................................................................................................
Deadline: ...................................................................................................
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The Course
Welcome to the BTEC First Certificate in Creative Digital Media Production. You will find this
a practical, work-related course where you will learn by completing projects and
assignments based on realistic workplace situations, activities and demands.
We aim to help you to develop your creative and technical skills, as well as helping you to
gain an understanding of the underlying theory of digital media production. In addition to
learning about the employment area you have chosen, you will develop the skills needed to
start a career in the media industry.
To do this, you will be required to produce a portfolio of practical productions supported by
paperwork and theoretical research. To be successful in doing this, you will have to work
both independently and within groups in a professional manner, showing yourself to be
organised, resourceful, reliable, committed and being capable of meeting strict deadlines.
We hope that you will benefit from this challenging, yet rewarding course and that it will
lead to you continuing your studies or eventually finding a job in the media industry.
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Your Responsibilities

You are expected to treat all equipment and accommodation with care.

You are NOT allowed to bring food, drink or chewing gum into work areas.

You may NOT use mobile phones while you are working, unless otherwise instructed.

NEVER allow other students or friends to use equipment booked out to you, and do not
leave equipment unattended at any time. If it is damaged, lost or stolen, it is YOUR
responsibility!
If you experience any problems with equipment, ask for help from your teacher. Do not try
to repair equipment yourself.
Please remember
It is your responsibility to back up your work onto a memory stick at the end of every lesson. You
are responsible for saving your work to the hard drive of the computer and the safekeeping of your
original material. Please remember to take your memory stick at the end of every session, and only
use the memory stick to transport work. All work should be backed-up on computer hard drives. You
must provide a folder for each unit and bring it to every session. You will also be introduced to a
referencing system to allow you to produce comprehensive bibliographies of the materials you have
used in your study.
How to contact your teacher…
Telephone: 0208 498 1300
E-Mail: zchristodoulou@kshsonline.com
zchristodoulou@kingsolomonhigh.com
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Unit 13: Writing for Digital Media Products
Unit Introduction
More than ever before graphic design is all around us – on our TV screens, computer screens,
emails, mobile phones, computer games, digital magazines, eBooks and digital newspapers. Digital
technology has revolutionized graphic design with an ever-increasing role for motion graphics.
A graphic designer’s main goal is to communicate a message to an audience and grab the reader’s
attention by using text and images creatively. In the creative media sectors, employees work both
individually and collectively to produce graphic design for digital media products. Job roles include
junior graphic designer, web developer, junior digital games designer, motion graphics designer.
However, the design process required to create graphics for all digital media is common throughout.
In this unit, you will investigate the theory underlying the creation of graphics for digital media. You
will also gain an understanding of how graphics are successfully produced by looking at existing
products and the digital techniques that have been used to produce them. You will understand what
mood and atmosphere is present and how this has been conveyed using graphic processes and
influences.
You will need to have an understanding of how to plan your time effectively, gather primary and
secondary research and identify how graphic design is used in digital media. You will also gain an
understanding of typography, compositional elements and then produce your media product using
your knowledge of graphic design processes and digital software.
Learning Aims
In this unit, you will:
A – Understand how graphic design is used in digital media
B – Create graphics for a digital media product
Learning Aims Content
A.1 – Graphic design in existing media products across sectors
A.2 – The graphic style and genre of existing media products
A.3 – The technical elements of graphic design
A.4 – The purpose of graphic design in digital media
B.1 – Creating graphics for media products
B.2 – Creating meaning through graphic design
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Assessment Criteria for Unit 13: Graphic Design for Digital Media
Level 1
Level 2 Pass
Level 2 Merit
Level 2 Distinction
Learning aim A: Understand how graphic design is used in digital media
1A.1 Identify the
graphic styles in two
media genres.
2A.P1 Describe
different graphic styles
in two media genres
2A.M1 Compare
different graphic styles
in two media genres
across different
sectors.
1A.2 Outline the
technical elements of
graphic design in one
digital media product.
2A.P2 Describe the
technical elements of
graphic design in two
existing digital media
products.
2A.M2 Explain the
technical elements of
graphic design
principles in two
existing digital media
products from two
different sectors.
1A.3 Summarise how
message and meaning
is conveyed in one
existing example of
graphic design from
one media sector.
2A.P3 Describe how
messages and
meanings are
conveyed in two
existing examples of
graphic design from
one media sector.
2A.M3 Explain how
messages and
meanings are
conveyed in two
existing examples of
graphic design from
two different media
sectors.
Level 1
Level 2 Pass
Level 2 Merit
2A.D1 Analyse
graphic design in
existing digital
desktop, motion-based
and web-based
graphics.
Level 2 Distinction
Learning aim B: Create graphics for a digital media product
1B.4 Use limited
digital tools to create
graphics for a media
product.
2B.P4 Use digital tools
adequately to create
graphics for a media
product.
2B.M4 Use digital
tools
competently to create
graphics for two media
products.
2B.D2 Use digital
tools
imaginatively to create
graphics for two media
products.
1B.5 Create limited
graphics for a digital
media product that
basically communicate
the intended message
of a specified brief.
2B.P5 Create
appropriate graphics
for a digital media
product that
adequately
communicate the
intended message of a
specified brief.
2B.M5 Create
effective graphics for a
digital media product
that competently
communicate the
intended message of a
specified brief.
2B.D3 Create
imaginative graphics
for a digital media
product that creatively
communicate the
intended message of a
specified brief.
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The Brief
Channel 4 is launching a new 16–21 youth TV channel called 4Urban. The focus of the
channel is on new music, new architecture and new fashion. 4Urban is looking to use digital
technologies in order to raise awareness in the target audience.
To promote this new channel, the producers would like a poster and leaflet campaign. It
will be your job to design the graphics for the campaign – graphics that convey the
dynamism of the new channel.
In order to develop your knowledge of graphic design, you must research graphic styles
and genres in TV, print and web campaigns, how they are created and how meaning is
conveyed to the target audience. You must then use digital tools to create graphics for
these two products in the campaign.
The logo of urban music television station “Channel AKA”, as featured on their Facebook and Twitter pages.
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Tasks
Task 1 (13 = 1A.1, 2A.P1, 2A.M1, 2A.D1)
Create a report or slideshow that analyses and compares the use of graphic design
products in existing TV-based, print-based and web-based media (one product for each
platform).
Remember to create a separate bibliography that references your used sources.
Things to consider:
Platform; purpose served; use of colours; use of imagery; font style.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Task 2 (13 = 1A.2, 2A.P2, 2A.M2, 2A.D1)
Create a report or slideshow that explains and compares the genres and graphic styles of
existing products from TV-based, print-based and web-based media (one product for each
platform).
Remember to create a separate bibliography that references your used sources.
Things to consider:

Genre (factual, editorial, lifestyle, music, action, adventure, sports, corporate, fashion,
tabloid, science fiction).

Style (modernism, post-modernism, international style, grunge, pop-art, art nouveau,
punk, urban, animé, photo-realist, futuristic, cartoon).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Task 3 (13 = 1A.3, 2A.P3, 2A.M3)
Choose three existing examples of graphic design from TV-based, print-based and webbased media (one product for each platform). Create a report or slideshow that explains
how messages and meanings are conveyed in each product.
Remember to create a separate bibliography that references your used sources.
Things to consider:
Intended messages of the producers; audience’s understanding of messages.
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8. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Task 4 (13 = 1B.4, 2B.P4, 2B.M4, 2B.D2; 1B.5, 2B.P5, 2B.M5, 2B.D3)
Now that you have completed your research and understood how meaning is created in a
variety of digital graphics, you will be designing two types of promotional materials for the
new channel 4Urban. These promotional pieces will be a POSTER and a LEAFLET.
You will be shown how to use Adobe Photoshop, a software package that will help you to
create these digital graphics and promotional pieces.
Things to consider:
Dedicated logo; intended target audience; intended messages; use of colour; layout style;
font style.
Promotional posters for MTV, as found on billboards and in magazines and newspapers.
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Task Deadlines
Task 1
Task 2
Task 3
Task 4
Friday 11th July 2014
Portfolio hand-in
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Recommended Reading
Key:
Author (year), Title (edition), Publisher.
ISBN
Branston and Stafford (2010) The Media Student’s Book (fifth edition), Routledge.
ISBN: 978-0-415-55842-6
Connell B (2010), Exploring the Media: Text, Industry, Audience (second edition), Auteur.
ISBN: 978-1-906733-47-6
Long and Wall (2009) Media Studies: Texts, Production and Context, Pearson Education.
ISBN: 978-1-4058-5847-2
Turow (2011), Media Today (fourth edition), Routledge.
ISBN: 978-0-415-87608-7
The Design Council UK – www.designcouncil.org.uk/about-design/Types-of-design
The Sector Skills Council for Creative Media – www.creativeskillset.org
Wikipedia entry for “Graphic Design” – en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic_design
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11. Notes
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