Design Practice introduces students to the fundamental principles of graphic design practice. This unit investigates how the design process is applied to real-world industry design briefs to create a visual design. Students develop an understanding of the processes and practices used to support collaboration between clients, designers and specialists when designing and producing visual communications. Students are guided through the process of interpreting a design brief, creating and pitching a design response, presenting work for critique, incorporating critique into a design solution and producing highly refined design outcomes to a professional standard. Students work on a number of design briefs using industry standard work practices, including time management strategies, multi-tasking, strict delivery deadlines, brief comprehension and job documentation as well as client/designer coordination and negotiation.

The Design Process introduces the elements and principles of design as well as design processes and methods required to explore and creatively apply the design process. The Design Process focuses on the skills and concepts that contribute to interpreting and responding to design briefs, as well as researching, developing and presenting innovative design solutions. The core of any design process is the design brief. The Design Process acknowledges the importance of this and how it informs relationships between the client, designer and specialists engaged to develop the design process. The unit addresses the purpose, sequence, major stages and application of the design process to synthesise solutions relevant to the design industry.

Critical Thought in Design provides students with an understanding of the process designers use to structure their thinking and communicate ideas with clients, target audiences, other designers and specialists. The ability to think critically, creatively and independently is essential for success as a designer in generating and communicating innovative design solutions that meet the needs of the client and target audience. The aim of this unit is to provide students with the skills and techniques necessary to become an independent thinker able to research, analyse, argue and communicate effectively with clients. The unit examines a wide range of critical thinking and design, problem-solving methods including problem definition techniques, idea generation, brainstorming, as well as evaluation and analysis skills.

This unit introduces students to historical accounts and theories of design from the dominant perspective of Modernism in the first half of the 20th century, through post-war consumerism and the ensuing movements of the 20th century, such as Postmodernism, Punk and New Wave; design reactions to corporate culture, design for change and activism; and the digital design enablers of the 21st century. Students learn a contextual history of 20th century design practice by studying the doctrines around which the modernist movement cohered, and the conditions under which these doctrines are challenged by later movements. The unit explores various roles of the visual designer through history-avant-garde, futurist, revolutionary, utopian design; client-service design; social activism, producer and digital enabler. These roles are expressed across a range of design outcomes such as photography, typography, illustration, print media, graphics, digital design, film and animation. Part of this exploration will examine the impacts of design histories on our past, present and future conditions, as well as changing the future for design. Students will complete visual and writing tasks that aim to build their understanding of design histories and futures, and scholarship in academic research and writing.

This unit introduces students to historical accounts and theories of design from two dominant perspectives, modernism and postmodernism. Students learn a contextual history of 20th century design practice by studying the doctrines around which the modernist movement cohered and the conditions under which these doctrines are questioned by postmodernism. The unit will explore various roles of the visual designer through history such as the avant gardist, futurist, revolutionary, utopian, client-service designer, social activist, producer and digital enabler, as these roles were expressed across a range of design outcomes such as photography, typography, illustration, print media, graphics, digital design, film and animation over a century and beyond. Part of this exploration will examine the impacts of design histories on our past, present and future conditions, as well as the investments in changing the future for design. Students will complete visual and writing tasks that aim to build their understanding of design histories and futures, and scholarship in academic research and writing.

This unit enables students to further develop their understanding of the design process within the context of project briefs that introduce areas of graphic design practice that include branding and identity and information design. Students' understanding of a design brief, the client, and a clearly defined audience will deepen. Students will be introduced to some design specific research skills, such as mood board and persona development, which will help them begin to build a toolkit of methods which they will use throughout their degree. Students will develop their design process and a greater awareness of the role of research in the generation of ideas. Students will be introduced to further lateral thinking techniques and encouraged to develop creative responses to the project briefs within appropriate constraints for both client and audience needs. Further key software will be introduced and supported by online resources, and students will continue to develop their visual design skills in the fundamental areas of type, image and composition.

This unit enables students to further develop their understanding of the design process within the context of project briefs that introduce areas of graphic design practice that include branding and identity and information design. Students' understanding of a design brief, the client and a clearly defined audience will deepen. Students will be introduced to some design specific research skills, such as mood board and persona development, which will help them begin to build a toolkit of methods which they will use throughout their degree. Students will develop their design process and a greater awareness of the role of research in the generation of ideas. Students will be introduced to further lateral thinking techniques and encouraged to develop creative responses to the project briefs within appropriate constraints for both client and audience needs. Further key software will be introduced and supported by online resources and students will continue to develop their visual design skills in the fundamental areas of type, image and composition.

This unit introduces students to the fundamental principles of visual language and graphic design practice. Through a series of workshops, exercises and project briefs, students will learn how elements such as colour, composition, text, typography and image can be used to communicate meaning in a variety of contexts. Through the project briefs students will begin to develop their awareness of graphic design as a problem solving activity and apply their understanding of the design process in relation to research skills, idea generation, reflective practice, and both written and verbal communication skills. Students will learn the importance of prototyping, developing and refining their ideas through practice, and aspects of the digital print production process will also be introduced. Students will be introduced to design software packages and to support the ongoing development of their digital media skills they will be provided with access to resources for independent online learning.

This unit introduces students to the fundamental principles of visual language and graphic design practice. Through a series of workshops, exercises and project briefs, students will learn how elements such as colour, composition, text, typography and image can be used to communicate meaning in a variety of contexts. Through the project briefs, students will begin to develop awareness of graphic design as a problem solving activity and apply their understanding of the design process in relation to research skills, idea generation, reflective practice and both written and verbal communication skills. Students will learn the importance of prototyping, developing and refining their ideas through practice and aspects of the digital print production process will also be introduced. Students will be introduced to design software packages and to support the ongoing development of their digital media skills they will be provided with access to resources for independent online learning.

This subject introduces students to photographic image making and applications of photomedia in visual communication design contexts. The experience of image making is covered using the first principles of the photographic medium, camera handling and studio procedures. The principles of visual composition are learnt from the dual perspectives of creating and evaluating photographic and digital imagery, using lens and light-based techniques and methods.

This unit introduces students to the use of signification and metaphor in the visual communication of verbal and written concepts. The process of creating and evaluating images is explored through the principles of visual organisation and the experience of image making through photographic and illustrative methods, techniques and mediums.

Visual storytelling is increasingly being used in a variety of contexts including websites, magazines, advertising, business and public affairs, exhibitions and events and television, often working across a number of platforms at the same time as requiring responsive design approaches for a diversity of viewing experiences. With access to increasing amounts and types of data, professional communicators need to be able to extract meaning to connect with a variety of different audiences in creative, dynamic, and emotional ways. This Unit introduces students to story archetypes, structure and flow. It encourages metaphorical and anagogical storytelling using appropriation making reference to genre and research. This practical unit explores a range of traditional hands-on techniques and digital software commonly used across the communications sector. Students are encouraged to explore and develop their own mark and image making skills aimed at specific target audiences and communication contexts.

Visual storytelling is increasingly being used in a variety of contexts including websites, magazines, advertising, business and public affairs, exhibitions and events and television, often working across a number of platforms at the same time as requiring responsive design approaches for a diversity of viewing experiences. With access to increasing amounts and types of data communicators need to be able to extract meaning to connect with a variety of different audiences in creative, dynamic and emotional ways. This unit introduces students to story archetypes, structure and flow. This practical unit explores a range of traditional hands-on techniques and digital software commonly used across the communications sector. Students are encouraged to explore and develop their own mark and image making skills aimed at specific target audiences and communication contexts.

Students will develop fundamental computer software skills and design understandings appropriate to using major web and time based design technologies such as HTML and CSS. They will develop a working understanding of production literacies for online design and time-based design. Students will engage in practical studies of web authoring. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the roles, functions and features of key screen based technologies, design production context for online delivery, current industry best practices, and a working understanding of the responsibilities inherent in the digital design and production process.

Students will develop fundamental computer software skills and design understandings appropriate to using major web and time based design technologies such as HTML and CSS. They will develop a working understanding of production literacies for online design and time-based design. Students will engage in practical studies of web authoring. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the roles, functions and features of key screen based technologies, design production context for online delivery, current industry best practices, and a working understanding of the responsibilities inherent in the digital design and production process.

This unit continues the focus on academic and visual literacies for visual communication designers initiated in level one units. Students will investigate the Australian visual communication design profession, largely through the documentation of selected output and established methods across industry sectors producing graphic, photographic, illustrative, typographic, broadcast, interactive and online design. Lectures and selected case studies will outline professional scenarios and support the student in learning about the design industry's organisation and methods. Assessment tasks are designed to develop research and writing skills through the evaluation of professional resources and publications.

Digital technology shapes the way we interact with our world. Design of these interactions is a crucial role for today's designers. This unit will develop students' critical interaction and visual design skills in the digital realm, including interface and experience design. Digital design specific research skills, methods and processes are covered. These include user research, persona development, storyboard development, lo-fi and hi-fi prototyping, wireframes and proof of concept methods. Students will engage with problem-based project briefs, and develop solutions that are appropriate for both client and audience needs across a range of devices. Outcomes include app, web and screen designs.

In this unit, students begin to situate their graphic design practice within a contemporary professional context. Designers today need to collaborate with colleagues or other professionals, and the majority of graphic design briefs require solutions that converge across a variety of media platforms and two, three or four dimensions. Students will undertake projects that extend their design thinking in these areas. Part of the unit requires students to work as part of a team, to develop content and a solution that engages the audience through a range of different media. Throughout this unit, students continue to extend their visual language, and associated material and digital skills.

This unit explores the conceptual, stylistic and format design of illustration for, and as, narrative. Through the design of an individual illustrated book project, students are encouraged to consider the design of different narrative forms, illustrative techniques and styles in relation to content, target audience, client, context, and genre.

This unit introduces students to the fundamentals of motion design practice. Students will discover how elements of static graphic design can be incorporated with sequence, time, space and sound to enhance the exchange of information and meaning in a variety of project contexts and kinetic media outcomes. Additionally, students will discover the purpose and function of motion design and be able to identify professional pathways associated with these skills and knowledge. Students will be exposed to a range of motion design preproduction and production methods, from fundamentals and guidelines to experimental and expressive approaches. Students will learn the importance of planning, mapping and evaluating linear narrative, in combination with the introduction of key software supported by online video courses, for successful motion design outcomes.

This unit introduces and examines the multifaceted nature of photographic practice. Students will be introduced to current methods of photographic image production and design for the purpose of Visual Communication. It explores the relationship between photographic technique, genre and the reception of photographic imagery. Students will be introduced to photographic studio practice as the means of controlling image reception, through the intrinsic principles of the photographic medium, including the control of light, exposure in a studio situation and digital post production.

This unit will introduce students to various ways of seeing and reading images in the visual environment. Students will learn how to conduct visual research using a tool kit of methods including semiotic analysis, content and thematic analysis, and basic observational research across the digital and material environments of visual communications design, and to apply their findings in the development of visual concepts. Students will continue to engage as reflective practitioners and learn to position themselves as visual researchers within a particular cultural and personal context.

This cross-disciplinary subject allows students to explore their creative potential and broaden their perspectives of innovation, through the lens of design thinking. Design thinking offers a range of strategic and practical approaches to creativity and innovation, including making use of different 'types of thinking and reflection; leveraging the dynamics of teamwork; and how conversation and dialogue can generate new thinking about complex problems. Students will apply these key ideas methodologies form design thinking and methods of visual communication, to addressing broad social issues in innovative and creative ways.

Contextual design studies is the study of what happens around design practice - before, during and after - to explain its meaning and effect. Successful communication design has always depended on the connection between form, content, audience and context, and the designer's abilities to analyse, understand and clarify the contexts of communication have become more important to creative practice. In this unit students will learn to apply the theoretical frameworks of semiotic, thematic and rhetorical analysis used by the interdisciplinary field of Design Studies to interpret design's potential as cultural expression and communication. Students will analyse visual signs and conventions as both targeted and tacit responses to a range of contexts revealing design's interests in marketplaces, society and identity. Students will analyse various graphic examples, and design literature, as they investigate the significance and agency of design interactions, media artefacts and systems.

We live in an era of data. The designer's role is increasingly one of structuring and transforming data into accessible and meaningful information. In this unit students will be introduced to basic techniques for the visual representation of data. This unit covers both how to design successful charts, maps, and diagrams, as well as how to use these graphics to compose cohesive storytelling pieces. Students will also discuss both practical and theoretical issues when visualising data, and how Graphic Design and Interactive Design principles apply to the visualisation of information. Students will learn how to design basic infographics and mock ups for interactive visualisations, and they will develop skills to start producing compelling and elegant infographics and data visualisation.

This unit offers students the opportunity to develop a self-negotiated design project through exploring a variety of research methods, reflective practice, and concept prototyping. Students will develop a project that focuses on a particular area of interest in order to consolidate their portfolio, and for students enrolled in B Design (Vis Comm), lay the foundation for their fourth year major design project.

Navigating and addressing the complexity of 21st Century problems and issues requires critical and creative thinking. This unit explores common attributes of design thinking to assist students in developing creative and intelligent responses to the complex scenarios of the contemporary world.

This unit focuses on the development of your industry orientated practice and personal portfolio development. Throughout the previous core units and unit pairings you will have developed particular skills and interests that are beginning to define your design practice and your portfolio. The briefs set in this unit offer you the opportunity to specialise further and to develop your portfolio and will, where possible, include live briefs and competitions. You will continue to refine and develop your visual language, material and digital skills, and continue to develop as an independent learner. The unit will culminate in an industry event, where students will have the opportunity to get their portfolios critiqued by design industry representatives.

This unit explores the powerful qualities of illustration when used as a visual communication strategy in the design of popular culture: within an advertising campaign and as social commentary through editorial illustration. The potential of a range of illustrative styles, mediums and techniques, will be explored through experimentation with a variety of visual strategies that utilize lateral thinking, linked to the design of professional concepts, developmental processes and media considerations.

This unit focuses on design methodology for the development and delivery of interactive media applications (apps). Particular concepts addressed include conceptual integration and convergence of various media forms, screen design, navigational hierarchy and structures, and designing engaging interactive interfaces. General principles of interface, information architecture and interaction design will be introduced, alongside principles of digital media production.

Throughout history various forms of material culture (such as art, architecture, sculpture, objects and photographs) have been used to memorialize individuals as well as to commemorate events, both personal and national. As such, an examination of commemorative works offer valuable insights into the production of public memory and history. This unit explores the particular contexts of such memorials; their meaning, design and, politics. The diverse expressions of commemoration in Australia and the consequent production of public memory provides the arena for such considerations.

This unit examines the role of publication design as a promotional tool. Students explore a range of print and online promotional forms and are involved in the design and production of publications for specific target audiences, including approaches to layouts, image and text relationships, typography and graphic forms. Within a studio environment, students gain an understanding of publication production and visual narrative methodologies through the exploration of media areas appropriate to the project requirements.

This unit introduces students to the idea that graphic designers can be agents of change. Set project briefs will focus on social and political issues exploring the potential inherent in graphic design practice to make a real difference to society. The unit will encourage students to go beyond the definition of a problem solver, encouraging them to act as a problem seeker, who can use their design thinking skills to develop ideas that respond proactively to society's problems rather than reacting to a client's set brief. The unit will introduce further design-led, social and participatory research methods, that continue to build on the design process, and further expand the methods that underpin aspects of research and practice during the remainder of the degree. Students will refine and develop their visual language skills, in combination with material and digital skills, facilitating their development as an independent learner.

This is a 20 credit point year-long subject taken over two terms (10 credit points in each term). In this year-long subject students will develop a self-directed project from proposal to production, in consultation with an academic supervisor. The first semester involves engaging in background research to facilitate creative development. Students will build a field survey of their topic area identifying precedents and contexts, leading to experimentation and exploration of a range of potential options and addressing any arising issues, to develop a sound proof of concept. In the second semester students will develop the work to a finished outcome, through an iterative process of prototyping, reflection and analysis. It is expected that there will be a consistent and documented developmental process undertaken across the year, resulting in the final work, which will be a professional level outcome, realised in a specific discipline field within Visual Communication. Students are expected to be self-motivated, and work as an independent professional practitioners, throughout the major design project work.

Students will continue to work in the Burrow studio, but in this subject they are positioned as a junior designer who is working individually in response to a range of briefs with their tutor as Creative Director. Students will develop their capacity to manage projects independently from briefing, research, development, costing, and pitching. Through this capstone subject, students will also develop a self-promotion strategy, and increase their understanding of a range of professional practice issues as they relate to the individual practitioner, further preparing them for the industry.

The Burrow design studio simulates a professional environment where students heighten their design thinking and practice through work-integrated learning. In this subject, the student is positioned as a junior designer who is part of a team working in response to live briefs with real learning partners and tangible outcomes, under the guidance of tutors who act as creative directors. Students will develop their higher level professional design skills through working individually and collaboratively to manage projects from briefing, research, development, pitching, artworking, production and delivery. Through this subject, students will also advance their understanding of what the industry expects of junior designers, providing a bridge between study and work life.