Textile Design at Norwich

Welcome Week starts on Monday 16 September and this is when we will meet you on campus and introduce you to our buildings and facilities.

The course team are keen to meet you and there will be opportunities to start getting to know the other students on your course. We will be hosting introductory activities designed so you can get to know each other. You will also attend talks about the services and facilities the University offers, and you may even get to know some of the surrounding facilities in the City!

Individual timetables will be given at the start of the course. In addition to sessions on campus, there will also be digital teaching sessions such as individual tutorials and industry guest lectures too. You will be introduced to all these elements so don’t worry about any of this now!

On independent study days you will be able to access the campus to continue your work as needed, or you can elect to work remotely. We will help you plan your time.

We’ve put together some suggestions of things you might like to read, watch, and do before you arrive, and provided suggestions about equipment and materials you are likely to need, so please read through this page carefully.

Watch

How We Learn

The human brain is the most incredibly complex thing that we have ever studied. Join us as we take a look inside the brain to see how is creating brain-compatible learning experiences for students.

Abstract: The Art of Design | Christoph Niemann: Illustration

Step inside the minds of the most innovative designers in a variety of disciplines and learn how design impacts every aspect of life.

River Blue

RIVERBLUE spans the globe to infiltrate one of the world’s most pollutive industries, fashion and textiles. Watch River Blue 

Read

COLOUR Journal

Sarah Craig is a Sydneysider exploring her love of colour in The Big Apple. The Colour Journal is a documentation of her research and experimentation.

COLOUR Journal (opens in a new window)

WGSN Podcast

WGSN is the global authority on change, using expert trend forecasting combined with data science to help you get ahead of the right trends.

you will have access to WGSN as students at Norwich!

VIEW

Viewpoint Colour and Pantone View Colour Planner — are regarded as industry leaders in providing design solutions and in-depth information on colour, materials, textiles and fashion concepts. Follow VIEW on Instagram and have a browse, you will have access to physical copies in the Norwich University Library!

VIEW, Viewpoint Colour and Pantone View Colour Planner — are regarded as industry leaders in providing design solutions and in-depth information on colour, materials, textiles and fashion concepts.

Selvedge

Selvidge Podcast ‘Exploring the fabric of our lives’

Material Matters

Material Matters is a podcast in which the host Grant Gibson talks to designers, makers, artists, architects and manufacturers about their relationship to a particular material or technique with which they’re intrinsically linked.

Haptic and Hue

Haptic and Hue podcast

Do

Be Inspired!! Inspiration is and can be found everywhere

Go Out

Take a Walk, Observe your surroundings, Visit Galleries/Museums, Travel.

Search

Read books, Listen to music/podcasts, Watch films.

Participate

Have conversations, write down interesting thoughts and ideas.

Draw

Creativity can wane sometimes, so it is important to learn to find inspiration in anything and everything. Start collecting your own individual plethora of inspiration which can comprise of drawings, sketches, photographs, exhibition material, artefacts, fabrics, trims etc the list goes on… try to be inventive and resourceful.

This resource will be built up during your course of study and will hopefully become your personal library and invaluable source of inspiration throughout your studies.

Suggested equipment & materials

In preparation for starting the course it will help you to gather some of the following equipment. You will not need all this equipment immediately but try to build it up during the summer break and through the first term.

There will be drawing workshops during the first few weeks and although we will be providing some materials, we will ask you to bring some of the materials you are familiar with too. You will be able to purchase many of the items listed below from the University Shop when you start.

• Sharp scissors
• Fabric scissors — these need to be looked after and only used for fabric!
• Glue stick
• Pot for water — a washed-out tin or jar would do
• Pencil sharpener
• Craft knife
• Sketch book preferably A3 in size (you could also start off with loose sheets and bind these into your own sketchbook)
• A selection of paint brushes of various sizes
• General drawing equipment: a range of pens (colours and black), chalks, graphite pencils HB-6B, water-based inks etc.
• Colour paper and a variety of different types of papers including tissue paper and tracing paper. Start to collect interesting paper, textures and colours you come across (not sugar paper).
• A variety of threads and materials (textile and non-textile). You can build these up over the term and during your first year and tutors and PAL Mentors will advise you about this.
• Any other interesting found materials or objects — make sure they are clean

We would advise you to wait until you are at the University before buying too much equipment. If in doubt, ask!

One more thing!

Invest in a little sketchbook that you can carry around in your bag or even pocket! Sketchbooks can be an effective visual ‘diary’ of your thinking. They can be used for researching, brainstorming, experimenting, analysing and refining.

Remember effective communication of visual ideas is fundamental to the creative design process.