Unit 4: Graphic Design & the Poster
Pre A Level Art & Design · Semester 1 Plan · Unit 4 of 4 · ← Unit 3: Collage
What this unit does
Spine: “Communicate · audience.” This unit runs across three Wednesday doubles (W16, W17, W19 — there is no class in W18 because of the winter break). You move from composition to communication: one session analyzing what a poster must do (message, audience, hierarchy) and testing thumbnails and type, then the final poster — handmade or digital — for A4, then documentation. The last session closes the semester with the End-of-Term portfolio and the A5 sketchbook submission (both handed in that day).
There is one teaching session before the assessment, so missing a Wednesday in this unit costs a large part of your preparation.
Two routes through the same slot
This unit runs in one of two forms in the same three Wednesdays: Poster (the default, described below) or Printmaking (linocut — see the variant plan). Which route runs depends on student demand, gathered from the Introduction Survey in session 1, where you self-rate “Print Making” and name a preferred area of study. You will be told which route runs at least one week before A4, since A4 changes with the route.
| Poster (default) | Printmaking | |
|---|---|---|
| A4 task | Final poster, handmade or digital | Final linocut print |
| A4 marking focus | Hierarchy, typography, message, audience | Carving control, ink and registration, two-tone legibility |
| CS4 | Thumbnail set + poster analysis | Proof + annotation |
Session-by-session
The poster route is shown below; the variant covers the same Wednesdays for linocut.
| Wk | Wednesday | Lesson | Content | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W16 | 2026-12-16 | U4·L1 · S15 | Poster analysis (message, audience, hierarchy) + thumbnails and type | CS4 |
| W17 | 2026-12-23 | U4·L2 · S16 | A4: final poster, in class (handmade or digital) | A4 |
| — | 🚫 No class — winter break | — | ||
| W19 | 2027-01-06 | U4·L3 · S17 | Document work; semester portfolio due (End of Term) + A5 sketchbook submitted | EoT · A5 |
Winter break runs Thu 2026-12-24 → Sun 2027-01-03. There is no class in W20 (01-13) during final exams week (01-11→18); the return session is 2027-01-20. These dates may shift when the school publishes the calendar for that period.
Assessment
- A4 (Attainment) — 2026-12-23 (W17): final poster + reflection, handmade or digital. Announced 2026-12-16 (W16), the class immediately before. Marking focus: hierarchy, typography, message, audience.
- CS4 (Course Skills) — 2026-12-16 (W16): thumbnail set + poster analysis, in the same double that announces A4. Focus: hierarchy and audience.
- EoT (End of Term) — 2027-01-06 (W19): semester portfolio (four finals + process + reflections). Submitted, not sat.
- A5 (Attainment) — 2027-01-06 (W19): the sketchbook, submitted for its terminal attainment mark on the same day as the portfolio. Marking focus: ideas, experimentation, visual research, reflection, presentation.
Full details: full register.
Library resources
The relevant library matches are the Fashion collection and the loose Mucha posters at the top level of the shared image slide library.