Course summary

Arts University Plymouth is an arts university for the 21st century, preparing students who are uniquely placed to provide creative solutions to the complex global challenges of a changing world. Formerly known as Plymouth College of Art, we were granted full university title in Spring 2022. We are now the city of Plymouth’s first and only specialist arts university, allowing us to offer our students a dynamic and unique learning experience. If you want to pursue a creative degree at Arts University Plymouth but feel you have yet to acquire the experience and range of skills necessary, our Extended BA course will prepare you for entry to one of our BA (Hons) undergraduate courses. This four-year route offers an exploratory year, developing your insight into a range of art, design and media skills and approaches, before focusing on your Textile Design degree. Every day we encounter textile design in our lives, encompassing and enriching everything from the clothes that we wear to the patterns, textures and colours of the environments that we live and work in. Join our community and nurture your unique design personality, through an exciting mix of textile and surface experimentation, personal development and creative industry live briefs and opportunities. Our Textile Design course is an exciting, industry-focused and experimental environment where you will develop essential skills needed to design for different markets and audiences. From trend forecasting and product development to branding and marketing, our course covers all aspects of the exciting textile design sector. Our course structure is centred around experimentation, innovation and exploring the future of textile design and sustainability, giving you the freedom to utilise new materials, techniques and technologies: from traditional print processes and knit and dyeing methods to contemporary digital printing and creative surface pattern design. You will have access to a wide range of tools and equipment while learning current digital design skills that will bring your creative visions to life. Our breath-taking textiles studios are home to an expansive, impressive screen printing space, a dye laboratory, large-format sublimation printers and transfer presses, as well as knitting machines, digital embroidery machines, tufting guns and a range of state-of-the-art digital printers and scanners, enabling you to realise your fabric design with immediate turnaround. You’ll also have access to WGSN and The Future Laboratory. Our students become accomplished and exciting textile designers for fashion, interiors, product design, craft and fine art applications, as well as textile buyers, stylists and merchandisers. This course also incorporates research into the historical, cultural and sustainable contexts of textile design, as well as developing your critical understanding and appreciation of design principles. You’ll learn advanced research and communication skills, alongside a practical understanding of traditional and digital design processes, resulting in a diverse portfolio of creative outputs. The course is supported by a brilliant team of technical staff and visiting lecturers. In recent years, live briefs and industry placements have been offered by prestigious designers including Timorous Beasties, Zandra Rhodes, Mercedes, Sainsbury’s, Joules, Finisterre, Princess Yachts, Dulux, Nicky Pasterfield, Christopher Farr, Anna Gravelle, MAKE Southwest and the Eden Project. Through sponsored industrial projects you’ll learn how to meet the needs of clients and see your designs made ready for production, gaining real-life design experience. Study trips have included Heimtextil in Frankfurt and Première Vision and Maison&Objet in Paris. After graduating, you’ll be equipped to start your career and capitalise on your design skills, whether designing for large, well-known brands or starting your own independent enterprise.