Rationale

Visual communication design can inform people’s decisions about where and how they live and what they buy and consume. The visual presentation of information influences people’s choices about what they think, what they need or want. The study provides students with the opportunity to develop informed, critical and discriminating approaches to understanding and using visual communications, and nurtures their ability to think creatively about design solutions. Design thinking, which involves the application of creative, critical and reflective techniques, supports skill development in areas beyond design, including science, business, marketing and management.

The rapid acceleration of the capabilities and accessibility of digital design technologies has brought new challenges to visual communication design practices. Through the consideration of ethical and environmental sustainability issues, students are able to make informed choices that affect current and future practices. The study of Visual Communication Design can provide pathways to training and tertiary study in design and design-related studies, including communication, industrial and fashion design, architecture and media.

 

Aims

This study enables students to:

• develop and apply drawing skills using a range of techniques

• develop design thinking

• develop a range of skills in selecting and applying media, materials and manual and digital

  methods to support design processes

• apply a design process to create visual communications

• understand how key design elements, design principles, media, materials and manual and

  digital methods contribute to the creation of their own visual language

• develop a capacity to undertake ongoing design thinking while conceiving, communicating

  and presenting ideas

• understand how historical, social, cultural, environmental, legal, ethical and contemporary

  factors influence visual communications.

 

​Structure

The study is made up of four units:
Unit 1: Introduction to visual communication design
Unit 2: Applications of visual communication within design fields
Unit 3: Visual communication design practices
Unit 4: Visual communication design development, evaluation and presentation