Unit 3: Visual communication design practices

12 dot points, in syllabus order. Each dot point has a focused answer, with exam-style questions and worked answers where available.

What legal and ethical obligations do designers carry, and how do intellectual property, copyright and professional responsibility shape design practice?

the legal and ethical obligations of designers, including intellectual property, copyright and trademark, attribution and consent, and the professional responsibilities designers hold toward clients, audiences and the wider community

Designers' legal and ethical obligations: intellectual property, copyright, trademarks, attribution and consent, and the professional responsibilities owed to clients, audiences and society.

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How do human-centred research methods help you reframe a design problem and write a brief that defines a genuine communication need?

the use of human-centred research methods to investigate users, reframe a design problem and develop a brief that defines the communication need, purpose, audience and context across the Discover and Define stages

Human-centred research and the brief: how Discover and Define methods uncover real user needs, how you reframe a problem, and how to write a brief that defines the communication need, purpose, audience and context.

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What does sustainable design practice mean, and how can designers reduce the social and environmental impact of their work across its whole life cycle?

the principles of sustainable and responsible design practice, including reducing environmental impact through choices of methods, media and materials, considering a design's life cycle, and weighing social and economic impact alongside environmental impact

Sustainable design: reducing environmental impact through material and method choices, thinking about a design's whole life cycle, and balancing environmental, social and economic responsibility.

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What are the three design fields in VCD, and how do communication, environmental and industrial design differ in what they create and the conventions they use?

the three fields of design practice, communication, environmental and industrial design, including what each field designs, the conventions and presentation methods typical of each, and how visual language is applied differently across them

Three design fields: what communication, environmental and industrial design each produce, the drawing conventions and methods typical of each, and how visual language differs across them.

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What are the four stages of the VCD design process, and how does the double diamond model show the way a designer moves between them?

the four stages of the VCD design process, Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver, represented as a double diamond, and the iterative, non-linear way a designer moves through and revisits them when solving a communication problem

Four-stage VCD design process: what Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver each involve, why it is drawn as a double diamond, and how the process is iterative rather than strictly linear.

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How do you analyse the visual language of existing design work to explain its purpose, function and aesthetic impact on an audience?

the analysis of existing visual communications, examining how visual language, design elements and principles, methods, media and materials create meaning and serve purpose, function and aesthetic impact for an intended audience

Analysing existing designs: what visual language is, how purpose, function and aesthetics differ, and how to read elements, principles, methods and media to explain meaning for an audience.

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How do you move from a brief to a folio of distinct design concepts through ideation and the Develop stage of the design process?

the use of design thinking, ideation methods and the Develop stage to generate, explore and develop distinct design concepts that respond to two separate communication needs defined in the brief

Ideation and the Develop stage: design thinking, divergent idea generation, methods like brainstorming and sketching, and how to develop distinct concepts that respond to two separate communication needs in the brief.

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How do contemporary designers across different fields approach their practice, and what can their work and processes teach you about innovation?

the practices of contemporary designers, including how they research, generate and develop ideas, and how design innovation responds to social, cultural, environmental, economic and technological factors

Contemporary designers and innovation: how practitioners research and develop ideas, the fields they work in, and how social, cultural, environmental, economic and technological factors drive design innovation.

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How do the design elements and principles work together to direct an audience and satisfy a specific communication need?

the selection and application of design elements and design principles to create visual communications that meet the requirements of a brief, its purpose, audience and context

Design elements and principles: what each one is, how they interact, and how to select and apply them so a visual communication meets the purpose, audience and context of a brief.

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What research methods do designers use in the Discover stage, and how do you research a problem ethically before defining a brief?

the range of primary and secondary research methods used in the Discover stage, including human-centred and ethical research practices, to investigate users, contexts and existing solutions before reframing the problem

Discover stage research: the difference between primary and secondary methods, common human-centred techniques, and how to research ethically and with consent before writing a brief.

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How does culture shape design, and what protocols govern the respectful use of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and designs?

the influence of culture on design and the protocols for the respectful and lawful use of cultural knowledge, with particular focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander designs, including ownership, consent and the role of Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property

Culture and design: how culture shapes visual language, and the protocols, consent and Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property rules for respectful use of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander designs.

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What is design thinking, and how do divergent and convergent thinking strategies drive the way you open up and narrow down ideas through the design process?

design thinking and the use of divergent and convergent thinking strategies to expand and then narrow possibilities at each stage of the VCD design process, including how the two modes alternate across the double diamond

Design thinking: what divergent and convergent thinking are, the strategies each uses, and how they alternate across the four stages of the design process to expand then narrow ideas.

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