Visual Communication & Design

Units 1-2 

Visual Communication is an essential part of our everyday world as it is a way of expressing ideas, information and opinions. As part of the Visual Communication Design study, students will create innovative solutions to a wide range of design problems. 

Visual Communication and Design has a career focus directed towards Communication Design (graphic design, digital and web design, advertising, book illustration, typographic design, package design, logo design and brand identity), Environmental ( architectural design, interior design, landscape design, set design and exhibition design) and Industrial Design (product design and furniture design). 

UNIT 1 

In this unit students are introduced to the practices and processes used by designers to identify, reframe and resolve human-centred design problems. They learn how design can improve life and living for people, communities and societies, and how understandings of good design have changed over time. Students learn the value of human-centred research methods, working collaboratively to discover design problems and understand the perspectives of stakeholders. They draw on these new insights to determine communication needs and prepare design criteria in the form of a brief. 

This process of discovery introduces students to the phases of the VCD design process and to the modes of divergent and convergent thinking. Students integrate these ways of thinking and working into future design projects, together with their newly evolved conceptions of good design across specialist fields. 

Practical projects in Unit 1 focus on the design of messages and objects, while introducing the role of visual language in communicating ideas and information. Students participate in critiques by sharing ideas in progress and both delivering and responding to feedback. Students learn to apply the Develop and Deliver phases of the VCD design process and use methods, media and materials typically employed in the specialist fields of communication and industrial design. Student projects invite exploration of brand strategy and product development, while promoting sustainable and circular design practices. They also consider how design decisions are shaped by economic, technological, cultural, environmental and social factors, and the potential for design to instigate change.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES 

• a report or presentation exploring conceptions of good design

• a presentation documenting human-centred research methods and findings relating to a design problem

• a written brief identifying a communication need.

• a folio of work demonstrating the Develop and Deliver stages of the VCD design process to create visual language for a business or brand

• presentation of design concepts for a critique

• a folio of work demonstrating the Develop and Deliver stages of the VCD design process, and using circular design practices to develop a sustainable object 

KEY SKILLS REQUIRED 

• Research

• Oral presentation

ASSESSED TASKS 

1. a report or presentation exploring conceptions of good design

2. a presentation documenting human-centred research methods and findings relating to a design problem

3. a written brief identifying a communication need.

4. a folio of work demonstrating the Develop and Deliver stages of the VCD design process to create visual language for a business or brand

5. presentation of design concepts for a critique

6. a folio of work demonstrating the Develop and Deliver stages of the VCD design process, and using circular design practices to develop a sustainable object 

UNIT 2

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.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES 

• Observational, conceptual, technical and rendered drawings, digital presentations, model making.

• The application of the design process from design brief through to final presentations. 

KEY SKILLS REQUIRED 

• Technical drawing to complete final presentations through the use of two and three dimensional methods.

• Techniques to create final presentations using computer programs.

• Use of type and imagery and the design process to complete creative visual communications. 

ASSESSED TASKS 

1. 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. 

2. investigation of culturally appropriate design practices including representations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, presented in one of the following formats:

• an extended written response

• short-answer responses supported by visual references

• an annotated visual report

• a presentation using digital technologies such as an online presentation or interactive website

• an oral presentation

• creation of personal iconography in a range of design exercises.

3. a folio demonstrating the stages of the VCD design process to propose an interface for an interactive digital product, environment or service.

Units 3-4

Visual Communication is an essential part of our everyday world as it is a way of expressing ideas, information and opinions. As part of Visual Communication Design, students will gain an understanding of the process of professional design and will use and create their own visual concepts and develop innovative solutions to a wide range of design problems. 

Visual Communication has a career focus directed towards Communication, Environmental and Industrial Design. Please check prerequisites subjects for specific career pathways. 

UNIT 3

In this unit students explore and experience the ways in which designers work, while also analysing the work that they design. Through a study of contemporary designers practising in one or more fields of design practice, students gain deep insights into the processes used to design messages, objects, environments and/or interactive experiences. They compare the contexts in which designers work, together with their relationships, responsibilities and the role of visual language when communicating and resolving design ideas. Students also identify the obligations and factors that influence the changing nature of professional design practice, while developing their own practical skills in relevant visual communication practices.

Students study not only how designers work but how their work responds to both design problems and conceptions of good design. They interrogate design examples from one or more fields of design practice, focusing their analysis on the purposes, functions and impacts of aesthetic qualities. This exposure to how, why and where designers work, what they make and the integral role of visual language in design practice provides the foundation for students’ own investigation of the VCD design process.

Students explore the Discover, Define and Develop phases of the VCD design process to address a selected design problem. In the Discover and Define phases, research methods are used to gather insights about stakeholders and a design problem, before preparing a single brief for a real or fictional client that defines two distinct communication needs. Students then embark on the Develop phase of the VCD design process, once for each communication need. They generate, test and evaluate design ideas and share these with others for critique. These design ideas are further developed in Unit 4, before refinement and resolution of design solutions.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES 

• Folio tasks of freehand, technical and digital drawing.

• Written reports based on the analysis of visual communications within the design industry.

• A design brief. 

KEY SKILLS REQUIRED 

• Analysis.

• Understanding of the design industry and design briefs.

• Freehand and digital drawing. 

ASSESSED TASKS 

1. A comparative case study of designers in selected design field(s) presented in one of the following formats:

• a written report

• an annotated visual report

• a response presented in a digital format, such as an online presentation or interactive website.

2. Two practical design exercises documenting emerging skills in selected field(s) of practice.

3. A comparative analysis of design examples presented in one of the following formats:

• a written report

• an annotated visual report

• a response presented in a digital format, such as an online presentation or interactive website.

4. Research using divergent and convergent thinking to identify and analyse a design problem. A brief that identifies two communication needs and develops design criteria including the purposes, contexts, audience or user characteristics and design constraints. Generation of a range of ideas drawing on the design criteria documented in the brief.

5. Presentation and critique of design ideas to a group based on the client needs and criteria documented in the brief. Deliver and respond to feedback using written reflective and critical evaluations.

UNIT 4

In this unit students continue to explore the VCD design process, resolving design concepts and presenting solutions for two distinct communication needs. Ideas developed in Unit 3, Outcome 3 are evaluated, selected, refined and shared with others for further review. An iterative cycle is undertaken as students rework ideas, revisit research and review design criteria defined in the brief. Manual and digital methods, media and materials are explored together with design elements and principles, and concepts tested using models, mock-ups or low-fidelity prototypes. 

When design concepts are resolved, students devise a pitch to communicate and justify their design decisions, before responding to feedback through a series of final refinements. Students choose how best to present design solutions, considering aesthetic impact and the communication of ideas. They select materials, methods and media appropriate for the presentation of final design solutions distinct from one another in purpose and presentation format, and that address design criteria specified in the brief.  

LEARNING ACTIVITIES 

• Design folio containing a range of drawings, development and refinement of concepts.

• Two final visual communication presentations. 

KEY SKILLS REQUIRED 

• Understanding of the design process.

• Design thinking techniques.

• Manual and digital drawing methods.

• Trialling media and materials using a range of design elements and principles. 

ASSESSED TASKS 

1. Refine and resolve distinct design concepts for each communication need, and devise and deliver a pitch to communicate concepts to an audience or users, evaluating the extent to which these meet the requirements of the brief. A folio of work presenting the development of design concepts for two distinct communication needs. Evaluation, testing and resolution of design concepts.  Devise and deliver a pitch of one design concept for each of the two distinct communication needs. Documentation of the development, refinement and resolution of design concepts.

2. Two distinct final presentations in two separate presentation formats that fulfil the communication needs and design criteria outlined in Unit 3, Outcome 3.

VCAA ASSESSMENT

The overall Study Score will consist of: 

• School Assessed Coursework Unit 3 (20%)

• Unit 3 & 4 School Assessed Task (50%)

• Written examination in November (30%).