Newsletter Nov 2012

New academic year has just started
The University College Marbella Design Academy has just started a new academic year.
We would like to welcome our new students to the Academy and wish them all the success in their new courses. We appreciate that for many new students this is a very daunting and exiting time, with moving to a new country and starting at a new institution. We hope you will love Spain, your College and our stunning surroundings just as much as we do.
If you need help with anything then we are ready to help you. Just ask! 

 

Happy new students from all over the world just started 

New students get together day

As a welcome to all new students to the Marbella Design Academy Family, the College arrange at the beginning of each academic year a Students Get Together Day, were new and old students, tutors and staff are being introduced to each other in an non formal atmosphere.
This time the students, tutors and administration enjoyed a wonderful day at La Alpujata, neighboured to the College. La Sierra de la Alpujata is part of the region of the Sierra de las Nieves where the Natural Park of the “Sierra de las Nieves” is integrated within the Biosphere Reserve, a designation granted by UNESCO.
After a fabulous hike through hidden paths, guided by an expert tour guide of the area. They all enjoyed a nice time together at the local football pitch with the stunning view in the middle of the forest only 1km from Monda. In a relaxed atmosphere everyone played football, paddle tennis, listening to music...as well as tasting an amazing Paella and beautiful sangria. It was a lovely day where many new friendships were made.

New students having a great time at La Alpujata

Free Spanish classes

Remember to join the FREE Spanish classes offered twice per week after tuition hours. You can join the beginner or advance course. Even though the classes are voluntary we do recommend you take those classes. It is great to be able to speak Spanish and soon you will already be able to communicate in Spain with the locals.
After 3 years at our College you will as well graduate with a Certificate in Spanish. 

A Cambridge English Qualification 
Through an agreement done with local representatives of Cambridge University, Marbella Design Academy has become an exam venue where ESOL Examinations will be taken. We recommend this course to students who need to improve their

English and to students who would like to have an official Cambridge English Certificate.
Students are welcome to join this course that starts on the 5th of November, twice a week for 60 euros a month only. First Cambridge English Certificate examination will be held on the 15th of March 2013. 

 ESOL Examinations 

Students Representatives 

The Marbella Design Academy would like to introduce the students to their own selected new Students Representatives chosen among 2nd year students. There is one representative for each subject area:

Linda Benoit (Interior Design) 

 Laura Rodriguez (Graphic Design) 

 Felice Luyten (Fashion Design)
The Students Representatives are there to help the Faculty and Administration communicate with students and vice versa. Students can take any Academic problems or new ideas to their relevant Student Representative who will then raise this through the correct chain of command.

7th December 2012

The EXPO of students projects on display, starts at 12.00 and is followed by the Graduation Ceremony and Catwalk showing the amazing garments produced by

our Fashion Students.
Around 14.00 we all enjoy our yearly Christmas buffet. 

General Enquiries 
For all requests concerning enrollment and visits, please contact the
Info and Enrollment Department:
Tel: +34 952 45 70 90 / +34 682 200 583
Email: info-courses@designschool.com

Stay posted by following us on facebook........
www.facebook.com/MarbellaDesignAcademy

For more information check out our new improved website!!!

www.designschool.com 

A New Approach to Tunnel Vision

Marbella Design Academy has brought a whole new meaning to “Tunnel Vision”. Monda Town Hall have granted permission to allow students from the college to express their creative side by painting artwork visuals inside an underpass tunnel located next to the town.
We feel it is important to give our students the opportunity to think outside the box and sometimes break away from conventional teaching in class. This event will no doubt provide students with experience of working on a live project. The concept is to put all theory learnt in class into practice and provide a better understanding on the principles of Art & Design.

Monda will soon have a highly decorated tunnel, giving drivers the pleasure of experiencing great artwork, rather than looking at plain white walls. At the same time, because the artwork is concealed within a tunnel, no artwork may be seen from the outside world which does not effect the look of the beautiful countryside in the surrounding areas. We feel this combination is very important.

We shall keep you posted on the progress of the project and shall provide images of the finished result in due course

www.designschool.com

Nissan Cars Test Track Malaga

Driving Up the Wall to Success

Nissan Cars Malaga approached and selected the University College - Marbella Design Academy to have their Race Track boundary walls in Malaga Graffitied.

Their requirement was simple: "To use talented and creative students to create and apply the art on the walls". 

Our response was simple too: "To deliver exactly what Nissan were seeking"

The students involved in this project delivered with conviction and displayed true talent in the world of art as can be seen in this video which we are proud to show the world.

2013 Summer Courses at the University College – Marbella Design Academy

At the University College – Marbella Design Academy we understand that other commitments can get in the way or prevent full time studies.
We feel the perfect solution to this is to offer short term Summer Courses which allow for effective learning of a subject matter over a short period of time.

We now have our 2013 Summer Courses on offer, so please do not forget to apply as there are limited number of seats available.
The courses and their dates are shown below. For more information, simply click on the course title that suits you.

AutoCad - 22/ 07/2013 - 23/08/2013
3D Max - 22 /07/2013 - 23/08/2013
Photoshop – 22 /07/ 2013 - 09/08/2013
Illustrator - 12/08/2013 - 23/08/2013
Photography (Beginner) - 22/07/2013 - 9/08/2013
Photography (Advanced) - 12/08/2013 - 23/08/2013
Photography (Beginner & Advanced) - 22/07/2013 - 23/08/2013
Fashion - 22/07/2013 - 23/08/2013

To apply be sure to completely fill in our application form by first selecting “Summer Courses” on the drop down menu and then completing the rest of it.

We look forward to seeing you in the summer of 2013

www.designschool.com

Presenting Amazing Work Created by Students at Marbella Design Academy

Incredible Video Animation.

This is one video that we feel needs to be presented to the world.
It is an amazing animation story regarding the colour "Blue". You will understand more once you watch it. So have a look and be sure to leave your thoughts in the comment section.

Graphic Design Animation made by: Christophe Siel, Voices by: Ayaan Hafiz, Music by: Jesper Kyd & Ayaan Hafiz, all 2nd Year Graphic Design Students at University College - Marbella Design Academy.

www.designschool.com

Malaga Province Fires

Blazing Fires in Malaga Province

The fires have now come and thankfully gone.

It was no doubt breaking news as telephone calls came flooding in from all around the world including Australia. All concerned callers where calling to see if everyone was OK and if the College was affected. It was really touching to see how many people cared.

Thankfully Monda town and the University College – Marbella Design Academy where not affected directly. This however, did not mean everything was quiet, the fires still came close enough to have the police evacuate people from their homes in the surrounding area in the early hours of Friday.  

We are only grateful there was no damage in this area and that the College still looks as beautiful as ever. More importantly we are able to continue with our jobs and make sure deserving students get their eduction in Design.

We would like to thank all firefighters, police, reserved military, pilots and anyone else who was directly involved for their efforts in stopping the fire. It had been mentioned they all did an exceptional job in stopping such a huge fire in a short period of time.

Our thoughts go out to all those whom where affect.

www.designschool.com

The RAW power of Photography

Where does one start to becoming a decent photographer?

Of course now days the first step is to go on the Internet and look for articles giving tips on improving photography skills. The range of advice can be so vast that a simple beginner may find themselves getting lost rather quickly and consequently giving up. 

Three simple steps for a beginner might be to:

1.     Forget about buying a complex Single Lens Reflex (SLR) Camera. These are semi-proffesional to professional cameras that have very complex settings for different environments and lighting conditions. Simply use your current digital camera and improve on that before considering a camera upgrade.

2.     Purchase a tripod. This is a simple three legged platform used for mounting your camera on, giving it stability for clearer crisper photographs.

3.     Consider the Golden Hour. This is the time period just before the sun raises or just after it sets. The lighting during the golden hour is very soft and not very intense, allowing for bright, vibrant and colourful photograph results. This is most probably the best time for taking your pictures.

Let us not forget that many breath taking photographs on the Internet have had some sort of modification to them. There are a huge range of software out there that can manipulte photographs, giving them an even better look than the original image taken from the camera.  

If photo-manipulation is a path that you would like to explore, then consider taking photographs in RAW file format. RAW files can be manipulated by changing a vast variety of settings such as White Balance, Colour Balance,  Exposure etc without compromising the image quality.
Most people take photographs in Jpg format which can also be manipulated just like in RAW format. However, with Jpg it is the actual pixels of the image that are being manipulated and the more manipulation done, the more the quality of the image is compromised.

One down side to RAW file format is that it takes up more memory, which reduces the number of photographs that can be stored on the camera´s memory stick.

Not all photo-editing software can open RAW files, so be sure to check before making any purchases.  Alternatively, have a look for free or Open Source Software if purchasing software is not an option.

Any further information or comments regarding this article is welcome. Simply leave a comment with your thoughts.

www.designschool.com

The Art of Learning?

It would be very interesting to hear other options on the subject of Learning Ability. Shedding some light on this matter might raise some interesting debates indeed.

Is the ability to learn well, down to the individual´s learning capabilities or is it due to the capabilities of how good the tutor is?

Often while watching movies you see hundreds of people attending one lecture at University, and you cannot help but think...."Geezzzzz that is a big class".
Maybe we might be over looking a vital factor here, it might not necessarily be down to the individual´s learning capability or even down to how good the tutor is. It might simply be down to size. That right, the size of the class room.

At the Marbella Design Academy we have a maximum capacity of 230 students. We feel that this is what gives us our strength, as each tutor has the capability of teaching a class, but also able to interact one on one with students who may require some further assistance. It is this personal touch that gives the students the extra care they deserve. It is important that students feel a part of the school and are taken care of, rather than feeling like just an other number.

What do you think?

Seeking a Design Education?

As we are College, we have included some details that may be of interest to anyone wishing to expand their knowledge in the field of Design. 

Please also be sure to visit our website on www.designschool.com for further information.To apply directly please visit our enrollment page and fill out the application form.

---

University College - Marbella Design Academy, Spain.

For all request concerning enrollment and visits:
Phones: +34 952 45 70 90 and +34 682 200 583
Email: info-courses@designschool.com 

Founded in 1995, it is currently the only state-recognized international design College in Spain, offering courses at Bachelor degree level. This recognition has been awarded in 2009 by the Spanish Ministry of Education – Junta de Andalucía (CODE 29016884).

All classes are held in English as students come from many different countries. With over 17 years of experience, the College has a young, dynamic and professional team of tutors with a progressive attitude. Our academic level competes with the best design schools worldwide, so you can be assured of receiving a top quality education with us.

The College is an exclusive design school with a family like atmosphere among students and staff. This exclusivity means that we only allow a maximum number of 230 students, which allows us to ensure that you will receive the personal attention in which you deserve.

The College relocated to its new premises in August 2008 which consists of a purpose-built, bespoke building in Monda. Every facility imaginable is available here and the building itself complies with all that is demanded of a new, modern University College. We are also conveniently located just 15km´s from the vibrant, jet-set lifestyle town of Marbella in the south of Spain.

Quality International Design Education: Even despite the worldwide recession, our graduates have an employment rate of close to 100 percent upon leaving the College. The main reason for this fact is due to our students mastering all computer programs to an extremely high level that not many designers can match. This achievement is only possible as a result of our outstanding courses, which produce highly skilled, professional designers. Our students are trained to a very high level in the use of the latest software packages (relevant to their course) which are required for top designers within the industry.

All the hard work and achievements have not gone unnoticed at the College though. In 2009 we were awarded The Costa del Sol Business Award, for nest integration within the southern region of Spain (Andalucia).

Diplomas of higher education in design are offered for the following courses:                                                                                                                

• Interior Design (3 yrs.)     
• Graphic Design (3 yrs.)    
• Fashion Design (3 yrs.)

Accommodation: Students mainly live in rented apartments in Marbella or Monda where it is very easy to rent furnished accommodation. Properties are available at all price levels and many students choose to share with one another. Accommodation is cheaper in Monda where average costs are around 400Euros per months for a house with 3 to 4 rooms. Monda is very nearby and it only takes 5mins to walk to the College. To make the rental process easier for our students, the College has two advisers who help them find suitable accommodation in either Marbella or Monda.

Living costs: You can live comfortably for between 200€ and 300€ per month for food and socializing.

Living in Spain: Spain is a beautiful country to live in with rich cultural and leisure activities to enjoy. Southern Spain has the best weather in Europe with nearly 330 warm and sunny days per year. The price levels are amongst the lowest in Europe and Monda is probably amongst the safest places to live.

Summer Courses offered at Marbella Design Academy every summer during July and August:                                                                                                                                                     

• AutoCad  
• 3D MAX  
• Photoshop 
• Illustrator  
• Photoshop 
• Photography 
• Fashion – short course

Upon completion of the summer course you will receive a certificate from the College. This will be given out on the last day of the course.

How to apply to the Courses: Use the application form on the website

The Info & Enrollment Department:

Email: info-courses@designschool.com

Phone: +34 952 45 70 90 , +34 682 200 583

Marbella Design Academy - Costa del Sol s.l. State Recognized by the Ministry of Education in Spain - Junta de Andalucía CODE: 29016884 Company registration number: CIF: B-92.372.606

Address: Camino Hoyanca s/n 29110 Monda - Marbella - Málaga – Spain. Administration open daily from: 9.00 to 16.00 (Western European time)

Email addresses: The Info & Enrollment Department: info-courses@designschool.com  Phone: Info and Enrollment: +34 952 45 70 90 , +34 682 200 583 Founder and Chairman. Helle Byrn: Helle@designschool.com Marketing Department: Marketing@designschool.com Scholarship Department: Scholarships@designschool.com                Finance Director. Charlotte B. McLaren: finance@designschool.com Phone Finance: +34 952 45 96 07 Newsletters: Newsletter@designschool.com

Stick to Just One Design Field or Mix Them Up?

Such is today´s world that specializing in one field may not be enough. Often is the case where people have to branch out and learn things outside their field as they are partially connected. 

You may not see a connection between a Web Designer, Graphic Designer & 3D Modeller. One can argue they are completely different and independent fields altogether and each should stick to their own. Why should a 3D Modeller learn Graphic Design and why should a Graphic Designer learn Web Design? 

Surprisingly these fields are a lot more related than one might think. Allow me to elaborate by using examples:

1. A 3D modeller may spent many hours creating a scene in 3D. Say this scene is a new building development and it needs to be rendered for advertising purposes where people can visualize the building before it has even been built. It may have been created in 3D, however it also needs to have textures added to it to make it look realistic. For example bricks for the external walls, titles for the swimming pool, tarmac for the roads, titles for the roof, grass for the swimming pool area. All these textures are created using Graphic Design and then incorporated into the 3D scene.
   
   (3D and Graphic Design Mix)
   
   
2. A Web Developer has spent countless hours programming his new e-commerce website where he/she is selling various products. There will come a point where the design of the website will need to be worked on and that will also involve Graphic Design or even 3D Design.
   
   (Web, Graphic and 3D Design Mix)

Therefore, the question is, is it best to stick solely to your own field or also expand onto other fields to achieve the desired results?

www.designschool.com

Vector Graphics - What is it Exactly?

Vector Graphics is associated with Graphic Design.
A Graphic Designer like all designers require to think ahead before starting work. In this case we are not refering to the actual design of the artwork itself, but rather the sizing of the work. Size is crucial in Graphic Design and having the flexiblity to scale work to practically any size without any loss of quality is paramount.

Vector Graphics are mathematical expressions used to create artwork (design), and it is these mathematical expressions that enable the user to scale the artwork to any size with no loss in quality.

The same does not apply with pixels. Pixels in basic are thousands of tiny squares made up of different colours that make up a photograph or artwork. If this work is then scaled up, then there is an obvious compromise to the work. A demonstration of this is displayed below.

It is therefore important to use Vector Graphics software to have this flexibility in sizing work.

Below are some popular Vector Graphics Software used.
 
1.     Adobe Illustrator (commercial)
2.     Coral Draw (commercial)
3.     Microsoft Expression (commercial)
4.     Inkscape (Open Source - Free to download and use)

www.designschool.com