Visual Communication Techniques for Fashion Design - Nottingham Trent University
Description
Fashion design is about more than making clothes – it’s about expressing ideas and telling stories through visuals. The Visual Communication techniques for Fashion Design course will help you develop the skills to bring your design concepts to life, using a mix of traditional, contemporary, and digital techniques. You’ll practice drawing the fashion figure, illustrating garments with accuracy, and experimenting with colour, collage, and mixed media. You’ll also be introduced to industry-standard digital tools, giving you the fundamental knowledge to create professional technical drawings and digital illustrations. Over the course, you’ll explore a wide range of visual communication techniques to help you present your fashion ideas with confidence. Each session is designed to build your skills step by step, while giving you space to experiment and develop your own style. During this course, you will: • Learn how to draw fashion figures, studying body proportions and movement. • Explore traditional illustration methods such as pencil, ink, and marker techniques. • Experiment with contemporary approaches including collage, mixed media, and expressive illustration styles. • Practice drawing garments with accuracy, developing the skills needed for technical drawings used in fashion design. • Get hands-on experience with digital design programmes, creating both technical drawings and digital illustrations. By the end of the course, you’ll have a collection of hand-drawn and digital work that shows your progress, creativity, and ability to communicate fashion ideas visually. Whether you’re looking to strengthen your drawing skills or explore new ways of presenting your ideas, this course will support you in building a creative toolkit to communicate your designs clearly and effectively. Level: Beginner Entry requirements: No previous design or drawing experience is required – just plenty of enthusiasm and the willingness to share ideas. Where you'll learn: You will be based in the School of Art and Design on the City Campus. You will have access to an excellent range of facilities and equipment in the fashion studios, with industry-standard fashion tables, professional mannequins, and space to work on your hand-drawn designs. You’ll also have access to our library to use outside of your short course; whilst you can’t reserve or take away books, you are welcome to use them as a resource for research and referencing. Here is what our previous attendees said: 'I enjoyed the illustrations and the technical drawing, and the course was taught at a good speed. Hannah was very friendly and clearly passionate, as well as experienced with design.' KH 'Hannah was really good, I enjoyed the lessons in illustration and draping from her, she is always so helpful' 'This course has inspired me to continue designing and making my own clothes. I really enjoyed it, thank you!' 'Great teaching, at a good level and pace, tailored to what we were interested in' KG Tutor Profile: Hannah Phipps is an experienced fashion designer with over 15 years in the industry. Her wealth of knowledge spans the full design process, from concept to completed product. Hannah is also an experienced short course tutor, bringing plenty of energy to her courses which makes for a positive, enjoyable learning environment.
What's included in the price?
This course will be delivered in person on Nottingham Trent University city campus. Your course fees cover the cost of studies and include great benefits such as the use of our modern library and free use of the IT equipment and software on the campus during your course. You will also need to bring with you: • a layout pad • drawing materials (pencils, felt-tips, gel pens etc) • a couple of fashion magazines or imagery for inspiration • notepad and pens. On successful completion of the course you will receive a certificate of attendance, which will further enhance your CV.
Duration
8 weeks
Cancellation policy
Medium - Cancellation and a full refund can be obtained up to 4 weeks before the course starts
Maker
Suitable for
- Adults
- Seniors
- Wheelchair users
- Hearing impaired
- Vision impaired
- Limited mobility
- Evenings
- Suitable for beginners
- Suitable for all abilities
- Long term / weekly / monthly
- Public transport
FAQs
For our week-long summer school courses, we offer single rooms in shared apartments in Nottingham Trent University’s city campus accommodation, which is ideal if you're looking to be based in Nottingham's lively city centre and want an economical place to stay.
Bookings are taken on a seven-night basis, from Saturday to Saturday.
The rooms are single occupancy, with a private bathroom.
You will be sent a link to book your accommodation once you have made your course booking through Craft Courses.
We offer accommodation during the summer only. We are unable to offer university accommodation during term time (for evening and weekend courses) but you'll find plenty of places to stay nearby, as we're located in the city centre.
