Throughout human history we have lived at the forefront of
technological advancement and in the fast moving landscape of
digital technology there has never been more opportunity for
innovation through the creative exploration of technology. The MDes
Digital Culture is a one-year taught postgraduate programme that
lies at the intersection of art, design and technology. Students
develop hybrid skills that combine creative, technical,
interpersonal abilities with cultural awareness, and a thorough
understanding of the digitally enabled creative processes
associated with digital culture.
The programme is designed to attract students from different
disciplines in both technology and arts practice. Projects will
enable technology-oriented graduates to extend and practice their
artistic, design and conceptual thinking skills, while
simultaneously enabling art and design graduates to develop and
enhance their technological expertise.
Subjects within the programme are built around a strong thematic
framework of Computation, Connectivity and Content. These subjects
are taught as discrete components with their own particular focus,
and are also integrated into larger studio projects to reflect
their relationships in digital culture.
Digital working, at its best, typically combines individual
talents from different disciplines; hence creative collaboration is
encouraged through team working that blends technical and artistic
expertise. As a result students experience the different
techniques, processes and structures necessary for technology
development in parallel with those used in art and design practice.
At regular intervals throughout the programme students practice
communicating their ideas through critiques, pitches, talks,
presentations, videos, demonstrations, and written articles.
Possible future careers are many and varied. The breakdown of
the traditional creative industries' business models, driven by the
constant disruptive change of digital advancement, is generating
innovative opportunities. This has increased the demand for people
who have a deeper awareness of technologies and their impact, and
crucially, hybrid skills and aptitudes that allow them to traverse
visual, conceptual and technical boundaries within the digital
domain.
one end of the spectrum graduates could join the generation of
artists who, through an intense fascination with digital
technology, are finding new avenues of artistic expression to
create inspirational, technology-infused work. At the other end it
could lead to a role in a digital agency where understanding the
languages of technical, artistic and design could lead to a pivotal
role within a development team. Marketing, advertising, digital
agencies, games producers, hardware, software, search companies,
cultural and art organisations all have a need for digitally
skilled creative people who understand the shifting cultural
landscape so career opportunities are very buoyant.
