Digital assessment for Interior Design

June 2020 saw the first wholly digital assessment event at OCA. Global circumstances have meant that we are all living our lives in very different ways for the foreseeable future, and this impacts on almost everything that we do.

Interior Design assessment at OCA is in its infancy. The degree and foundations courses are relatively new; we are only just starting to see completed units, and getting the first trickle of students submitting for assessment; these are our trail blazers!

As we have had submissions for only one previous assessment event – there was not a huge difference or change to any existing student’s methods and the ways that they were used to submitting for assessment. Even so it is worth taking a moment to consider the process.

The way that you will be submitting for digital assessment is much more akin to the ways in which interior designers often present work in a professional environment.

Designers, working remotely, use digital formats to communicate their ideas to clients and stakeholders, so it is useful to experience this, and practice this method of communicating your ideas whilst you are studying.

Along with your course work you will also be asked to submit a short reflective evaluation or presentation, usually a video of yourself, speaking about your work. You should think of this as a golden opportunity to say exactly what you want about the work that you are presenting. Imagine that you are standing in front of a pinned-up display of your work, and you are talking us through what you have done and why you have done it – what would you say?  Becoming accustomed to presenting your work in this way is helpful for your future designing-self. It should make you ask pertinent questions such as ‘which pieces do I really need to communicate my ideas?’ ‘what could I leave out?’ ‘am I being repetitive?’ ‘can my work and ideas be understood?’ ‘what do I need to say about my work?’.

Understanding that your work will be looked at with ‘fresh eyes’, and that you will not be there to explain it, can help you in the editing process that is necessary for the assessment submission. And of course you should always refer to the assessment criteria to make sure that you are submitting exactly what is required.

A couple of students submitted for the July assessment event, and it was great to see how each had approached the course in their own way. They both used the digital-only format to present comprehensive submissions for their summative assessment.

One of these students said “The one thing I thought was good about the assessment process was that it was all done digitally! As I had already saved all of my work on my laptop and scanned everything in. I think if I had to send some work in the post it would of been slightly more difficult”.

The same student also made a comment that she found locating some of the assessment information a bit tricky, so please – if you are submitting for assessment at the next event, and struggling to locate information that you need – do get in touch and we can point you in the right direction.

For further information and help with preparing your work for assessment, in the first instance you should approach your unit tutor for advice. If there are any further questions or queries you may have – worries, concerns or niggles however small – please post on the forum thread Digital assessment for Interior Design for feedback from myself, and your peers:

https://discuss.oca-student.com/t/digital-assessment-for-interior-design/12679

Find out about OCA’s Interior Design courses here.