BTEC INTERNATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS IN ART AND DESIGN

UNIT 1: DEVELOPING ART AND DESIGN IN RESPONSE TO A THEME

Unit 1: Developing Art and Design in Response to a

Theme

Delivery guidance
Approaching the unit
In this unit learners will develop the skills to generate and refine a creative response from a
thematic starting point. This is a fundamental part of working as a creative practitioner and
the knowledge and skills developed in this unit will support learners in approaching all other
units in this qualification.
Learners will explore the process that practitioners use when selecting or being given a
thematic starting point, through to producing their own unique and original response to that
starting point. Learners will use a creative design development cycle to develop and refine
their initial ideas through investigating and experimenting.
It is important that learners develop their independence and confidence in applying a suitable
design development process, as this will form the basis for responding to both internally set
assignment briefs, and Pearson Set assignment briefs throughout this qualification.
Learners must have access to specialist workspaces, media, materials, equipment, and tools to
produce creative work. The nature of these will depend on the type of activities undertaken,
but they should include a wide range of 2D and 3D resources, and digital media if possible.
It is good practice to visit galleries, museums, and events so that learners can experience art
and design work in context. It is also helpful to engage with professional practitioners, either
through visiting speakers, or visits to workshops and studios, to discuss how they work.

Delivering the learning aims

The unit content is separated into three distinct learning aims and content areas that identify
the types of knowledge and skills learners should demonstrate, and these are directly aligned
to key stages in the design development process. While the unit content is separated into
learning aims and content areas, these should not be viewed as completely separate
elements. Art and design learning works best when it is approached holistically, with constant
reflection and discussion linked directly to practical exploration. Investigation will begin the
creative process and will continue throughout the duration of the unit activities, as learners
may need to make new investigations to refine their ideas as they progress. Learners should
develop the skills and knowledge to undertake a creative project from initial analysis of a
thematic brief, through a process of iterative development, culminating in the production of a
final creative response. Through this process, learners will have the opportunity to address all
the learning aims. It is also important to note that learners are likely to have multiple
opportunities to generate appropriate evidence to address the learning aims throughout a
project. This holistic delivery approach is also reflected in the assessment of the unit and is
considered best practice when teaching art and design.
For learning aim A, learners are required to generate ideas in response to a thematic starting
point. The theme will be provided in the form of a creative brief and learners must develop
the ability to analyse the brief, extracting the relevant information and identifying initial areas
of interest and possible lines of enquiry. Following this initial analysis, learners will be
expected to go through an initial investigative phase for the project. Use of primary and
Pearson BTEC International Level 2 Qualifications in Art and Design – Delivery Guide
October 2021 © Pearson Education Limited 2021
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BTEC INTERNATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS IN ART AND DESIGN
UNIT 1: DEVELOPING ART AND DESIGN IN RESPONSE TO A THEME

secondary sources will play an essential part in encouraging exploratory ideas and providing
information and inspiration. For this unit, learners must develop appropriate research skills
and be able to identify relevant information that can be used to inform and progress their
project.
At the early stages of the unit, learners should be encouraged to conduct a broad range of
research, which should include research into the theme, related creative practitioners, and
initial practical investigations into materials, techniques, and processes. Learners should also
be encouraged to visit galleries, exhibitions, and art or craft design studios to support
research and development.
Learners must use this initial research to inform their application of idea generation
techniques in response this the theme. This gives learners an initial opportunity to establish
their creative intentions for the project, and is likely to define their next steps for the project.
However, it is important that learners do not consider this initial investigative phase as their
only opportunity to meet this learning aim as it is highly likely that learners will have additional
opportunities to research and generate ideas as the project evolves and their ideas develop.
For learning aim B, learners should be given the opportunity to explore a wide range of
practical skills to the support them to develop their initial ideas. Through iterative
experimentation with a wide range of media, materials, techniques and processes, learners
will have the opportunity to progress their initial ideas and start to refine them towards a final
creative response. The learner's choice of media, materials, techniques, and processes is likely
to be affected by a number of factors including their initial areas of research, the initial ideas
they have generated for the project, as well as any particular specialisms within their
programme of study.
The sequencing of this unit within the qualification will depend on the size of the qualification
being delivered. For smaller size qualifications this unit could provide an opportunity to
introduce learners to a wide range of practical skills early on in the programme. However, for
larger size qualifications, it may be advantageous for the unit to be delivered at the latter
stages of the programme, allowing learners to draw on the knowledge and skills developed in
previous units. Either way, learners should be encouraged to explore a wide range of different
practical skills and take an experimental approach to inform the development of their ideas.
For learning aim C, learners must demonstrate their ability to plan appropriately to allow
them to achieve their creative intentions for the project and produce a final response to the
theme. For the assessment of this unit, learners will be required to produce their final
response in timed session during lesson time. This will allow for adequate access to specialist
workshops, staffing and materials when creating a final response and will allow for
authentication of the final response to the theme.
In order to be able to use these timed sessions effectively, learners must develop the skills to
plan their time, taking into consideration, timing, resources required, tools or equipment
needed as well as health and safety. Learners will then need to produce a final response to
the given theme. This final response should be a culmination of the activities undertaken
through the previous stages of the project, and the final body of work should clearly
document the learner's creative journey through the project.

Pearson BTEC International Level 2 Qualifications in Art and Design – Delivery Guide
October 2021 © Pearson Education Limited 2021
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BTEC INTERNATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS IN ART AND DESIGN
UNIT 1: DEVELOPING ART AND DESIGN IN RESPONSE TO A THEME

Assessment model
Learning aim Key content areas Recommended
assessment approach
A Generate ideas in A1 Selecting and using This unit is assessed through
response to a theme information a Pearson Set Assignment.
A2 Generating ideas A portfolio of evidence
produced in response to a
A3 Establishing creative
theme to include:
intentions
● initial ideas in response to
B Explore practical skills to B1 Practical skills a theme
develop a response to a development ● exploration of practical
theme B2 The creative process skills relevant to creative
B3 Developing creative work intentions
● evidence of development
C Plan and realise creative C1 Planning of ideas
intentions in response to C2 Production of final ● evidence of planning
a theme outcome ● a final outcome(s) in
response to a theme.

Assessment guidance
The unit is assessed by a Pearson Set Assignment (PSA). The assessment is set by Pearson and
must be taken under controlled conditions before it is marked by teachers.
There are 60 guided learning hours assigned to the unit, of which 30 hours will be required for
assessment.
Set assignments are available from September each year and are valid for one year only.
The submission is a portfolio of work evidencing the work created in all activities in the most
suitable format. The portfolio of work should demonstrate learners’ ability against the
assessment criteria, and must include:
• selected aspects of the creative process from Activity 1: Generate Initial Ideas, and
Activity 2: Explore Practical Skills
• the final outcome(s) from Activity 3: Final Outcome.
Delivery must cover all the unit content and prepare learners to produce evidence to meet the
assessment criteria and assessment guidance in preparation for taking the PSA. Sample
Assessment Materials are available on the Pearson website. These can be used or adapted to
help learners prepare for assessment.

Pearson BTEC International Level 2 Qualifications in Art and Design – Delivery Guide
October 2021 © Pearson Education Limited 2021
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BTEC INTERNATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS IN ART AND DESIGN
UNIT 1: DEVELOPING ART AND DESIGN IN RESPONSE TO A THEME

Getting started
This gives you a starting place for one way of delivering the unit, based around the
recommended assessment approach in the specification.

Introduction
This is one way that the unit may be delivered, showing the type of activities you might use to
prepare learners with the necessary knowledge and skills for assessment. The learning aims
combine to develop learners’ understanding of ways to respond to a theme, and how to apply
research, practical skills, and effective planning to achieve creative intentions.
Introduce this unit by providing an overview of how creative practitioners produce work in
response to themes and how their investigations, experimentation, and exploration extend the
boundaries of their creativity.
In order to contextualise the unit, teachers should explain to learners how artists, designers,
and craftspeople develop the skills to develop work from initial themes in order to gain
commissions, meet client needs and develop their own creative identity. This could be
achieved by discussing the creative process used by practitioners, showing examples of how
artists develop their ideas.
One way to do this is to guide learners through a thematic project, exemplifying best practice
at each stage of a creative project. This project will not form part of the summative assessment
of the unit, but will allow learners to develop the knowledge and skills they will need apply.
Trips and visits can be incorporated into early stages of the unit as this can give learners an
opportunity to conduct primary research, and also can be good sources of inspiration. Guest
speakers can also be valuable at any stage in the delivery of the unit to complement practical
activities, and to give valuable insight into how creative practitioners' work. These will provide a
very useful vocational context for the delivery of the unit.

Learning aim A:Generate ideas in response to a theme

Learning aim A is about applying ideas generation techniques in order to develop ideas in
response to a given theme.
● For A1, learners need to understand how to conduct appropriate research from both
primary and secondary sources to support their idea generation. It is important that
learners are able to select relevant information from their research and use this to inform
their ideas. You could provide learners with various information sources, i.e. a web page,
magazine article or extract from a book, and ask learners to identify what information is
relevant and justifying their selections.
● Research should include investigation into the theme itself, including ideas and concepts
related to the theme. Learners should also research practitioners related to the theme in
order to understand how other practitioners have responded to similar themes. When
researching the work of practitioners, it is important that learners focus on how the
practitioners have responded to a particular theme or how they have used particular media,
materials and techniques, rather than simply recording biographical information about the
practitioner. As well as these academic research-based activities, learners should also be
encouraged to engage in practical investigations using media, materials, techniques, and
processes to inform their approach to the project.
● For A2 and A3, learners will use the results of their investigations to generate ideas for a
creative response to the given theme. How these initial ideas are generated and recorded
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BTEC INTERNATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS IN ART AND DESIGN
UNIT 1: DEVELOPING ART AND DESIGN IN RESPONSE TO A THEME

will largely depend on what specialist area learners are working in, and their individual
creative approach to generating ideas. When generating ideas at the early stages of the
project learners should be encouraged to consider a diverse range of alternative ideas and
learners may suggest a number of possible starting points they wish to explore further. You
should introduce learners to a wide range of ideas generation techniques including a range
of formal visual, investigative, and experimental problem-solving techniques. This could be
as simple as asking learners to produce a mind-map or mood board related to the theme,
or it could be through arranging small group activities where learner explore word play or
experiment with combining or comparing their ideas.
● At the latter stages of the project learners are likely to generate ideas that illustrate small
variations in possible outcomes such as small changes in size, colour or final finish as part
of a process of refining their ideas. Through this iterative approach to generating ideas,
learners will be refining their creative intentions for the project.
A useful approach in developing learners' skills in this area could be to set learners smaller
research tasks connected to a theme and ask them to use ideas generation techniques to
generate initial ideas for a response after each activity. This will allow learners to explore
different approaches to generating ideas based on different stimuli.
Learners should develop their skills in recording this process of generating ideas and it is
important that learners understand the need to document all stages of the process and not
simply to record their ‘final’ ideas for the project. You could introduce them to examples of
how different practitioners document the early stages of creative projects through sketches,
annotations, modelmaking etc.

Learning aim B: Explore practical skills to develop a response to a theme

Learning aim B is about exploring practical skills to develop and refine the initial ideas for the
project.
● For B1, the selection of practical skills explored should be relevant to learners' initial
creative intentions for the project and will, in part, be defined by the nature of the
programme. For those learners studying a general art and design programme, the range of
skills could be quite broad and include 2D, 3D and digital skills. However, for those studying
a more specialist programme, i.e. photography, or fashion. it is likely that the practical skills
used will be more closely related to that specific discipline. Regardless of this, learners
should be encouraged to explore a wide range of media, materials, techniques and
processes to develop their initial ideas.
● For B2, learners should be encouraged to understand all stages of the creative process and
should be encouraged to explore how the different stages in the creative process are
interrelated, and how they all contribute the development of a response to a theme. You
can introduce learners to each stage of the creative process by working through a project as
a group. By doing this you will be able to reiterate the importance of each stage and point
out how each stage is informed and supported by the previous stage. The creative process
should not be considered as a linear one, with a start and an end, but as a cycle of activities
that inform a practitioner’s creative practice.
● For B3, learners should take the opportunities inherent in the development of creative
work. By allowing the results of ongoing investigation and experimentation to guide the
development of creative work, it is likely that the project will evolve beyond the initial ideas
identified for the project.

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BTEC INTERNATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS IN ART AND DESIGN
UNIT 1: DEVELOPING ART AND DESIGN IN RESPONSE TO A THEME

Practical skills can be developed through a series of practical workshops introducing learners
to a range of media, materials, techniques and processes, giving learners practical guidance on
how to use them safely and effectively. Learners should be encouraged to take creative risks,
and to try new approaches to generating work. When exploring different practical skills, it is
useful if learners are producing work in relation to the theme, as this will help to contextualise
the activities. This will develop learners’ understanding of how the theme of the project can
significantly impact the approach to using and exploring different skills.
When exploring practical skills learners should understand the importance of recording all of
their activities and avoid any inclination to discard experiments that they think are
unsuccessful. Learners will need to appreciate that each activity undertaken will contribute to
the development and refinement of a final response to the theme.

Learning aim C: Plan and realise creative intentions in response to a theme

Learning aim C is about planning and production of a final response to the theme.
● For C1, learners should develop the skills to plan for the successful completion of the
project. This should take into account all factors including the time available to complete
the work, the availability of resources, tools and equipment, and any specialist help they
might need. Learners need to understand how to schedule their time, considering the time
they may need to prepare elements of work such as drying, firing, or rendering. Learners
will also need carefully consider what resources are available to them and how they might
source additional resources or equipment if required. When planning for the completion of
a project it is important that learners are able to consider contingency planning, and have
back-up plans in case things do not initially go to plan. Considering this, prior to
undertaking the final production of a response, will help learners to use their time
effectively and allow them to meet the deadline.
● For C2, learners will apply the knowledge and skills they have developed throughout the
project in order to create a final piece(s) in response to the theme. The final outcome
should be the culmination of all the activities undertaken throughout the project and
learners should reflect on the successes and failures encountered throughout the project
when producing their final response. The final outcome should reflect the learners' creative
intentions for the project and should respond to the original theme given.
A useful approach to developing learners' skills in this area is to encourage them to plan at all
stages of the project. This could involve their planning what they hope to achieve in a single
lesson, or what work they plan to achieve for homework. This intermittent planning process
will help learners to understand what is achievable, and how to set realistic goals within given
timeframes. Learners may also benefit from access to planning documents such as a timetable
for scheduling. Learners should develop a clear understanding of what resources tools and
equipment will be available to them so they can make informed choices when planning their
final outcome.

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October 2021 © Pearson Education Limited 2021
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BTEC INTERNATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS IN ART AND DESIGN
UNIT 1: DEVELOPING ART AND DESIGN IN RESPONSE TO A THEME

Details of links to other BTEC units and qualifications, and to other

relevant units/qualifications
This unit links to:
• Unit 1: Developing Art and Design in Response to a Theme
• Unit 3: Building an Art and Design Portfolio
• Unit 6: Working with a Graphic Design Brief
• Unit 7: Working with a Photography Brief
• Unit 8: Working with a Textiles Brief
• Unit 9: Working with a Fashion Design Brief
• Unit 10: Working with a 3D Design Brief
• Unit 11: Working with a Visual Arts Brief
• Unit 12: Working with a Digital Art and Design Brief
• Unit 13: Working with a Design Crafts Brief
• Unit 14: Working with a Moving Image Brief
• International GCSE/core curriculum in Art and Design.

Resources
In addition to the resources listed below, publishers are likely to produce Pearson-endorsed
textbooks that support this unit of the BTEC International Level 2 Qualifications in Art and Design.
Check the Pearson website at: (http://qualifications.pearson.com/endorsed-resources) for more
information as titles achieve endorsement.

Textbooks

Bendandi, L. and Antonini, M. Experimental Photography: A handbook of Techniques (Thames and

Hudson 2015) ISBN 9780500544372

Brommer, G. Collage Techniques: A Guide for Artists and Illustrators (Watson Guptill Publications Inc
2011) ISBN 9780823006557

Houston, G. Illustration That Works: Professional Techniques for Artistic and Commercial Success
(Monacelli Press 2016) ISBN 9781580934473

Jackson, P. Folding Techniques for Designers: From Sheet to Form (Lawrence King 2011) ISBN 978-
1856697217

Mason, D. Materials, Process, Print: Creative Ideas for Graphic Design (Lawrence King 2007) ISBN
9781856695107

Pearce, E. Artists’ Materials: The complete source book of methods and media (Arcturus Publishing
2019) ISBN 9781788887809

Salvaggio, N. and Shagam, J. Basic Photographic Materials and Processes (Taylor and Francis 2019)
ISBN 9781138744370

Pearson BTEC International Level 2 Qualifications in Art and Design – Delivery Guide
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BTEC INTERNATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS IN ART AND DESIGN
UNIT 1: DEVELOPING ART AND DESIGN IN RESPONSE TO A THEME

Scobie, L. 365 Days of Art: A Creative Exercise for Every Day of the Year (Hardie Grant Books 2017)
ISBN 9781784881115

Websites
www.archive.org Stock image, video and audio
www.blender.org Free software – 3D modelling, rendering and animation
system, video editing
www.dandad.org D&AD, members represent the creative, design and
advertising communities worldwide
www.gimp.org Free software – high end photo editing
www.inkscape.org Free software – vector graphic editing
www.pixabay.com Royalty free images and photographs
www.scribus.net Free software – page layout/desktop publishing
www.sketchup.com Free software – 3D modelling
www.unsplash.com Royalty free images and photographs

Pearson is not responsible for the content of any external internet sites. It is essential for teachers to
preview each website before using it in class so as to ensure that the URL is still accurate, relevant
and appropriate. We suggest that teachers bookmark useful websites and consider enabling
learners to access them through the school/college intranet.

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