Overview

Students engage in research approaches that are relevant to contemporary communication design practice. The aim is to equip students with methods and processes that enable them to interrogate the role and significance of communication design in contemporary contexts using a range of perspectives to then create meaningful and innovative designs.

Requisites

Prerequisites
DDD40002 Design-Led Innovation: Research Project

Rule

250 Credit Points into BA-DESCMN2 Bachelor of Design (Communication Design)

OR

250 Credit Points into BA-DESCMN1 Bachelor of Design (Communication Design)

OR

Admission into BH-DES - Bachelor of Design (Honours)

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 2
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
29-July-2024
27-October-2024
Last self-enrolment date
11-August-2024
Census date
31-August-2024
Last withdraw without fail date
13-September-2024
Results released date
03-December-2024
Semester 2
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
04-August-2025
02-November-2025
Last self-enrolment date
17-August-2025
Census date
31-August-2025
Last withdraw without fail date
19-September-2025
Results released date
09-December-2025

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Apply relevant design research methods and/ approaches for idea generation, design development, and design evaluation
  • Critically discuss and analyse design and research undertaken by others in practice or an academic context
  • Employ the design process to systematically interrogate and examine a theme, topic, or question
  • Interpret and synthesise design research as part of a self-directed design process to create innovative solutions
  • Responsibly conduct research and apply ethical standards to design practice and outcomes

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
On-campus
Studio
3.00 12 weeks 36
On-campus
Studio
3.00 12 weeks 36
Unspecified Activities
Various
6.00 13 week 78
TOTAL150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
AssignmentIndividual 40% 2,3,5 
AssignmentIndividual 40% 1,3,4,5 
AssignmentIndividual 20% 1,2,3,4,5 

Content

Topics for discussion will include:

  • The roles of research in design practice
  • Exploratory and reflective design research approaches
  • Practice-based approaches to design investigation
  • Examination and interrogation of visual language
  • Critical thinking and visual argument through the design process 
  • Graduate Attribute 1 (Communication 1 - Verbal Communication)
  • Graduate Attribute 2 (Communication 2 - Communicating using different media)
  • Graduate Attribute 3 (Teamwork 1 - Collaboration and negotiation)
  • Graduate Attribute 5 (Digital Literacies 1 - Information literacy)
  • Graduate Attribute 6 (Digital Literacies 2 - Technical literacy)

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.