DESN 3001 Contextual Design Studies
Credit Points 10
Legacy Code 102275
Coordinator Alison Gill Opens in new window
Description 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.
School Humanities & Comm Arts
Discipline Graphic Design Studies
Student Contribution Band HECS Band 2 10cp
Check your HECS Band contribution amount via the Fees page.
Level Undergraduate Level 3 subject
Pre-requisite(s) DESN 2014
Equivalent Subjects DESN 2003 - Design Issues
Learning Outcomes
- Apply terminology and theoretical frameworks used in design studiesto analyse what design means and does.
- Research and investigate the social, economic and/or political contexts that inform visual design in explicit and tacit ways;
- Critically evaluate examples of contemporary design practice that respond to these contexts.
- Reconceptualise codes and conventions or redirect visual concepts to address an audience and construct a context for visual design including enriching social diversity and environmental sustainability.
- Demonstrate advanced visual and text-based literacy skills in effective written and visual communication.
Subject Content
2. The subject content will investigate several scenarios where theoretical frameworks are employed to unpack the economic, social, and/or political contexts of design.
3. Examples of visual communication responses strategically informed by the analysis of various contexts might include:
-The expanding commodity form and consumerist value system
-Codes and conventions used in advertising consumer products and identities; for example, gender representation in visual culture.
-Branding; product values and service systems.
-Fast fashion cycles in the mediated marketplace; fashion, media and material impacts.
-investigating The social and material intelligences deployed in The design of ?eexperiences?f as designers Seek A deeper Understanding of human behaviour, value systems and relationships.
-Participatory design; working
Assessment
The following table summarises the standard assessment tasks for this subject. Please note this is a guide only. Assessment tasks are regularly updated, where there is a difference your Learning Guide takes precedence.
| Item | Length | Percent | Threshold | Individual/Group Task |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Project | Visual, plus 200 words | 30 | N | Individual |
| Summary | 1,000 words | 30 | N | Individual |
| Essay | 1,800 words with visuals | 40 | N | Individual |
Prescribed Texts
- Yates, D. & Price, J. (2015). Communication design: Insights from the creative industries. London; New York: Fairchild Books.
Teaching Periods
Autumn
Parramatta - Victoria Rd
Day
Subject Contact Alison Gill Opens in new window