FdA Designer Maker
Start Date: 8th September 2025
- Length 2 years
- Study Full-Time
- Location Rye Hill Campus
More about the course
With our Designer Maker Foundation Deree you will enjoy practical workshops, insightful lectures and exciting industry visits as you explore ceramics, jewellery, textiles, and small product design. You can choose to specialise in one area or experiment across several, allowing you to discover your unique creative voice.
In your first year, you’ll lay the groundwork in 3D design and craft, gaining hands-on experience in ceramics, jewellery, and textiles and get to grips with digital design tools and software. You'll also explore current debates on ethics and sustainability in the creative industry.
In your second year, you’ll refine your area of specialism, whether that's diving deeper into one field or adopting a multidisciplinary approach. You’ll tackle live briefs set by industry partners, gaining invaluable real-world experience whilst developing your business and entrepreneurial skills. Studying key topics like the circular economy and sustainable design practices will ensure you graduate ready to meet the demands of the modern craft and design industry.
Get In Touch
Meet our staff and students
Dan Civico
Lecturer - Art and Design"I've worked at Newcastle College for almost 20 years so there have been many proud moments, such as designing the HE Hub (a dedicated higher education space) with my students, to working with amazing industry professionals on live projects. Every year the biggest highlight is seeing my students graduate with outstanding portfolios of work and setting off on their careers."
Ellie Chambers
FdA Fashion Retail and Enterprise"By studying my degree course, I gained more experience, found projects I enjoyed and realised how many opportunities there were to improve my skills, which really helped me figure out my passions within the fashion sector. Thanks to the course practicality, I've already developed my own brand as a stylist - it's really been quite fun!"
Art and Design at Newcastle College
What can I do with an Art and Design qualification?
Daily tasks:
- Performs other tasks not elsewhere classified, for example, forms mounts for wigs, makes buttons, shapes hat brims, and staples seams of industrial gloves.
- Shapes and steams fabric into hats or hoods and gives final shape to fibre helmets and felt hats.
- Examines sketches and draws out patterns for the manufacture of garments and upholstery.
- Fills and stuffs cushions, quilts, soft toys and furniture.
- Marks out, cuts and sews corsets, light clothing and hoods and aprons and makes and repairs sails, boat covers and other canvas goods.
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Daily tasks:
- Cleans and oils machine, detects and reports mechanical faults to technicians.
- Stretches, shrinks, brushes, dampens and presses fabric and shears or burns off protruding fabric fibres as required.
- Examines colour cards or specifications, estimates quantity of colouring material needed to print or dye fibre and calculates and mixes ingredients accordingly.
- Checks quality of completed material, marks any flaws and removes badly damaged sections.
- Detects blockages, tangled thread, defective or broken material, and joins broken ends by hand or mechanical knotting.
- Replenishes the supply of input fibres, removes and replaces full output packages, cards and spools.
- Sets controls, starts machinery and monitors the passage of material processed.
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Daily tasks:
- Observes and manages intellectual property issues.
- Specifies materials, production method and finish for aesthetic or functional effect, and oversees production of sample and/or finished product.
- Submits design to management, sales department or client for approval, communicates design rationale and makes any necessary alterations.
- Prepares sketches, designs, mock-ups and storyboards for consideration by theatre/film director or client.
- Prepares sketches, designs, patterns or prototypes for textiles, clothing, footwear, jewellery, fashion accessories, set props, wigs, ceramics, plastics, motor vehicles, domestic appliances and engineering products.
- Undertakes research to determine market trends, production requirements, availability of resources and formulates design concepts.
- Liaises with client to determine the purpose, cost, technical specification and potential uses/users of product.
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What can I do with an Art and Design qualification?
Textiles, Garments and Related Trades n.e.c.
Daily tasks:
- Performs other tasks not elsewhere classified, for example, forms mounts for wigs, makes buttons, shapes hat brims, and staples seams of industrial gloves.
- Shapes and steams fabric into hats or hoods and gives final shape to fibre helmets and felt hats.
- Examines sketches and draws out patterns for the manufacture of garments and upholstery.
- Fills and stuffs cushions, quilts, soft toys and furniture.
- Marks out, cuts and sews corsets, light clothing and hoods and aprons and makes and repairs sails, boat covers and other canvas goods.
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Textile Process Operatives
Daily tasks:
- Cleans and oils machine, detects and reports mechanical faults to technicians.
- Stretches, shrinks, brushes, dampens and presses fabric and shears or burns off protruding fabric fibres as required.
- Examines colour cards or specifications, estimates quantity of colouring material needed to print or dye fibre and calculates and mixes ingredients accordingly.
- Checks quality of completed material, marks any flaws and removes badly damaged sections.
- Detects blockages, tangled thread, defective or broken material, and joins broken ends by hand or mechanical knotting.
- Replenishes the supply of input fibres, removes and replaces full output packages, cards and spools.
- Sets controls, starts machinery and monitors the passage of material processed.
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Product, clothing and related designers
Daily tasks:
- Observes and manages intellectual property issues.
- Specifies materials, production method and finish for aesthetic or functional effect, and oversees production of sample and/or finished product.
- Submits design to management, sales department or client for approval, communicates design rationale and makes any necessary alterations.
- Prepares sketches, designs, mock-ups and storyboards for consideration by theatre/film director or client.
- Prepares sketches, designs, patterns or prototypes for textiles, clothing, footwear, jewellery, fashion accessories, set props, wigs, ceramics, plastics, motor vehicles, domestic appliances and engineering products.
- Undertakes research to determine market trends, production requirements, availability of resources and formulates design concepts.
- Liaises with client to determine the purpose, cost, technical specification and potential uses/users of product.
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Levels Explained
What's happening?
Energy Academy Open Event
Energy Academy, Wallsend
Wednesday 12th March 2025
5:00pm - 7:00pm
Engineering Steppin' Up Parents' Evening
Thursday 20th March 2025
5:30pm - 7:30pm
SEND Friendly Open Event
Rye Hill Campus
Wednesday 2nd April 2025
4:45pm - 7:00pm
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