MMST11003 - Visual Design Fundamentals

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit will introduce you to fundamental principles and elements of visual design and how these can be applied in digital environments. You will develop an understanding of design as a visual language, become immersed in design thinking, and become proficient in visual communication for digital production. As you develop skills with industry-standard software tools such as Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop, you will work individually and collaboratively to create innovative solutions to design problems.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the 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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2024

Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Brisbane
Bundaberg
Cairns
Mackay
Online
Rockhampton
Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Bundaberg
Cairns
Mackay
Online
Rockhampton

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).

Assessment Overview

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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Practical and Written Assessment 30%
2. Practical and Written Assessment 70%

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

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 88.89% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 24% response rate.

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.

Source: Current events, collegial discussion.
Feedback
The emergence of text-to-media AI is going to impact on the graphic design industry.
Recommendation
The unit should include content to assist students to make appropriate use of AI technology to assist them in the design and planning phase.
Action Taken
Students were introduced to the possibilities of generative AI through in-class and Zoom demonstrations. Students were given the opportunity to participate in a class-wide generative AI activity in Teams and in class.
Source: SUTE unit comments.
Feedback
Some older third party online resources now carry intrusive advertising.
Recommendation
Web-based resources should be reviewed and any with intrusive advertising should be removed or replaced.
Action Taken
Some readings and resources were replaced with improved options that did not contain obtrusive advertisements.
Source: Informal discussions with students.
Feedback
Some students found it hard to manage their time in developing their Portfolio for assessment two.
Recommendation
More focus on planning and scheduling will be offered via Zoom and personalized email mailouts in weeks 9 and 10.
Action Taken
Students were given increased assistance with planning and scheduling via Zoom sessions and direct mailouts.
Source: Informal discussions with Digital Media team colleagues
Feedback
Course content should include more discussion of intellectual property and ethical issues around generative AI and design.
Recommendation
Update and expand content relating to intellectual property and ethical issues around generative AI and design.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Informal discussions with Digital Media team colleagues
Feedback
Adobe Illustrator now incorporates a standardized way of working with generative AI. This method should be covered in the Unit teaching materials and the use of generative AI should be incorporated into one of the assessable exercises.
Recommendation
Use of Adobe Illustrator's AI tools will be taught. One of the assessable exercises will be modified to require students work with generative AI in Illustrator.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. apply fundamental principles and elements of visual design in digital environments
  2. communicate effectively with others in the process of design and presentation
  3. develop innovative visual design solutions which combine form and function
  4. create visual designs using digital technologies and industry-standard software tools

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Practical and Written Assessment • • • •
2 - Practical and Written Assessment • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Communication • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • •
4 - Information Literacy •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Practical and Written Assessment • • • • •
2 - Practical and Written Assessment • • • • •