Overview
This unit builds on the foundation provided by Visual Design Fundamentals, to further develop your skills and knowledge in visual communication design. Using industry-standard software tools such as Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop, you will learn how to produce visual design solutions that communicate effectively with a target audience. Through the exploration of design theories and their application, you will learn how to employ appropriate design methods and formats for different communication problems.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisite: MMST11003 Visual Design Fundamentals Students who have completed DGTL11004 Digital Design and Communication may not enrol in this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2018
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Observations during term, staff and student feedback.
Specific assessment requirements and overall unit goals needed to be more explicit at the beginning of the term.
Specific assessment requirements will be made more explicit at the beginning of the term through the assessment brief, learning resources on the Moodle site and in the week 1 lecture. This was the first offering of this unit and therefore there was a lack of exemplars from previous offerings. In the 2018 offering of the unit the 2017 exemplars will be made available on the Moodle site for review and discussion.
Feedback from Observations during term and student feedback.
The timely return of assessments as assessment 3 is dependent on assessment 2.
The assessment 2 deadline will be changed to earlier in the term.
Feedback from Observations during term, staff and student feedback.
Some students wanted to use Illustrator rather Photoshop for their assessments and did not appreciate the value of the Wacom tablets.
Make it more explicit that the use of Photoshop is a requirement for this unit. Change the assessment requirements so that students are required to use original photography to support submissions for assessment 2. Implement more Wacom resources and activities into unit.
- apply principles and processes of visual communication design in digital environments
- create visual designs in various formats using industry-standard software tools
- produce design solutions that communicate effectively with a target audience
- employ appropriate visual design methods and formats for different applications.
Not applicable
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Practical Assessment - 30% | ||||
| 2 - Practical Assessment - 30% | ||||
| 3 - Practical Assessment - 40% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Practical Assessment - 30% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Practical Assessment - 30% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Practical Assessment - 40% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
Design Elements, Using Images to Create Graphic Impact: A Graphic Style Manual for Effective Image Solutions in Graphic Design
Edition: 1 (2013)
Authors: Aaris Sherin
Rockport Publishers
Beverly Beverly , Massachusetts , US
ISBN: 9781592538072
Binding: Paperback
Graphic Design Australian Style Manual
Edition: 2 (2011/2012)
Authors: Suzie Haddock, Astred Hicks, Andrew Barnum, Felix Oppen
McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Limited
North Ryde North Ryde , NSW , Australia
ISBN: 9780071011051
Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Adobe Acrobat Pro (Adobe Creative Cloud student subscription recommended)
- Adobe Illustrator (Adobe Creative Cloud student subscription recommended)
- Adobe Photoshop (Adobe Creative Cloud student subscription recommended)
- Adobe Typekit (Adobe Creative Cloud student subscription recommended)
- Microsoft Office, Acrobat Reader, ability to uncompress files (ie. windows or winzip or 7-zip)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
m.randell@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction to the unit
Chapter
Design Elements: Chapters 1 + 5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Zoom session for Distance students
Module/Topic
Composition
Chapter
Design Elements: Chapter 2
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Process
Chapter
Design Elements: Chapters 1 + 3
Events and Submissions/Topic
Feedforward Zoom session for Distance students
Module/Topic
Assessment #1: Pin-up / Triage
Chapter
Design Elements: p152 - 155
Events and Submissions/Topic
Feedforward Zoom session for Distance students
Assessment#1:
1. Monday: upload Draft Designs to Flickr
2. Before Friday: Complete 3 x Peer Reviews on Flickr
3. Friday: Submit Final Designs and your 3 x Peer Reviews to Moodle
Re-Design Due: Week 4 Friday (3 Aug 2018) 9:00 pm AEST
Module/Topic
The Pitch
Chapter
Design Elements: Chapter 3
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Ideation
Chapter
Design Element: Chapter 1 + 3
Events and Submissions/Topic
Zoom session for Distance students
Module/Topic
Typographical design
Chapter
Design Elements: Chapters 4 - 5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Assessment #2: Pin-up / Triage
Chapter
Design Elements: p152 - 155
Events and Submissions/Topic
Feedforward Zoom session for Distance students
Assessment#2:
1. Monday: upload Draft Designs to Flickr
2. Before Friday: Complete 3 x Peer Reviews on Flickr
3. Friday: Submit Final Designs and your 3 x Peer Reviews to Moodle
The Pitch Due: Week 8 Friday (7 Sept 2018) 9:00 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Posters and Format variations
Chapter
Design Elements: Chapters 1 - 5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Refinement of Final Designs
Chapter
Design Elements: Chapters 1 - 5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Feedforward Zoom session for Distance students
Module/Topic
Refinement of Final Designs
Chapter
Design Elements: Chapters 1 - 5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Assessment #3: Pin-up / Triage
Chapter
Design Elements: p152 - 155
Events and Submissions/Topic
Feedforward Zoom session for Distance students
Assessment#3:
1. Monday: upload Draft Designs to Flickr
2. Before Friday: Complete 3 x Peer Reviews on Flickr
3. Friday: Submit Final Designs and your 3 x Peer Reviews to Moodle
Final Designs Due: Week 12 Friday (5 Oct 2018) 9:00 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Practical Assessment
The ultimate goal for this unit at the end of week 12 is for you to create a poster campaign using Adobe Photoshop where all of the source material has been created by you specifically for this project using a professional client-driven workflow model.
This first assessment task specifically involves the re-design of past poster campaigns. As part of this assessment you are required to conduct an online peer review of 3 other student re-designs.Week 4 Friday (3 Aug 2018) 9:00 pm AEST
Re-designs to be uploaded for Peer Review prior to deadline. For timely formative feedback it is strongly advised that students present their ideas in class or via online Zoom sessions.
Vacation Week Friday (17 Aug 2018)
- The Re-Design: Quality of visual communication and effective expression of unified message through Composition (level of application of visual design principles, integration of elements and use of genre) and Demonstration of effective processes
- Technical Skills: Demonstration of ability proportional to task completion of Re-Design - Standard of software skills and adherence to technical specifications
-
Peer Reviews: Adherence to the required discussion topics. Quality and completeness of task.
- apply principles and processes of visual communication design in digital environments
- create visual designs in various formats using industry-standard software tools
- produce design solutions that communicate effectively with a target audience
- employ appropriate visual design methods and formats for different applications.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
2 Practical Assessment
The ultimate goal for this unit at the end of week 12 is for you to create a poster campaign using Adobe Photoshop where all of the source material has been created by you specifically for this project using a professional client-driven workflow model.
This second assessment task specifically involves the ideation stage of this project. For this assessment you will need to produce a visual pitch for your poster campaign which includes the analysis of at least 3 visual references (moodboards) to explain the:
- analysis of the client brief and target audience
- explanation of big idea / message
- 3 x visual concept mock-ups of poster (must include a strong 'hero' image NOT type)
As part of this assessment you are required to conduct an online peer review of 3 other student poster mock-ups.
Week 8 Friday (7 Sept 2018) 9:00 pm AEST
Poster mock-ups to be uploaded for Peer Review prior to deadline. For timely formative feedback it is strongly advised that students present their ideas in class or via online Zoom sessions. Don't wait for feedback via Moodle.
Week 10 Friday (21 Sept 2018)
- The Pitch: Demonstration of ability proportional to task completion - Clarity of concept, Quality of visual design, Scope and scale and logical structure
- Technical Skills: Demonstration of ability proportional to task completion - Standard of software skills and adherence to technical specifications
- Peer Reviews: Adherence to the required discussion topics. Quality and completeness of task.
- apply principles and processes of visual communication design in digital environments
- create visual designs in various formats using industry-standard software tools
- produce design solutions that communicate effectively with a target audience
- employ appropriate visual design methods and formats for different applications.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
3 Practical Assessment
The ultimate goal for this unit at the end of week 12 is for you to create a poster campaign using Adobe Photoshop where all of the source material has been created by you specifically for this project using a professional client-driven workflow model.
This final assessment task specifically involves the production and refinement stage of this project. For this assessment you will need to produce the final artwork for your poster campaign which includes:
- Poster design with strong hero image (using original imagery), typographical design and effective messaging (A3 portrait)
- a landscape version of your poster design (advertisement, billboard etc)
- a square version of your poster design for use on social media
As part of this assessment you are required to conduct an online peer review of 3 other student poster campaigns.
Week 12 Friday (5 Oct 2018) 9:00 pm AEST
Final designs to be uploaded for Peer Review prior to deadline
Exam Week Friday (19 Oct 2018)
-
Final Designs: Quality of visual communication and effective expression of unified message through:
• Composition (level of application of visual design principles, integration of elements and use of genre),
• Demonstration of effective processes, and
• Standard of assets created by student specifically for this project (ie. graphics, photos etc)
- Technical Skills: Demonstration of ability proportional to task completion - Standard of software skills and adherence to technical specifications
- Peer Reviews: Adherence to the required discussion topics. Quality and completeness of task.
- apply principles and processes of visual communication design in digital environments
- create visual designs in various formats using industry-standard software tools
- produce design solutions that communicate effectively with a target audience
- employ appropriate visual design methods and formats for different applications.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
