Art & Design: Three-Dimensional Design (A Level)

Is this the right course for me?

Work produced on Art and 3D Design courses will demonstrate the use of creative skills to develop individual thoughts, feelings, observations and ideas. Students will be extending their own and others’ ways of seeing the world. Students will learn traditional skills but they will also combine this with the use of alternative media.

They will develop:

• Intellectual, imaginative, creative and intuitive powers

• Investigative, analytical, experimental, practical, technical, and expressive skills, aesthetic understanding and critical judgement

• An understanding of the inter-relationships between Art, Craft and Design and an awareness of the contexts in which they operate

• Knowledge and understanding of Art, Craft and Design in contemporary society and in other times and cultures

Qualification structure/details of assessment

During Year 12 students will develop a portfolio of skills. The emphasis of this year will be on the development of understanding and skills using an appropriate range of materials, processes and techniques. Students should also present at least one extended collection of work or project, based on an idea, concept, theme or issue. This should demonstrate the student’s ability to sustain work from an initial starting point to a realisation.

Towards the end of Year 12 students begin Component 1—here you will develop work for a personal investigation into an idea, issue, concept or theme supported by written material. This will count for 60% of your total A-level marks. Component 2 starts in Term two of Year 13 and is an externally set assignment by AQA for which you will be expected to undertake initial research, investigation, experimentation and refinement working toward a 15-hour period of supervised time in which you will produce a final piece under exam conditions. The externally set assignment counts for 40% of your total A-level marks.

The 3D Design A Level course allows students to explore a wide range of materials and processes to create 3-dimensional outcomes. 

They may explore overlapping areas and combinations of areas:

• ceramics

• sculpture

• exhibition design

• design for theatre, television and film

• interior design

• product design

• environmental and architectural design

• jewellery/body ornament

• 3D digital design.

Outcomes can be decorative, functional or sculptural pieces and students are encouraged to experiment and solve problems. Starting points may include nature, architectural and man-made structures. 

Students will be taught to become independently involved in the design process and to be open-minded when working with new materials. All practical work is underpinned by critical and contextual studies. Students research, record and annotate from a wide range of sources. Students will work in a wide variety of materials including paper, card, wood, metal, plaster, clay and wire. After that, the final outcomes may be architectural, lighting, body adornment, sculpture, furniture, set design, product design and 3D design.

What will the 3D Design A Level course prepare me for?

The possible jobs which a person could pursue from this subject are limitless and if chosen you would be working within an industry which is worth 71.4 billion pounds a year within the UK alone.

Students who study this course go on to further study in a wide variety of careers, for example;

-  Architecture

-  Interior/spatial design

-  3-dimensional design

-  Product design

-  Exhibition design

-  Design for television

-  Stage and film

-  Silversmithing

-  Model making

-  Environmental design

-  Sculpture

-  Furniture design

-  Transport design

-  Ceramics

-  Glass 

For more information on the course specifications click the link below:

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/art-and-design/a-level/art-and-design-7201/specification/general-administration