Module Aims and Outcomes

Group presentation - 50% (Oral group presentation: week 10, Submission of websites and documents/slides: week 15): Early in semester you will be split into groups, each of which will develop a pitch for a hypothetical funding application or crowdfunding campaign (probably for a creative work). You will also need to develop a mocked-up web presence which introduces your team as a professional group, taking on board what our guest lecturers say about C.V.s, portfolios and so on. The group will pitch these projects in Week 10 to peers and the lecturers. Treat the oral presentation as an opportunity to develop a strategy to present yourself to future grant givers or crowdfunders. It is also an opportunity to research why some pitches and campaigns are successful while others fail, and to position your work accordingly.

Note that this assessment is essentially creating a profile for a project which (probably) doesn't exist, so while it is important to come up with a creative idea that maximises on the talents of your group, be sure to focus your efforts on the part (the pitch or crowdfunding campaign) that matters directly for the purposes of this class. Also the project should be something reasonably achievable by a small creative agency or team in a relatively short timeframe and to a modest budget - speak to your lecturer if you're in doubt.

Key criteria for assessment of Group Presentations:

• Quality and Confidence of Presentation/Mockup Website and Documents
• Viability of Proposed Business Model/Idea
• Appropriateness of Crowdfunding Campaign or Grant Body
• Innovativeness of Campaign/Pitch, Clarity of Explanation for your Creative Decisions
• How well the disciplinary talents of each member contribute to the hypothetical project
• Use of insights from Guest Lecturers

Grant Proposal

Crowdfunding Campaign

Points to address: Identify a potential funding body (e.g. Creative Scotland) Make sure the criteria for funding match your project idea Briefly present/summarise your idea and contextualise it within the creative industries sector Introduce the team behind the project/why are you the right team to pursue this project? Specialise the timeframe for the project Who is your audience? How will your reach your audience? What are the benefits of your project for the audience or your own development as an artist/designers group?

Points to address: Identify a crowdfunding platform matching your project idea (national, international, game-specific/more general etc.) Briefly present the idea and contextualise it within the creative industries sector Introduce the team Specify the unique selling point of your project. Who is your audience and how will you look for/mobilise your backers in the campaign? Specialise the timeframe for the project Estimate the funding that you need for the project’s completion Come up with pledge levels and prizes for the backers on each level

Essay Expanded Guidelines

Essay - 50% (Submission: week 15): 1000 word-long mission statement manifesto. A document introducing your artistic scope, professional planning and location, potential market, target group, and funding (expressing either a future job scenario or a self-employability focused plan). This does not need to be a fully developed academic essay in the sense of a well-supported argument with sources and so on, but does require you to display a knowledge of your prospective industry and identify key companies, opportunities and funding sources that you are looking towards in your post-graduation career. Working in insights from the guest lecturers is also a key to success.

DES401 Professional Contexts & Entrepreneurship Essay Guidelines

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 13/12/2016

This essay is designed to get you thinking about the steps you will take after you graduate. That means it is not an academic essay in the sense that you have to cite academic sources and engage with theoretical materials. Data from industry, writing by professionals working in the field, journalistic resources, white papers from advocacy bodies and cultural institutions – all of these are acceptable in this context in a way they wouldn’t be in an academic paper.

Unlike the Group Presentation which was about a hypothetical project, this should reference real information and statistics.

However, it is an essay that requires engagement with the course’s materials and guest speakers, as well as displaying an awareness of the state of the sector you wish to enter (whether creative industries, games, animation, independent production, advertising, academia or another field). These aspects of the essay will require basic referencing (ie. Let us know where you get information from if you’re quoting data from a particular source so we know it is reputable). This could include focusing on a particular firm and identifying key personnel and contacts.

It is also important to take stock of the way that you will achieve the career goals you set out for the first steps you will take post-graduation. This means incorporating your plans or links to completed versions of your portfolio, C.V., work-related social media profiles, and so on. Describe how this will articulate your skillset and appeal to the target audience of your planned career path, drawing on the insights of the guest lecturers about the industry,crowdfunding, creative industries funding or whichever goal you have chosen.

The paper will be marked according to how well you meet the following criteria:

1. Clarity of your stated goals.
2. Knowledge of the intended field/industry from an employment standpoint.
3. Incorporation of ideas from the course and guest lecturers.
4. Comprehensiveness of plans for an effective web presence.