Design-Led Innovation: Research Project
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
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)
02-November-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 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Individual | 40% | 2,3,5 |
| Assignment | Individual | 40% | 1,3,4,5 |
| Assignment | Individual | 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 processÂ
- 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.