Diploma in Art & Design

Project proposal template

In producing the project proposal, and in preparing for the project realisation, you should
familiarise yourself with Unit 4 of the qualification.

In particular, you should understand the assessment and grading criteria which will be
used to determine standards of achievement. 

Unit 4 requires you to produce a project proposal of about 350 words, excluding the
project action plan and bibliography. Project proposals should not be so succinct that
they do not address the requirements listed below, nor should they be excessively long
and unfocused.

Your project proposal should be sufficiently challenging to ensure you have the best
possible chance of meeting the grading criteria.

Your project proposal should include:

● Centre name and number
● Candidate name and number

● Project proposal title and date
● Main area of activity/ pathway.

The project proposal must be word processed and presented under the headings listed
here:

Section 1 - Rationale
(Approximately 100 words)

This section provides you with an opportunity to reflect on, review and summarise your
progress and achievements through the first seven units of the qualification, and the
knowledge, skills and understanding you have acquired; What you know now, and what
it means to you, compared with what you knew and could do before you started the
course and how this has influenced your choice of pathway and your project proposal.

Section 2 – Project concept

(Approximately 200 words)

This section provides an opportunity for you to clearly explain the concept and aims of
your project, the research and ideas that will support its development, what you
anticipate producing, the levels and types of resources that you will need and an
indication of the form in which you will complete and present your project realisation
within the allocated timescale.
Section 3 - Evaluation
(Approximately 50 words)

This section provides an opportunity for you to explain how you will reflect on and
evaluate your work, as both an ongoing activity and at the conclusion of the project.

You should describe how you intend to record your decision-making and how you will
document changes to your ideas as work progresses.

The evaluation should reference your stated aims and be reflective and analytical rather
than a description of actions completed.

Additional requirements, not included in the 350word limit of the

proposal:
Project action plan and timetable:
This section provides you with an opportunity to outline your planning and organisation
over a period of weeks and the activities you will need to carry out in order to
successfully complete your project in the agreed time frame. The more time and thought
you give to planning your project, the more successful it is likely to be.

It is important that you consider how you will balance ambition, time and realism in the
realisation of the project. You should also include what you are going to do, how you will
do it and by when. Remember to include: time spent sourcing materials and other
resources to conduct research, seek feedback from tutors and peers, and identify when
you will carry out independent study.

Bibliography (Harvard Format):

This section provides an opportunity to record the initial research sources, both primary
and secondary, that you intend to use.

programmes, archive material etc. Where appropriate, you should use the Harvard
system of referencing. The bibliography should be continuously updated as the project
progresses.
Extended Diploma in Art & Design
Unit 4 Project Proposal
Candidate Juliet Allarton
Name
Candidate
Number
Pathway Digital art

Project Title Music promotion

Section 1: Rationale (approx. 150 words)

Having completed my first year I realised that my interests lay largely in the music
sector. As well as this, I noticed my biggest strengths were within digital art -
specifically photography. To combine these two going forward I'd like to focus on
music promotion, a perfect mix of digital art through advertising and music through
the content of my art. I need improvement with my technical skills in photography -
how to set up a photoshoot, how to use aperture and exposure and how to edit
photographs seamlessly. I will need to experiment with photography and relevant
software to accomplish this. At the start of my course I had interests in jewellery,
but I have since realised that I don't have enough dexterity with three-dimensional
objects to achieve this goal. As well as this, the jewellery sector itself did not inspire
me enough to produce engaging and unique work. Music, on the other hand, has
always been a great interest of mine - and I can use my digital art skills to
represent this in my second year.
Section 2: Project Concept (approx. 250 words)
The concept of my project is first and foremost to promote my own music. I will use
digital art to achieve this, specifically photography. To get a feel for the work I want
to produce, I will need to research photographers that focus on capturing passion
and energy - whether this is through gig photos (which is more specific to my
project) or other forms like portraits. I want to experiment with editing my photos to
reflect the ideas of a song or artist, for which I will need to play around with
software like Adobe Photoshop. I anticipate that I will produce work entirely
reflective of my character and my music - possibly through my own gig photos. It
will be difficult to create work that is my own when I want it to feature my own
energy as obviously I cannot fully compose a photograph of myself; someone else
would need to take it which is not an option. This is a problem I will need to solve
through my work and research - I may combine digital art with photography to
create an original piece of art that communicates my own musical passion. I will
visit various art galleries to gather inspiration for my project.
Section 3: Evaluation (approx. 100 words)
I plan to evaluate my project at intervals, using the help of peers and family. I may
also post some of my work to social media in order to see the response it
generates. I also want to perform 'customer trials' with members of the public. I
know a few amateur photographers that work within the music industry, with whom
I may share my work and compare it to theirs to see what I can improve. Finally, I
will view my work alongside that of the artists I will research so I can see areas for
improvement, and where my strengths lie.
Proposed Research Sources and Bibliography (Harvard Format)

Project Action Plan and Timetable

Week Date Week Activity / What you are intending to do - Resources / What you will need to do it -
Beginning including independent study including access to workshops

1 12/09/2021 - Specialist industry research - Internet

- Artist research (5 artists) - Books relating to music photographers
~ Isha Shah ~ Michel Gondry - Books on Constructivism
~ Ian Rankin ~ Aleksei Gan - Youtube
~ Alan Kitching
2 20/09/2021 - Gather secondary stimuli - Pinterest
- Summarise inspirations and influences, - Art books
and what these have made you want to do - DeviantArt
- Write project proposal
3 27/09/2021 - Practical work aka gathering primary - Art galleries
stimuli (sketches, photos, draft ideas - Concerts/gigs
relating to project intentions) - Artist work (research from week 1+2)
- Site research (visiting art galleries etc.)

4 04/10/2021 - Evaluation (peer and personal) - People to evaluate work

- Discussions/debates about work stemming - Artist work for comparison
from feedback ~ what do you need to
change/work on? How can you do this?
- Compile a list of own strengths and
weaknesses
5 11/10/2021 - Research art movements related to work - Internet
- Research historical/social/cultural - Books
movements related to work ~ technological - Word of mouth (find out what consumers
and current trends are looking for within the industry)
 - Research audience/consumer - Talk to practitioners
requirements for work
- Research sustainability and ethics relating
to work
6 18/10/2021 - Research existing practitioners (3 at least) - Internet
~ How they use visual language - Books
~ Material choices, presentation, format - Talk to practitioners
- Use research to influence final outcome
drafts

7 25/10/2021 - Gather feedback on visual language, - People to give feedback on work

presentation and formatting of work - Internet
- Reflect on all work so far ~ narrow down - Practitioners
design techniques and ideas
- Work towards final outcome (create drafts)
8 01/11/2021 - Reflective practice ~ 'customer trials' with - People for customer trials
final outcome drafts - Practitioner work and evaluation
- Identify strengths and weaknesses techniques
- Continue to work on final outcome ideas

9 08/11/2021 - Producing final outcome - Materials chosen for final outcome

- Reflect on work as it is produced - References and stimuli
- People for feedback on work