87831 VC Design Studio: Visual Communication and Emergent Practices

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Design, Architecture and Building: Design
Credit points: 12 cp
Result type: Grade and marks

Requisite(s): 87443 VC Project: Typography in Context AND 87445 VC Project: Visualising Experience

Description

This subject introduces students to emerging areas of change in visual communication design practice. Students explore the role of the visual communication designer as collaborative, participatory and research-focused, redefining the designer's role within cultural, environmental and political contexts. By engaging with place-based design, issues of climate justice on Country, the Indigenous Design Charter and foregrounding Indigenous experience and scholarship, students challenge dominant anthropocentric views and develop design approaches for diverse worldviews.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

1.	Select and engage with design research methods in a creative practice context.
2.	Demonstrate professional qualities and skills within the context of a research-led design project.
3.	Iteratively develop a design that demonstrates responsible and respectful representation in the context of climate justice on Country and the tenets of the Indigenous Design Charter.

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject also contributes to the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes:

• Establish and develop a sustainable, informed and ethical position towards social and cultural issues. (A.1)
• Practice cultural principals and protocols required to work in Indigenous contexts. (A.3)
• Communicate ideas effectively in a variety of ways, including oral, written and visual. (C.3)
• Advance ideas through an exploratory and iterative design process. (I.2)
• Independent development of high level technical and craft skills for the production, presentation and documentation of work. (I.3)
• Students will have knowledge of Indigenous Australian contexts to apply professional capabilities when working with and for Indigenous peoples across Design in Visual Communication projects and industry. (P.5)

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

The term CAPRI is used for the five Design, Architecture and Building faculty graduate attribute categories where:

C = communication and groupwork

A = attitudes and values

P = practical and professional

R = research and critique

I = innovation and creativity.

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs) are linked to these categories using codes (e.g. C-1, A-3, P-4, etc.).

Teaching and learning strategies

The subject is delivered in weekly sessions of lectures and studios. Professional and cultural connections are established with Elders, cultural and research advisors, expert studio leaders, guest lecturers and program academics.

The weekly lectures establish the theoretical and conceptual frameworks; provide briefings on task requirements; and build the community of practice with guest speakers, panel sessions and discussions.

Weekly studio sessions give students the opportunity to:

- Discuss the weekly lectures and subject content with peers, studio leaders, Elders and research and cultural advisors.

- Collaborate on activities directly relevant to key ideas and develop skills as design researchers and practitioners.

- Engage in peer-to-peer feedback and consultations throughout the semester to support independent learning.

- Find guidance on studio work from studio leaders and cultural advisors.

Students should continue to develop independent documentation strategies to keep track of their research and process. Students are encouraged to maintain an annotated bibliography throughout the session to keep track of insights from lectures and key texts.

Collaboration skills are developed through informal group work.

Students are expected to commit 20-24 hours per week to each 12-credit point subject, which includes the contact hours. Each week, the remaining 18-19 hours are for completing preparatory activities and assessment tasks.

PREPARATORY ACTIVITIES

Each week before class, complete readings and activities as advised to prepare for studio sessions. These will be available on Canvas. It is advisable for students, before leaving the studio, to write an ‘action list’ of tasks to complete before the next studio session, and it is recommended that times are assigned in a weekly personal planner to complete these tasks. Students may be asked to reflect on progress with learning groups or studio leaders in the following studio session.

SUBJECT COMMUNICATION

All communication and updates to the subject will be through UTS Canvas emails and Announcements.

Content (topics)

• Engage with Indigenous Peoples experiences and issues of climate justice and wellbeing on Country.
• Engage with the Indigenous Design Charter through design enquiry.
• Design respectful representations in design outcomes using design-led methods that consider Indigenous rights frameworks
• Design-led investigation of place through a local pedagogy.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Design Proposal - Climate Justice and Wellbeing on Country for All

Intent:	Outcomes of the initial research stage of your design project addressing the theme: Climate Justice and Wellbeing on Country for All.
Objective(s):	This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2 and 3 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): A.1, A.3, C.3, I.2 and I.3
Type:	Portfolio
Groupwork:	Individual
Weight:	20%
Criteria linkages:	Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs Communication: Quality and organisation of written and visual material in the research PDF. Including application of the UTS APA Referencing System 20 2 C.3 Process Documentation: Ability to communicate through documentation the development of a visual language to support the design proposal. 20 1 I.3 Experiential Research: Quality of engagement with local experience to develop research processes and methods to contribute to the visual language for the design proposal. 20 1 I.2 Indigenous Cultural Protocol Awareness: Ability to present a proposal for a design that demonstrates responsible and respectful representation informed by Indigenous Design Charter. 20 3 A.3 Cultural Awareness: Establishment of individual positionality and intended audience for the design proposal 20 2 A.1 SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 2: Design and documentation

Intent:	Extending on your research in Assessment 1, design a culturally and socially respectful response to the theme Climate Justice and Wellbeing on Country for All.
Objective(s):	This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2 and 3 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): A.1, A.3, I.2 and I.3
Type:	Portfolio
Groupwork:	Individual
Weight:	50%
Criteria linkages:	Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs Cultural Awareness: Ability to present a design outcome that demonstrates responsible and respectful representation appropriate to your chosen context/audience 25 3 A.3 Design Quality: Ability to develop a design of high creative or intellectual quality in response to insights developed through subject materials and personal visual language exploration. 25 2 I.2 Self-directed Research: Capacity for self-directed investigation evidenced by thoughtful and timely participation and presentation of an iterative development process - in and out of studio time - during semester. 25 2 I.3 Subject Engagement: Quality of engagement with subject materials, individual visual language development, design outcome and design professionalism as evidenced through the design, concept statement and documentation of the design. 25 1 A.1 SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 3: Working on Country: A Reflection

Intent:	Reflect on your learnings from this subject. Discuss how you have applied key principles for working on respectfully on Country with respect to Indigenous cultural protocols and principles of responsible and ethical representation through your project.
Objective(s):	This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 3 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): P.5
Type:	Reflection
Groupwork:	Individual
Weight:	30%
Length:	800 words Use subheadings to help you organise your ideas.
Criteria:	Indigenous Cultural Protocol Application: Ability to align the design outcome with frameworks for respectful and responsible representation described in the Indigenous Design Charter and the recognition of Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights (ICIP), cultural principles and protocols as evidenced through the reflection statement.
Criteria linkages:	Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs Indigenous Cultural Protocol Application: Ability to align the design outcome with frameworks for respectful and responsible representation described in the Indigenous Design Charter and the recognition of Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights (ICIP), cultural principles and protocols as evidenced through the reflection statement. 100 3 P.5 SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Minimum requirements

The DAB attendance policy requires students to attend no less than 80% of formal teaching sessions (lectures and tutorials) for each class they are enrolled in to remain eligible for assessment.

References

All subject materials are on Canvas.

Other resources

UTS Design Index, see: http://www.utsdesignindex.com