Visual Communication Design Unit 2: Design contexts and connections

Prerequisites

Unit 1: Finding, reframing and resolving design problems.

Course Description

Unit 2 builds on understandings of visual communication practices developed in Unit 1. Students draw on conceptions of good design, human-centred research methods and influential design factors as they revisit the VCD design process, applying the model in its entirety. Practical tasks across the unit focus on the design of environments and interactive experiences. Students adopt the practices of design specialists working in fields such as architecture, landscape architecture and interior design, while discovering the role of the interactive designer in the realm of user-experience (UX). Methods, media and materials are explored together with the design elements and principles, as students develop spaces and interfaces that respond to both contextual factors and user needs.

Student learning activities highlight the connections between design and its context, and the emotive potential of interactive design experiences in both physical and digital spaces. Students also look to historical movements and cultural design traditions as sources of inspiration, and in doing so consider how design from other times and places might influence designing for the future. Design critiques continue to feature as an integral component of design processes, with students refining skills in articulating and justifying design decisions, and both giving and receiving constructive feedback.

Connections between design, time and place are also central to the study of culturally appropriate design practices in Area of Study 2. Students learn about protocols for the creation and commercial use of Indigenous knowledge in design, with a particular focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander design traditions and practices. Students also consider how issues of ownership and intellectual property impact the work of designers across contexts and specialist fields.

Areas of Study

Design, place and time

How does design reflect and respond to the time and place in which it is made?

In this area of study, students examine the relationships between design, place and time, and learn about the influence of context when designing environments in which to live, work and play. Students analyse how design examples from architecture, interior, exhibition or landscape design reflect and respond to their surrounding context, while considering how designers draw inspiration from other times and places.

Cultural ownership and design

How do designers evolve culturally appropriate design practices?

In this area of study, students explore the designer’s ethical and legal responsibilities when drawing on knowledge and designs belonging to Indigenous communities from Australia or abroad. They learn how to adopt culturally appropriate design practices, including protocols for the creation and commercial use of Indigenous knowledge such as those published in the Australian Indigenous Design Charter. Students develop a deep appreciation for the histories, practices and foundational contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Australian design identity, while learning about respectful and appropriate representations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in design.

Students apply understandings of ownership, intellectual property and culturally appropriate practices to the design of their own personal iconography. Both manual and digital methods are explored, together with combinations of design elements and principles to evolve an original graphic icon or suite of symbols that capture elements of their own identity or life story.

Designing interactive experiences

What is the role of visual communication in shaping positive and inclusive interactive experiences?

In this area of study, students examine the role of visual communication in shaping positive interactive experiences, and in catering for the diverse needs of users when interacting with devices, systems or services. They explore how interaction designers contribute to larger user-experience (UX) projects, focusing on the design of visual interfaces rather than their underlying functionality. They adopt inclusive practices and principles during the design of a user interface for a digital site or device, prioritising accessibility, and usability. In doing so, students synthesise key understandings from previous outcomes: good design, human-centred research methods, design’s influence and the influences on design, and the significance of place and time.

Assessment

Outcomes	Assessment Tasks
Outcomes	(school-assessed coursework)
On completion of this unit the student should be able to present an environmental design solution that draws inspiration from its context and a chosen design style.	A folio of work demonstrating the stages of the VCD design process to present an environmental design solution, drawing inspiration from its context and a chosen design style.
On completion of this unit the student should be able to apply culturally appropriate design practices and an understanding of the designer’s ethical and legal responsibilities when designing personal iconography.	Investigation of culturally appropriate design practices including representations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, presented in one of the following formats: Short-answer responses supported by visual references. AND Creation of personal iconography in a range of design exercises.
On completion of this unit the student should be able to apply the VCD design process to design an interface for a digital product, environment or service.	A folio demonstrating the stages of the VCD design process to propose an interface for an interactive digital product, environment or service.

Overall Final Assessment

End of Semester Examination – 1.5 hours.