Teaching and learning

How do designers find and reframe human-centred design problems?

Outcome 1

Use human-centred research methods to reframe a design problem and identify a communication need.

Examples of learning activities

Good Design

• Using the following prompts to kickstart discussion, share opinions and ideas about the notion of good design:
  • Can design be ‘good’ and ‘bad’? Why do you think what you think?
  • What makes a design ‘good’ or ‘bad’?
  • Can you come up with a definition for ‘good design’?
  • Can you come up with a list of good design criteria?
  • Is good design the same for everyone?
  • Is good design the same everywhere?
  • Is good design the same now as it was in the past?
  • What might good design look like in the future?
• Find examples of design that you would describe as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and add these to walls or collections displayed in the classroom. Use this material to stimulate debate about the value and success of design from various disciplines, contexts and time periods. During discussion, justify your selections and evaluations.
• Research an example of design that has reached icon status, such as the Apple iMac G3 desktop computer, Mattel’s Barbie doll, Helvetica typeface or the London Underground map. During your research, determine why the artefact is considered an example of good design, and if, how and / or why the artefact has changed over time. Is it still necessary or relevant in our current context? Will it need to continue evolving in the future? Is there a common set of good design criteria emerging among the artefacts studied across the class.
• Review a range of sources offering criteria for good design such as those below.
  • German industrial designer Dieter Rams’ list of good design principles formulated in the 1970s
  • Good Design Australia’s Good Design Awards criteria, and those of other international design competitions
  • Victorian Premier’s Design Awards criteria
  • Fortune’s 100 Greatest Designs of Modern Times
  • The Australian Institute of Architects National and Chapter Architecture Awards Program
  • The Office of the Victorian Government Architect’s selection of good design publications
  • The elements of Country-centred design valued by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Australian Institute of Architects Reconciliation Prize - First Nations design, Good Design Index Australia Indigenous Designer Award
  • The Museum of Modern Art – online collection
  • The Design Council's principles of inclusive
  • UX Courses: Good Design
  
  From this exposure, consider if good design is the same across disciplines and contexts, and in the past, present and future. Identify both examples of, and opportunities for good design in your own life, before developing a personal list of ‘good design’ criteria.
• Find an object, message, environment or interactive experience that does not serve its purpose. Analyse and identify its shortcomings in light of Dieter Rams’ principles of good design. Which of these principles might guide you in making improvements to the design? Here are some potential design opportunities to get you started:
  • a pencil case or bag where it is hard to organise contents
  • an ambiguous social media icon
  • a label on clothing (Do labels really tell us everything we need?)
  • a poorly worded parking sign
  • a microwave or remote control interface
  • an outdoor bin where birds and weather cause issues
  • discarded packaging waste
  • a set of poorly worded or presented instructions
• Investigate the hand-held juicer to find examples of good and bad design. Gather together a wide range of hand-held juicers and fresh citrus fruit, and in pairs or small groups, test the juicers including the process of cleaning them after use. Prepare a written report that evaluates function, form, aesthetics, and consideration of specific user needs. Instead of hand-held juicers, choose another object for analysis, such as gardening tools, vegetable peelers, or kitchen or bathroom taps.
• A ‘wicked problem’ is a social or cultural problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of its complex and interconnected nature. Some examples include poverty, climate change, education and access to education, hunger and homelessness. Explore the ways in which good design has played a part in responding to one specific wicked problem.

Human-centred research methods

• When embarking on research in teams, establish conditions for collaboration where group members feel comfortable enough to make mistakes and express ideas. Introduce warm-up activities that help to build a trusting and respectful classroom environment, like those included in the Stoke Deck developed at Stanford’s D.School.
• Explore a selection of human-centred research methods such as those offered in the Victorian Government’s Human-centred design playbook. Collaborate with others to experience these first-hand and consider their value and potential as divergent thinking strategies when applied to specific design problems.
• 
  In small groups, share problems encountered or observed during everyday life, such as the loss of animal habitats during recent natural disasters, the absence of a quiet place to study at home or a younger sibling’s anxiety about starting secondary school. Choose one of these problems to interrogate in depth using a range of human-centred research methods, and frame this as a ‘How Might We’ question. For example:
  
  How might we …

  • use social media or game design to improve young people’s mental health?
  • reduce 3D printing, laser cutting or technology waste?
  • reduce congestion in our school corridors?
  • increase sustainable fashion choices or conscious consumption?
  • raise awareness about climate change and its impact?
  • encourage connections between young people and their communities?
  • raise awareness about cyber safety?
  • reduce food waste or unnecessary packaging?
    
• Engage in a mapping exercise to explore audience / user behaviours, their contexts, and relationship to a specific design problem or opportunity. Start by establishing the outcome you want to help your user achieve, the shifts in thinking or behaviour you hope to support, and any influential barriers or enablers. Use this exercise to inform how, where and with whom you conduct human-centred research, and the types of questions you need to explore.
• With a fellow student, engage in an empathy interview to uncover deep insights into a problem or behaviour. Begin with a prompt or surface problem statement such as:
  • Why are senior students not using the designated study space at school?
  • What app do you most frequently use on your phone?
  • What is your biggest barrier to productive study?
  Repeatedly ask your classmate to explain the previous answer until root causes are revealed.
• Keep an autobiographical diary of a new experience, whether using an app, website or service, interacting with an object or navigating an unfamiliar place.
  Record information about the experience using words and images, describing relevant contextual factors, aesthetic elements, impressions and emotional responses, and noting ways in which your biases might be impacting the experience.
  Complete the exercise as a group to enable comparisons to be made. Reflect on lessons learnt and behavioural patterns that may have emerged. How might these insights inform your design of new products or services?
• Engage in a contextual inquiry exercise by watching others interacting with an object, space or experience, observing how they use it, noting what emotions they express and what their body language communicates. Make notes about your observations and what insights they reveal.
• Designers aim to conduct human-centred research honestly, respectfully and responsibly. Discuss what this might mean, and the impact of ethical practices on the collection and use of research data.
• Use scenarios to kick-start discussion about ethical human-centred research methods, such as those suggested below:
  • During an interview about patient experiences in hospitals, your research participant becomes visibly distressed by the material being explored. What should you do?
  • As part of a project supporting women’s economic independence, you are visiting Tanzania to interview women who are balancing paid work with caring responsibilities. What factors must you consider to ensure your research is respectful and responsible?
  • You’ve collected sensitive information about your research participants. Should you pass this raw data on to your client? And what do you do with the data after the research is completed?
  • You’ve developed a prototype for a medical device and share it with diabetics for testing. They are excited about its potential, but you are aware that it will take at least another five years until the device is available. Should you let them know?
• Synthesise and interpret information gathered from qualitative methods such as interviews, focus groups or questionnaires by engaging in a thematic analysis. Highlight and annotate research data, looking for topics and words that frequently appear and using these insights to establish common themes. Group the data, discuss it with others and consolidate findings in a diagram or drawing to visualise how themes relate to one another.
• Visualise research findings in ways that are engaging, accessible and easy to understand. This might consist of a presentation or infographic including graphs, charts, maps, diagrams, symbols, statistics, or summaries.
• Examine the content of design briefs prepared by practitioners working across the various fields of design practice. What design criteria is included and how is it formatted? What similarities or differences are evident in the briefs you collect?
• With deeper insights gathered from a range of human-centred research, refine and reframe a human-centred design problem or opportunity. Compose a single sentence and re-phrase this as a challenge statement or ‘How Might We’ question, keeping in mind the audience you wish to serve and the changes you hope to influence through good design. Use this question or statement to guide the formation of a design brief, describing a communication need and corresponding design criteria.

Detailed example

In small groups, share problems encountered or observed during everyday life, such as the loss of animal habitats during recent natural disasters, the absence of a quiet place to study at home or a younger sibling’s anxiety about starting secondary school.

Choose one of these problems to interrogate in depth using a range of human-centred research methods, and frame this as a ‘How Might We’ question.

Work collaboratively to build collections of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ designs from different contexts and disciplines. This can include examples of product design, graphic design, architecture, websites, and more. These collections can be displayed in the classroom to further analyse and debate. By analysing and discussing the features of different designs, students can learn to identify the elements that make good designs successful and the reasons for bad designs' failures.

Next, document daily routines and experiences, using methods such as diary entries, mapping exercises, or video recordings. Identify challenges that were evident among the data. These challenges can be framed as guiding questions, such as ‘How can I use my free study periods more productively?’ or ‘How can I stop being late for school?’

Once the challenges have been identified, consider which of these could be addressed using a human-centred design approach. Then select one problem to investigate, ensuring that it is subjective, invites discovery and experimentation, focuses on people's thoughts and actions, and can be resolved with singular products, experiences, services or campaigns. Conduct and document secondary research in folios, to learn more about the chosen problem, drawing from existing knowledge to understand factors such as its historical context, any biases at play, and the audience or users they wish to impact in positive ways.

After conducting research, engage in a behaviour mapping exercise to clarify the intended outcomes of the project and apply human-centred research methods in ethical ways, such as contextual observations, direct experience, focus groups or interviews to examine how audiences or users think and behave. Review the research data gathered, identify key themes, and document these in folios. Brainstorm ways in which the desired shifts in behaviour might be supported by the design of products, experiences, services or campaigns.

Finally, choose one of these design opportunities to guide the formation of a brief, describing a communication need and associated design criteria. The brief should include information on the client, the client need, audience, purpose, context, constraints and the deliverables.

Resource: d.school Design Project Scoping Guide

Sample behaviour mapping exercise

How can we reduce students’ anxieties about starting secondary school?

What is the outcome we wish to achieve?

Reduced anxiety among Year 7 students during the transition to secondary school

What does our audience need to know, feel and / or do?

Year 7 students need to know what is expected of them at secondary school and feel able to navigate multiple changes and meet new expectations. They need to feel safe, confident, and connected to peers and teachers.

What does our audience think, feel and do right now?

Secondary research alongside surveys and interviews with students transitioning to secondary school found that building new friendships was the most common difficulty reported by children and their parents when beginning secondary school. Other common sources of anxiety are:

• navigating multiple classes and teachers
• meeting the demands of self-directed learning and homework
• coping with developmental changes
• navigating travel arrangements to and from school.

Strong student-teacher relationships are a key factor in a successful transition. A challenging transition is associated with a loss of motivation to learn. To assist with transitions, schools currently offer orientation tours and discussion sessions, transition programs, peer support and buddy programs, and homeroom classes.

What shifts in thinking or doing do we need to support?

From feeling ill-equipped to meet the demands of secondary school, to feeling supported and capable of navigating change and new responsibilities.

Does the desired shift present a design opportunity?

• An exclusive Year 7 area on campus
• Year 7 clubs or lunchtime activities
• Planner and homework app
• A clearer system for finding the way around the school
• Welcoming visual space
• An online game or social story about starting school
• Buddy teachers and ‘All about Me’ booklets or albums shared with staff

Consider the following questions:

• How might we narrow the scope and reframe the original question?
• How might we help Year 7 students develop stronger connections with their teachers at high school?

Sample Project Brief

Interface for a custom digital platform connecting Year 7 students and teachers

Client: Department of Schools & Learning Victoria

Project / Client overview

What

The Department of Schools & Learning (DSL) Victoria recognise that the leap from primary to secondary school can lead to high levels of stress and anxiety for many students, and that strong student-teacher relationships are a key factor in facilitating a smooth transition. They envision a custom digital platform designed to assist teachers in making stronger connections with their students through sharing interests, achievements and creations in a safe and secure space.

Why

Current initiatives exist to support Year 7 students in making friends and navigating a new school environment, but there are limited resources available to support teachers in getting to know their students both as young people and learners.

Goals

This initiative aims to support student wellbeing by nurturing stronger relationships with teachers during the first year of secondary school. The platform will offer a secure space for both teachers and students to share personally curated profiles, enabling teachers to learn about the strengths and interests of their students so that they can be integrated into curriculum, conversations and extra-curricular offerings. Students can also learn more about the interests, skills and life experiences of their teachers and peers, fostering further supportive connections between cohorts.

Tone of voice

Welcoming, playful, safe, positive and inclusive

Audience

Year 7 students attending Victorian public secondary schools, together with their teachers and subject coordinators. Research indicates that Year 7 students value strong relationships with their teachers, and these connections improve the experience of transitioning to a new school environment. Teachers equally value opportunities to know their students as people and learners, but find it difficult to adequately nurture these relationships amidst their multiple responsibilities. 

Context

The digital platform will be used by Year 7students, staff and coordinators in Victorian public secondary schools, and should be a secure, password-protected space accessible only via school intranet services. Students and staff will create their profile pages at the commencement of secondary school and add further content throughout the year. 

Design constraints or considerations

The platform should:

• be aligned with Child Safe Standards and be compatible with digital learning policies enacted in schools
• feature profile pages that use a consistent visual language and format, but can be customised by individual students and staff
• be easy and enjoyable to access, use and navigate
• offer the capacity to group and link students according to shared interests or goals.

Deliverables

Digital interface design including visual language.

Outcome 2

Create visual language for a business or brand using the Develop and Deliver stages of the VCD design process.

Examples of learning activities

• 
  Identify the components involved in creating a brand, including the differences between brand, visual identity and a logo. Provide examples of how visual language is used to create engagement with an intended audience and to tell the story of a company or business. Working in small groups, select a company or business and identify the elements of the brand, such as graphic icons, typography, and signature colour palette.

  • What is the visual language used by the chosen company?
  • What would be the benefits of this visual language?
  • Submit the findings in a digital format using both text and imagery.
• Find examples of visual communications that use visual language as part of a larger strategy and identify how the visual language might be influential in shaping behaviours and outcomes. An example might be the use of strong, eye-catching imagery or emotive text to engage an audience’s attention.
• In response to a design brief, conduct a digital photographic study of a topic or theme to capture images that depict one design element and one design principle (including the Gestalt Principles of perception). Compose as a mood board using a page layout program and cropping images to further emphasise the featured design element or design principle.

Create a brand matrix

• Collect a wide range of logos (these may be related to theme or the constraints of a design brief) and divide into four categories.
  Create a list of elements that could be used to create four categories (x 2 sets of polar opposite terms).
  For example:
  • type base vs image based
  • informal vs formal
  • historical vs 20th century
  
  Plot collected logos onto the matrix. Look for meaningful patterns, such as a cluster of logos in one area. Identify trends and patterns.
  Do the empty areas indicate an opportunity?
  Annotate findings directly onto the matrix.

Action verbs and adjectives

• Brainstorm a wide range of ideas for a logo using both written and visual examples. Selecting one idea, apply different verbs to it to extend and generate even more ideas. Examples of verbs might include rearrange, streamline, expand, sketch, contrast, connect or invert. For more examples of verbs, look at Blooms taxonomy to encourage divergent thinking.

Kit of Parts – a unique approach to creating a brand

• Using the inspiring term ‘kit of parts’ (used by designer Andrew Blauvelt), create a kit of parts for the purpose of designing an identity for a company or business. First select elements such as straight lines, curved lines and squares, and a specific colour palette. Next, manipulate the elements manually or digitally, through photography, to create a collage or aesthetic / style. This could even be constructed using materials such as modelling clay.
  
  Arrange the elements to create the brand, which may include logo, type, icons, patterns, and a colour palette. The elements can be further manipulated to create other aspects of their brand, including a pattern or image that can be used alongside a logo and typeface.
  
  References:
  Andrew Blauvelt
  Graphic Design Thinking

Context mapping

• Create a list of words, focusing on a mix of adjectives and nouns, associated with the context related to the company or business identified in a design brief. For example, if the context is the beach or seaside, a list of words may include hot, shoreline, driftwood, waves or dunes. Use each word to generate an idea when using visualisation drawing to ideate icons, symbols or logos.

Modular type

• Design a modular typeface using only the following shapes: circles, triangles and squares. For modular type inspiration, look at the work of Bruno Munari’s ABC with Imagination (1960) and designer Wim Crouwel’s New Alphabet (1967) typeface.
  Investigate ways to transform the typeface including rotating, flipping, overlapping shapes and using solid shapes or outlines while maintaining the proportions. Scan final concept and edit in a vector software program such as Adobe Illustrator. The typeface is to be presented on an A3 concept board including the full alphabet and some words to reflect the concept behind the typeface.

Using definitions to design type

• Create a unique typeface based on the meaning of a brand created for a company or business. Produce a list of adjectives that describe the brand, thinking about the brand as having a personality. What words could be used to describe the values or features of the brand? For example: bold, calm, cheerful, classic, contemporary, elegant, informal, playful, quirky, sleek, warm.
  For each word, write a definition, ensuring that how the term relates to the brand is addressed. Illustrate the company or business name using this definition. For example, change the colour to create a more contemporary aesthetic or change the line style to emphasise playfulness.

Semiotics – symbols, icons and logos

• Select an object related to the design brief or topic and create a word list associated with this object. Complete the following exercises using inspiration from the word list.
  • Photograph the object, these must be different in appearance, more than a photo from a different angle.
  • Recreate the object using collage.
  • Using the shape, texture, point and line, recreate the object.
  • Using cropping, balance and contrast, recreate the object.
  • Using the previous exercises, design a symbol (something that is learned), icon (a representation) and a logo (to identify) for the object.
  This activity does not need to be based on an object; places, environments, people or animals can be used depending on the constraints of the design brief.
  After completing a range of visualisation drawings showing the generation of ideas, develop these further using divergent thinking strategies such as SCAMPER or ‘Forced Associations’.
• Conduct an investigation (real world or online) to find examples of design elements and design principles in a range of visual communication contexts. From this, develop language to describe and analyse the function of design elements and principles. Analyse the role of each design element and design principle in contributing to the meaning in the range of examples. Presentation of this investigation can be a visual such as a short movie, wall poster or flip cards.

Mood boards

• Create three different mood boards to visualise a company or business before manually or digitally documenting ideas. Collect colours, patterns, typefaces, shapes, photographs, drawings and textures. Present the mood boards to a group of peers for feedback, explaining the directions and differences between each board. Keep an open mind and think broadly when creating the mood boards and reflecting on feedback.

Logo design and development using media, materials and methods

• Explore a range of media, materials, and methods to develop ideas and create original imagery. For example, explore mono and relief printing to create original shapes and textures. These are then used as starting points for a logo or to present the final solution.
  Other examples might include:
  • watercolour textures turned into vector shapes
  • painted textures used as clipping masks in vector software programs
  • simplified collages
  • constructed paper or wire form sculptures used as inspiration to create a logo
  • hand-stitched elements on fabric, plastic or paper.

Gestalt principles

• Create a series of images to represent each of the Gestalt principles of perception. The images need to be connected / related through a theme such as music, fashion or design. The images are then used as starting points to create a brand identity for a festival related to the chosen theme. The final solution is applied to tickets and identification wristbands.

Themed patterns

• After designing a logo or symbol for a company or business, extend the brand to include a themed pattern in response to a specific need identified. This might include wallpaper for a hotel, ceramic tile for a bathroom or surface graphic for a package. The pattern is to be visually similar to the original logo design created. Use a vector drawing program to trace the manual drawings; then apply design principles of balance, cropping and contrast, pattern (repetition and alternation) to create multiples of the shape and patterns.

Critiques

• Before undertaking the critique session, engage in a class discussion around the importance of respectful and positive feedback during a critique session. Look at what is involved in a critique including:
  • sharing several ideas related to the brief
  • using visual examples to support discussion
  • using written information when necessary
  • including physical low-fidelity mock-ups
  • including opportunities for verbal or written feedback.
• 
  Choose a company or business to create a visual language using the Develop and Deliver stages of the VCD design process. Choose a target audience and consider constraints and expectation, and deliverables. Present the resolved design solutions in digital or printed style guides along with their visual diary work.

Detailed example

Choose a company or business to create a visual language using the Develop and Deliver stages of the VCD design process.

Sample Brief: Branding design for Horizon Regional Art Gallery

Horizon Regional Art Gallery is a non-profit organisation that promotes and showcases the works of local and regional artists. The organisation needs a visual identity that represents its purpose and communicates its values to the community and beyond.

The new branding for the gallery needs to:

• be a unique and memorable visual identity that differentiates the regional art gallery from its competitors
• communicate the organisational values of creativity, diversity, and community
• establish a consistent and cohesive visual language across all design collateral, including digital and print media
• attract new visitors and supporters to the gallery.

Target audience:

The target audience for Horizon Regional Art Gallery's visual identity includes artists, art enthusiasts, local residents and tourists.

Constraints and expectations:

1. Logo: The branding should include a logo that reflects the gallery's purpose and values. The logo should be simple, recognisable, and easy to reproduce in different sizes and mediums.
2. Colour palette: The colour palette should be inspired by the colours found in the local environment and reflect the diverse and vibrant nature of the community. The palette should be flexible enough to accommodate different moods and themes.
3. Typography: The typography should be legible, modern, and adaptable to different communication channels. It should convey a sense of creativity and sophistication.
4. Icon designs: The visual identity should include a range of icons that will help the audience to move around the gallery space by identifying features and spaces including a café, toilets, gift shop and wheelchair access.

Deliverables:

• Logo design
• Colour palette and typography specifications
• Four icons
• Brand guidelines document outlining usage and application of the visual identity across all design collateral presented as a style guide

Activities

Unpack the design brief, making notes about the design criteria with their peers. Using a human-centred approach, investigate and research the needs of the stakeholders. Collect sources of inspiration that involve both primary and secondary research and adopt correct conventions for acknowledging sources of inspiration. Although a fictional gallery is used in this design brief, try to visit local galleries or share experiences of visiting gallery spaces and exhibitions to investigate the purpose of visual language, the branding of gallery and exhibition design. As part of research, look at existing branding of Australian galleries including the National Gallery of Victoria, Heide Museum of Modern Art or regional examples such as Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) or Bendigo Art Gallery to see the way that a variety of elements can be used to create a visual language. Collect examples of branding and use a brand matrix to synthesise and find patterns to create starting points for their own work.

Brainstorm ideas for a logo using both written and ideation drawings. To encourage the generation of a wide range of ideas for a logo, use divergent thinking strategies such as action verbs, context mapping, SCAMPER and forced associations. When generating ideas, the design elements and principles and Gestalt principles of visual perception are deliberately explored; for example, adjusting line weights, using organic and geometric shapes and forms, exploring texture, pattern, cropping and balance. Exploration of a range of manual and digital methods, media and materials are undertaken to investigate potential ways to make an original image. Create manual textures that are scanned to be further edited digitally to use as a concept for an image or logo or even type.

Critique potential directions for a logo with a small group of peers. Reflecting on feedback from the critique and using convergent thinking strategies, select one logo idea to further develop and refine. Once a concept for a logo has been created, choose or create fonts along with a colour palette. Generate ideas for icons to represent the café, toilets, gift shop and wheelchair access. Select one idea for each icon to develop further, focusing on figure ground and using only black and white. Choose fonts and deliberately use typographic conventions. Refine design work using mock ups and convergent thinking strategies, referring to the design brief.

In groups, investigate examples of existing style guides and discuss contents, layout, hierarchy, and clarity of information. Design an original layout for the style guide, using Gestalt principles of perception when organising visual and any written information.

Present the resolved design solutions in digital or printed style guides along with their visual diary work.

Outcome 3

Develop a sustainable object, considering design’s influence and factors that influence design.

Examples of learning activities

• Research historical influences on design, such as war and politics, considering the social, technological, cultural, environmental and economical impacts. Find examples of designs from the 20th century, such as William Miller’s inflatable chair (1944) made and manufactured from post-war materials and production techniques, documenting these in folios with explanatory annotations. This can then be contrasted with contemporary examples such as PPE gear, screens and other items created to protect people from infection.
• Examine the entire life-cycle of a designed object, including how it functions as part of a larger system or service, as well as the influences of ‘fast fashion’ such as AirRobe and Circular design practices. Engage in a debate about the shape and extent of a designer’s ethical and environmental obligations; for example:
  • Are designers responsible for the entire life-cycle of a product, building or service, beyond the initial design stage?
  • Are they accountable for the use and disposal of their designs?
  • Is human-centred design actually good for the planet?
• Consider a selection of designs from a variety of contexts that reflect the time and place in which they were made. Identify factors that have influenced these designs, while imagining factors that might influence design examples in the future. Also consider the potential of design itself to influence its context(s), exploring examples that have changed the course of history.
  Follow this analytical task with a design challeng: to propose a way in which design might change how we live in the future.
• Adopt the role of user or audience for a selection of design examples, and imagine ways in which the design might influence behaviour and / or interactions with others or their world. Consider: Are there ways in which the design could be made more sustainable? How has the design itself changed over time? How might it continue to evolve in the future?
• 
  Consider a product or object whose design has changed over time; for example, a juicer. Create a timeline with imagery and annotations, which depicts the factors that have influenced the design’s evolution, as well as the impact it has had on society. In response to a brief, consider sustainable materials, circular design and the environment, to create your own design for a juicer.
• Create collections of design examples that impact either negatively or positively on the planet. Revisit notions of ‘good design’ when categorising the collection, and suggest how examples might be made more sustainable.
• Study a designer who adopts circular design practices, and identify designers, companies or organisations who do not. Engage in a design challenge: to develop a persuasive campaign encouraging an uptake in circular design practices.
• Engage with designed objects, such as a toy, device, tool, utensil or appliance. Use human-centred research methods to record feedback, and determine how design impacted either negatively or positively on the experience when using the object. Consider how the object was designed differently in the past, and how it might evolve in the future.
• Consider the distinctions between human-centred design and Indigenous notions of ‘Country-centred’ design in which the needs of all natural systems (not only humans) are considered equal, by looking at the following websites:
  Australian Institute of Architects Reconciliation Prize - First Nations design
  Good Design Index Australia Indigenous Designer Award
  How does adopting a ‘Country-centred’ mindset influence the way designers work?
• Consider the work of the Ellen Macarthur Foundation. Investigate myths and truths about circular design including ideas around:
  • recycling
  • making products durable
  • the iterative process.
• Find a piece of discarded or partially-damaged furniture and document it using photography, observational drawings, technical drawings and written annotations. Develop a ‘kit of parts’ for all salvageable pieces and use these to redesign a piece of furniture for a different purpose, audience and / or context.
• Create a concept board with a series of two-dimensional drawings; for example, orthogonal and digitally rendered three-dimensional drawings such as two-point perspective and isometric, to document the concept to the audience.
• Respond to a brief asking for the development of:
  • a sustainable toy using circular design practices
  • a ‘wearable’ item made using sustainable materials and practices, for an attendee at the NGV Gala or Met Gala
  • disposal lunchbox
  • cycling bag or accessories to encourage travel on two wheels
  • temporary lighting solution for a pop-up, zero waste coffee shop.
• Collect examples of second-hand clothes, leftover materials and found / unused items, and create a garment for an upcycled fashion show. Use ideation sketches, rendered drawings, technical flats, and low-fidelity prototyping to create options and directions for the piece. Use three-dimensional perspective figure-drawings to demonstrate what the garment would look like, and how it will be worn. Drawings can be manually generated and rendered using appropriate media to represent texture and materiality.
• Purchase a garment from a second-hand clothing store, or bring something in from home. Unpick until left with panels of fabric. Using only these materials, design a tote bag for a particular audience outlined in the brief. Use a range of manual and digital methods to develop ideas for the tote bag; for example, photograph the panels of fabric and use Photoshop to cut pieces and create various options digitally, before physically completing the final tote bag.
• Teachers propose a selection of problems impacting the environment that could be solved through the design of an object or product; for example: How can we reduce the amount of food packaging used in supermarkets? How can we encourage apartment dwellers to establish balcony gardens? How can we make it safer for kids to ride to school? These problems could be based on the United Nations’ Sustainable Develop Goals (SDGs), or continue a line of questioning explored in Unit 1 Outcome 1.
• Consider the sustainable methods and materials used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to construct baskets and vessels used for a variety of purposes. Discuss the connection of these objects to the place and time in which they were made, as well as influential economic, technological, cultural, environmental and social factors. Compare their design and construction to the methods and processes used to create similar objects in other cultural contexts.
  Use this study as inspiration for your own development of a carrier for a specified purpose such as:
  • a shoulder or cross-body bag
  • carry-on luggage
  • shopping bag
  • school bag
  • picnic basket.
  Investigate sustainable materials and circular design or construction practices when developing the carrier, presenting solutions as a selection of documentation drawings and / or concept board.

Detailed example

Consider changes in design

Select a product or object whose design has changed over time, for example, a juicer. Collate a range of imagery that depicts the evolution of the juicer from its conception through to present day. Determine key moments of evolution (such as Norman Walker’s first juicer in 1930, Philippe Stark’s ‘Juicy Salif’ of 1990, through to the automated juicers of the 21st century) and discuss the ways in which the product has changed and which factors influenced the design.

Reflect on how the design itself may have influenced society and / or other design movements at this time; for example, nutritionist Ann Wigmore’s health institute of the 1960s which advocated for healthy detox juices and clean eating, or the conception of Boost Juice in 2000 by Australian businesswoman Janine Allis, which has had a significant impact globally.

Complete the task in folios, using a combination of imagery and annotations. Delve into multiple design movements in the timeline to gain an understanding of the style in terms of elements, principles, materials, form and function.

Respond to a brief

Teachers: Provide students with a brief which asks them to imagine a juicer in 2030. The brief outlines the client need for the design of a juicer that is either cost-effective, integrates new technologies, and / or inspires positive social change.

Students: Consider how it may be designed differently, what materials it might use, the features it could have, how it would improve sustainability and minimise its negative impact on the environment. Consider circular design practices in the juicer’s life cycle and how the juicer may be re-used or re-purposed once its initial purpose is served. 

Employ divergent thinking strategies to consider the design elements and principles, materials, methods and media to develop design ideas for the juicer. For example: brainstorms, What if? SCAMPER, Action verbs.

Draw design ideas in the folio, annotating justifications for design decisions and critical evaluations for strengths and weaknesses.

Present developed concepts for critique and make refinements to design of choice.

Create finalised rendered isometric and planometric drawings of the juicer to represent its structure and aesthetic qualities, using a combination of manual and / or digital methods, and two-dimensional diagrams to detail how it may be used in future.

Outcome 1

Present an environmental design solution that draws inspiration from its context and a chosen design style.

Examples of learning activities

• Identify a vacant building in a local commercial zone and conduct a site analysis. Use a combination of observational drawing and photography to document the existing site conditions, such as the site dimensions, existing building and its materials, surrounding buildings, solar path, wind direction, topography, and any other relevant information. Use supporting annotations to explain the current state of the site and how this might influence potential future designs, and begin to consider what the site could potentially be used for.
• Visit a local park and discover ways in which it could be reimagined as a more inclusive experience for a wider audience. Complete a SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats) analysis on the existing park, and discover what opportunities there are to engage young children, adults, elderly, disabled, as well as considering how various types of fauna and flora could be embraced.
• Use various research methods to discover and document your understanding of ‘urban sprawl’. Use maps, photographs, diagrams, statistics, and case studies from around the world to explain what urban sprawl is, how it occurs, the issues that arise, and their impact on our world.
• Visit two exhibition spaces (one contemporary and one traditional) and document these through photography, observational drawings and written annotations. Compare and contrast the two spaces with reference to the works on display, the interior (and exterior) design of the space in terms of style, colours, materials and textures. Research further information on the year they were built, the architects who designed the spaces, the surrounding context, any economic, technological, cultural, environmental or social influences on the exhibitions, and document these in your folio.
• 
  Study three contrasting architectural styles / movements, evident among the local landscape, or linked in some way (for example, Opera Houses). Identify the ways in which an example from each style reflects contextual factors including economic, technological, cultural, environmental and social influences. Look for other examples typical of the styles studied, and find contemporary architects who integrate the style into their current designs.
  Next, respond to an environmental design problem: to design a small performance space. This could be indoor or outdoor (or a combination of both), temporary or permanent, with details of the need outlined in the brief. Then respond to the brief and produce options that consider their previous research, and use this as inspiration for their own design concepts.
• Time travel as a class into the past.
  • What designs had or hadn’t been invented where your time machine lands?
  • How did people live and what were their homes like?
  • What significant events were happening at the time and what were their impacts?
  • Interview the oldest person working at the school / an older person in your life / your teacher to find out more about the relationship between design, place and time. What designed objects, places and experiences were part of the interviewee’s daily life as a child? How does this compare to the students’ own ‘designed’ lives?
  Time travel into the future and imagine you are living 20 years from now. Design aspects of a streetscape / urban housing project / other space of choice that addresses the needs of the environment and its inhabitants, while also drawing inspiration from what has been learnt about historical design movements and traditions.
• Research the history of Australian architecture and identify specific design features associated with different styles. Find examples of different styles around Victoria and where possible visit and photograph them. Examples are collated onto a classroom wall or shared in an online document. Select one style and use the style elements to redesign the exterior of a cinema or theatre.
• Identify a fictional client for the environmental design, and describe their background, interests, aspirations, and how that ties in with the focus for the design need. Detail the environmental design need by outlining the purpose and the context, how it will serve the target audience, and what it must achieve.
  Research and describe the target audience, including their lifestyle habits and interests that link them to this space.
  Identify any constraints and expectations that may limit the development of visual communication solutions, such as budget, materials and deadlines.
  The expectations and the needs to be presented to the client at various stages of development can be planned and dates proposed.
  Outline the final presentation format for the design and explain how the concept for the space will be depicted using specified methods, such as drawing (two- and three-dimensional), manual and / or digital-based methods or 3D processes.
  Formalise the written document with dated signatures of both the client (teacher) and designer. The brief may take the form of a letter from the client to the designer, or a structured document.
• Research examples of architecture that juxtapose the original with the contemporary. Examples may include Daniel Lipskind’s extension to the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Frank Gehry’s Dancing House in Prague, and Zaha Hadid’s Port Authority in Antwerp. Document the original buildings and the extensions using imagery in their folios, supported by annotations which discuss the purpose of the extension and how the architects have used design elements such as form, line, colour, and principles such as contrast, scale, proportion and hierarchy, to create their designs.
  Next, research existing buildings built prior to 1960 and consider how they could create a meaningful contemporary extension.
• Consider a selection of environmental design opportunities from which to choose, such as:
  • the need for eco-friendly shelters along remote hiking tracks in the Victorian High Country
  • an outdoor study space at school
  • an open-air gallery space located in an urban alleyway
  • a pop-up servery for a restaurant / cafe needing to pivot to takeaway during the COVID pandemic
  • a youth mental health service
  • temporary housing for people displaced by natural disasters
  • a sculptural wall for either an interior or exterior space
  • a viewing platform for a wildlife sanctuary.
  After an introduction to various historical movements and traditions, apply human-centred research methods, posing questions about potential users to determine their needs and preferences. Also research environmental features of the location, before reframing the design problem in the form of a brief.
  Select design styles from other times and places to research in more depth, and draw on these for inspiration. Also absorb and respond to features in the landscape itself, while considering ways to integrate sustainable features.
  Decide how to resolve and present design proposals, either as documentation drawings or as a model, or both.
• Select one design movement and research the key design features.
  Using these design features, design a space for an online game to address one of the following tasks:
  • Design an interior space with two connecting rooms and exterior access. Your interior space should include furniture.
  • Design an inner-city alleyway set among tall skyscraper buildings. Your design needs to include details of the streetscape.

Detailed example

Select three architectural designs, of contrasting styles / movements, places and times, but that retain some form of link. For example, the following architectural examples are all opera houses, but are very different in terms of their style, time, and place:

• Oslo Opera House (Norway) Opened 2008
• Sydney Opera House (Australia) Opened 1973
• Hungarian State Opera House (Hungary) Opened 1884

Use the Discover stage to research the three opera houses and conduct a short report, or annotated display in folios, which outlines how the style of each building reflects contextual factors including economic, technological, cultural, environmental and social influences. Use design terminology to explain and evaluate design decisions made within each of the buildings, which may be in response to the materials used, the form of the design, or other factors. Conduct further research by looking at other designs by the same architects, and / or different architects within a similar style, time or place, and compare and contrast the designs.

Use the Define stage to write a brief that outlines the environmental design problem and that centres around the need for a multi-disciplinary performance space in a particular location of choice. For instance, it may be a temporary design for a performance space at a local park that is erected for the summer months, where local performances (carols, school plays, youth bands, etc.) can take place. Alternatively, it may be the design of a permanent, medium-sized building (for example in a regional or suburban space) with room for orchestras, larger school productions, dance competitions, etc.

Carry out an analysis of the site using a combination of observational drawing and photography to document the existing site conditions; for example: the site dimensions, existing building and its materials, surrounding buildings, solar path, wind direction, topography, and any other relevant information. Use supporting annotations to explain the current state of the site and how this might influence the design for the performance space.

Apply the Develop stage of the design process to collate inspiration (through the form of imagery, articles, artefacts, interviews, documentaries, etc.) and annotate these in folios using convergent thinking strategies to synthesise ideas.

Then use a combination of two-dimensional and three-dimensional schematic and ideation sketches to generate a range of ideas relevant to the brief.

Collate these ideas and present them to the teacher and peers for critique, before developing these ideas further into technical drawings, such as floor plans, elevations, perspective and planometric drawings. Try to work with three-dimensional materials, such as cardboard, balsa wood, wire, Lego, to construct and develop ideas physically. Consideration for materials, methods and media, along with design elements and principles are essential during this stage of the process.

Use another critique and / or critical evaluation techniques to determine the relevance of the design to the brief, as well as its appropriateness to the context, audience and purpose.

Collect and reflect on feedback and apply the Deliver stage of the Design Process, by presenting ideas onto a concept board with a range of finalised two- and three-dimensional drawings. A three-dimensional model can be added as an extension task.

Outcome 2

Apply culturally appropriate design practices and an understanding of the designer’s ethical and legal responsibilities when designing personal iconography.

Examples of learning activities

• Designers evolve culturally appropriate design practices through a combination of research, collaboration and sensitivity to the cultural context in which they are working. Here are a few key steps that can be takee to ensure that designs are culturally appropriate:
  1. Research the cultural context: Designers must conduct research to understand the cultural context in which they are working. This includes understanding the values, beliefs and traditions of the culture, as well as any relevant historical or social context.
  2. Collaborate with local experts: Designers should work closely with local experts, such as historians and community leaders, to gain a deeper understanding of the cultural context and to ensure that their designs are respectful and appropriate.
  3. Consider the user experience: Designers must design with the end user in mind and take into account the user's cultural background and experience. They should ensure that their designs are accessible and understandable to the intended audience.
  4. Be sensitive to cultural norms: Designers must be aware of cultural norms and avoid designs that may be offensive or inappropriate. This includes understanding taboos and avoiding designs that could be perceived as disrespectful or insensitive.
  5. Iterate and adapt: Finally, designers must be willing to iterate and adapt their designs based on feedback from the local community. They should be open to learning from their mistakes and making changes to ensure that their designs are culturally appropriate and effective.
  Working in groups, review the five steps, identifying any steps that may present challenges as a design student. Discuss ways that these challenges could be overcome along with solutions. Each group reports back to the class.
• Browse the following websites before answering the questions below, working in small groups:
  Australian Indigenous Design Charter
  Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts
  1. What type of protocols are in place to protect the IP of Indigenous designers and artists?
  2. What Indigenous works and / or materials are not currently protected by IP laws?
  3. If you wanted to use an Indigenous artwork or design as inspiration, what steps should you take?
  4. As a designer, describe your ethical and legal responsibilities when it comes to using the work of First Nations artists and designers. This could be in reference to using the work as inspiration, using an image as a starting point, or as part of your research.
• David Unaipon (Ngarrindjeri) is one of our significant early Australian designers. Investigate his life and work, specifically looking into the lack of recognition of his design work during his lifetime, and issues around the patents of his product designs. Begin your investigation by looking at the Australian fifty dollar note, and the inscription written underneath the illustration of Unaipon.
• Investigate Australian designer Marcus Lee, specifically his design work for sporting garments such as guernseys. Select a local sporting group and design the graphics for a guernsey. Your graphics need to include icons, patterns and colours that are based on local elements or features of your suburb or community. This might include flora and fauna, natural landmarks such as parks or well known buildings and structures.
  Resources:
  Marcus Lee
  Basketball Melbourne
• As a class, develop a database of Indigenous (both Australian and abroad) and historically marginalised designers. Commence the database by researching Solid Lines, a First Nations-led illustration agency in Melbourne, supported by the Jacky Winter Group.
  Hold conversations about why the voices of these designers and their communities are absent from eurocentric design histories and narratives, and the impact of this absence on our perceptions of ‘good design’. Choose a designer (from newly developed databases) to profile and share the work as a resource, via a poster or page layout.
• American graphic designer Susan Kare gained fame in the early 1980s for her work designing interface icons and typefaces for the first Apple Macintosh computer. When designing her icons, Kare worked manually using pencil or pen on grid paper. Using her approach to generating ideas, create a set of four pixel-style icons on graph paper. Choose your own theme for the set of icons or select one of the following: animals, stationery, tools, weather, plant species. Transfer the graph paper designs into a vector editing software program and refine. Present four icons on a concept presentation board.
• The Aboriginal message stick may be one of the earliest forms of communication between people. Choose or create a story, message, or information to share with someone. Deliberately use the elements and principles of design, communicate the message as a set of six icons.
• Investigate the use of motifs and icons on contemporary Aboriginal garments. Select a favourite genre / style of music and create a list of words to describe it. Using this word list, generate and develop a concept for an icon that can represent a favourite genre of music. The icon may be abstract, but you need to be able to justify its meaning. Create a lino carving of the icon and print pinto fabric or, alternatively, scan and create a pattern repeat in Illustrator and expose onto a silk screen. Print fabric and create a reusable lunch bag or apply the pattern to a product such as a skateboard.
  Resources:
  Melbourne Fashion Week 2022
  First Nations Fashion and Design
• Gather together a collection of objects / items that are personally meaningful and represent as an ‘Instagram flat lay’ by arranging objects on a flat surface and photographing them from above. Generate ideas from the photographs for a set of icons.
• Research individual cultural heritages and integrate elements of them into a set of personal icons, a suite of symbols and / or patterns. Alternatively, determine a place of personal significance and create a series of icons, symbols or patterns to represent the place. Evolve the icons, symbols or patterns into a textile pattern, surface print or wallpaper.
• Align personal aspects with the design elements and principles. What colours are you drawn to the most? With what shape do you connect more than others? What sort of balance typifies your character? Research historical and cultural meanings and applications of selected elements and principles (for example, the significance or symbolic meaning of colour across communities) to further appreciate their potential to communicate meaning, before creating a personal icon.
• Apply culturally appropriate design practices and an understanding of the designer’s ethical and legal responsibilities when designing personal iconography.
  Undertake one or more of the following tasks to support further understanding of this area of study:
  • Explore the history, practices and foundational contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Australian design identity, for example: Read the story of the collaboration of Indigenous artists with Breville.
  • As a class, develop a database of Indigenous (both Australian and abroad) and historically marginalised designers. Facilitate conversations about why the voices of these designers and their communities are absent from eurocentric design histories and narratives, and the impact of this absence on our perceptions of ‘good design’.
  • Select an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander designer and analyse their work and practices in a short report with annotated images.
  • Investigate culturally appropriate design practices including protocols for the creation and commercial use of Indigenous knowledge such as those published in:
    • Australian Indigenous Design Charter
    • Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts.
  • Read Alison Page’s information booklet for the Australian Government and IP Australia, called Nanga Mai Arung, Dream Shield: A Guide to protecting designs, brands and inventions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
• 
  Investigate the history of playing cards icons: spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. Redesign a new set of four icons that are based upon personal interests.
  These interests may include:

  • Favourite animal, bird, insect
  • Favourite food
  • Favourite type of music
  • Favourite plant

  Alternatively, select a theme such as four types of birds, four types of dessert.
  Use a limited colour palette and select an appropriate font to reflect the icon design.
  Present the four icons as Ace Cards at a scale of 2:1, as a digital presentation.
  An extension task can be to animate each icon as a moving gif.
  

Additional advice for Area of Study 2

Alongside the themes suggested above, teachers should tailor their projects so that they can be approached in a variety of ways. A student might, for example, depict a place they would like to visit rather than revisit past memories, or depict an imaginary day in the future rather than an actual day they have experienced in the past.

• Additional information regarding teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander design can be gained through the following websites:
  • Australian Indigenous Design Charter
  • Protocols for using First nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts
  • VAEAI – Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc. which is the peak Koorie community organisation for education and training in Victoria. VAEAI has produced the Protocols for Koorie Education in Victorian schools to support teachers and students when learning about local, regional, state, national and international Indigenous perspectives.
  • Further resources are published by the Victorian Department of Education for teaching and learning using Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives. The Framework for Embedding Koorie Cultures, Histories and Perspectives in Victorian Schools can also help guide teacher planning for their Media courses.
  • Teachers are also encouraged to refer to resources such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples when developing coursework for Unit 2 Area of Study 2.

Detailed example

Playing card icons have cultural significance as they reflect the values and symbols of the regions where they were created and have been adapted over time to different cultures.

Investigate the history of playing card icons and the way they have been used in different cultures. In contrast, investigate the icon and symbol design work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander designers and the way that their design work responds to Country.

Prepare a presentation that describes the ways that you can as a student designer, apply culturally appropriate design practices when designing your own set of icons or symbols. Your presentation needs to address the differences between ethical and legal responsibilities when using the work of others.

Written task

Prepare a presentation that describes the ways that, as a student designer, you can apply culturally appropriate design practices when designing your own set of icons or symbols. Your presentation needs to address the differences between ethical and legal responsibilities when using the work of others.

Practical task

Re-design the icons used to represent the four suits in a set of playing cards. The icons are to be based upon one of the following:

• your cultural heritage
• a place of personal significance
• animals, birds, insects, food or music.

Constraints

• Use a limited colour palette.
• Include a specific aesthetic style; for example, icons based on the use of outlines and solid colours or figure-ground.
• Final icons are to be presented on an Ace card at a scale of 2:1.
• Final presentation is to be digital.

Activities

Identify and define the key design considerations and factors of an icon in a group discussion using devices to analyse existing icons and the visual language that these visual communications employ. This is a form of unpacking the brief and is the analytical thinking that forms the basis of research for understanding this task.

After selecting a direction for this project, brainstorm ideas for the four icons including options for the icons and icon graphic style. Create a mood board based upon research and brainstorming of ideas that includes potential styles of graphics for the set of icons. Reference sources for each image within the mood board using appropriate referencing. This research for inspiration may draw on historical references for iconography, including Indigenous examples, and contemporary examples found in app design for mobile devices and computer gaming graphics references.

Create visualisation drawings for each icon, using divergent thinking strategies such as ‘What if…’, ‘SCAMPER’ and ‘Word Associations’. When generating and developing ideas, consider design elements and principles that could be used to create a unified set of icons such as shape, colour, line, figure-ground, balance, cropping and scale.

To further extend ideas, develop personal icons by exploring manual methods such as collage with paper, drawing icons on grid paper or creating watercolour icons that can be scanned and edited digitally. At this stage, think about a concept that sits behind the icon design, using a visual language to connect the suit. The style of the icons may be based around pixels, flat shapes, lines, including outlines, isometric, hand drawn or even animated.

The design development and refinement is then produced using digital methods. The stylised nature of the icons lends itself to vector graphics; however, some styles may need more rendered and tonal effects for their designs. In this case, raster graphics may be the more preferred media. At this point, decide if the final presentation will be digital or printed as this will affect the file set up. Learn about setting up digital files including, RGB and CYMK, pixels, grids and file types.

Test the icons on peers to establish their effectiveness in communicating the appropriate message, and then respond to feedback by adjusting designs prior to final presentation.

The four icon designs are submitted as four Ace Card designs at a scale of 2:1, as a digital presentation or printed and submitted on a presentation board.

An extension task can be to animate each icon as a moving gif.

Outcome 3

Apply the VCD design process to design an interface for a digital product, environment or service.

Examples of learning activities

• Create a map or diagram visualising how designers from various fields of practice collaborate to develop an interactive experience. Identify the role of the brief in guiding these collaborations.
• Compile a collection of interaction design examples from a range of digital platforms. Using your understanding of good design, look for both exemplary designs and poorly executed ones, while justifying your criteria for selection. Revisit the Gestalt principles of visual perception and identify how these have been used (or ignored) in selected designs and discuss their role in establishing visual impact and useability for diverse audiences.
• Choose two websites or digital apps designed for contrasting audiences and purposes. Compare the aesthetic components of each interface, and how they have been designed with each audience and purpose in mind.
• Study a selection of brands or services and how they interact with their users, customers or audiences. Explore the shifts that have occurred in the realm of advertising, contrasting past and present contexts while hypothesising about the future. Compare, for example, traditional avenues such as magazine and television advertising with avenues preferred by Gen X audiences, who consume, comment on, and create visual content, and who look to social media platforms for inspiration and information. Consider how this has changed the way audiences interact with brands, and how businesses and advertisers present their content to consumers.
• Document the services and experiences you encounter as part of daily life, and where there might be potential to address a design need or opportunity using a digital interface. Some examples might include:
  • catching public transport
  • making an online purchase
  • enrolling to vote
  • organising a party or event
  • attending a music festival, exhibition or open day
  • looking for a part-time job
  • accessing a mental health service
  • creating a playlist using a music streaming service
  • connecting with friends or like-minded communities.
  
  Employ a range of human-centred research methods to further understand your chosen problem, opportunity or need, and identify the touchpoints and pain points evident in the interactive experience. This process might reveal a service that could be redesigned and improved, or a gap in the market ready to be filled. Develop ideas for a digital interface to address the design need, producing low-fidelity prototypes to test ideas and gain feedback before developing a mock-up of the proposal.
• Adopt an unfamiliar persona and use human-centred research methods to learn more about the interactive experiences this person would access as part of their life. This might be a parent doing the weekly grocery shop, a vision-impaired person, a person seeking asylum in Australia or a young person with very different interests to your own. Compare your interests with the interests of other students in the class. Explore existing services for the selected persona to better understand the strengths and limitations of touchpoints and identify how improvements could be made. Record the findings as a user or customer profile with descriptions such as behaviours, goals, motivations, and frustrations. Consider ways in which a digital interface might be used to address the design opportunity.
• Explore a selection of apps or digital platforms designed to address a human need, such as wellbeing, fitness, entertainment, music streaming or navigation. Consider the following:
  • How has the user’s experience in this area changed with the advancement of digital technologies and interface design?
  • How do the chosen examples accommodate the needs of diverse users?
• 
  Choose one goal from the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals to inform the development of a digital interface designed to positively influence human behaviours.
  
• Create a digital portfolio showcasing your own design projects, combining personal icons created for Unit 2 Outcome 2 with selected work, and choosing how best to assist visitors in their navigation through the collection.
• Individually or in small teams, respond to a design challenge requiring an interactive campaign with multiple digital touchpoints, such as: ‘How might we encourage young people to wear sunscreen?’ or ‘How might we encourage males to prioritise their mental health?’
• Develop a user journey map from observations of a peer navigating a new interactive experience. Document the stages, steps, emotions, touchpoints, and pain points that they encounter along the way, and where there might be design opportunities to improve the experience.
• Develop a site map to analyse how users are guided through the content of a website and use an understanding of good design to evaluate the experience.
• Develop a user flow diagram to visualise a user’s interaction with a new digital product, or how a customer will perform a single task. Test the flow using low-fidelity wireframes and make adjustments informed by the feedback you receive.
• Behaviour mapping exercise
  Complete a behaviour mapping exercise as part of the Discover and Define stages of the design process, to assist in identifying and defining the target audience and their needs. Use questions below as prompts.
  • What is the outcome we wish to achieve?
  • What does our audience need to know, feel and / or do?
  • What does our audience think, feel and do right now?
  • What shifts in thinking or doing do we need to support?
  • What or who might support this shift?
  • Does the desired shift present an interaction design opportunity?
  • How might we narrow the scope and reframe the original question?

Detailed example

Choose a United Nations Sustainability Development Goal to inform the development of a digital interface designed to positively influence human behaviours.

Discover and Define

Explore the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals and choose one on which to focus. Identify a design opportunity aligned with your chosen goal and frame this as a ‘How Might We’ question. For example:

Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
How might our local community better support people seeking asylum?

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
How can we make Melbourne a more sustainable city?

Identify the audience or users whose behaviour you wish to impact in positive ways, and use both secondary research and human-centred methods to learn more about their feelings, actions and experiences. Use this information to develop a user profile.

Complete a behaviour mapping exercise to clarify the intended outcomes of the project, and with these deeper insights into the problem at hand, reframe the original question so that the project’s scope is neither too narrow nor broad.

Use this reframed question to guide the formation of a brief addressing your selected interaction design opportunity and describing criteria for a digital interface or campaign.

Develop and Deliver

Explore existing interaction design examples, drawing inspiration from exemplary digital interfaces and noting the aesthetic components that contribute to their success. Consider accessibility for audiences with diverse needs and note how various specialist design practitioners have collaborated to shape the user experience.

Sketch a user journey map or site map to better understand how users navigate your chosen examples, and where potential pain points might lie.

Develop a user flow diagram to visualise the sequence of actions you wish users to perform when navigating your own digital interface or engaging with touchpoints in a digital campaign. Take note of how you wish tasks to start, end, and connect to others; and the steps and information needed for the user to reach their goal.

Test the user flow by sketching low-fidelity wireframes, exploring the potential structure, hierarchy, and layout of pages using simple grayscale combinations of line and shape.

Seek and document feedback from others, annotating your wireframes and using an iterative process while evaluating the strengths and limitations of ideas. At the same time, collect or create content for the interface or campaign (such as copy, imagery or video) ready to add during the next stage of concept development.

Select a concept for further refinement, experimenting with colour, type and graphic elements before developing a low-fidelity prototype to share for testing purposes. Your prototype might be presented as a static collection of screen layouts or developed using software to incorporate interactive elements.

Seek and respond to feedback, making refinements before presenting the final interaction design proposal as a concept board with mockups and an accompanying rationale.

Sample behaviour mapping exercise

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
‘Fast fashion’ is a term used to describe the rapid production of low-quality clothing in high volumes, a practice that is both unethical and unsustainable. How might we reduce people’s consumption of fast fashion?

What is the outcome we wish to achieve?

A reduction in fast fashion purchases particularly among Gen Z consumers

What do our audience need to know, feel and / or do?

They need to know the social, economic and environmental impacts of fast fashion, and how to reduce their consumption while still being able to experiment with trends and personal style.

They need to feel concerned about the impact of fast fashion, and compelled to make ethical shopping decisions. They need to feel inspired to think about how, when and where they shop for clothes, and to support ethical and sustainable fashion brands and initiatives.

They need to do the following:

• shop for quality not quantity
• experiment with existing wardrobe items to create fresh looks
• prioritise second-hand purchases
• rent, recycle, reimagine or handmake garments
• shop for fashion brands using sustainable and ethical production methods and materials, particularly local and independent labels

What does our audience think, feel and do right now?

Secondary research alongside surveys and interviews with Gen Z consumers found that:

• Australians acquire on average 56 new pieces of clothing and discard 23 kilos to landfill each year.
• The average person wears only 40% of their clothes. They buy 60% more than they did fifteen years ago, but only keep them for half as long.
• A British survey found one in three young women consider a garment ‘old’ after wearing it once or twice.
• Gen Z consumers consider second-hand fashion purchases to be cool, and an opportunity to wear one-of-a-kind pieces.
• Gen Z consumers are more likely to be fluid in their style, self-expression, and sources of inspiration.
• Gen Z consumers are open to models of garment ownership other than new acquisition, such as rental and resale.

Resources:

Fast fashion
The end of ownership for fashion products

What shifts in thinking or doing do we need to support?

From buying and discarding excessive amounts of fast fashion, to making sustainable and ethical choices when shopping for clothes.

What might support this shift?

• Awareness of the environmental and social impacts of fast fashion
• Awareness of alternatives to fast fashion consumption, and inspiration to adopt them
• Examples of how to experiment with, and repurpose one’s existing wardrobe
• Knowledge about where to buy sustainable clothing brands

Who might support this shift?

• Influencers who support sustainable fashion choices
• A community of likeminded people who inspire others to adopt sustainable practices

Does the desired shift present an interaction design opportunity?

• Instagram campaign featuring influencers pledging to month-long ‘fashion fasts’ and demonstrating inspirational ways to repurpose clothes
• A clothing rental website
• Online wardrobe gallery where members upload looks, etc.
• Awareness campaign of fast fashion’s environmental / social impact
• Fashion dolls app

How might we narrow the scope and reframe the original question?

How might we inspire Gen Z fashionistas to experiment with their existing wardrobe rather than frequently shop at fast fashion stores?

Outcome 1

Compare the ways in which visual communication practices are used by contemporary designers, using research methods and practical exploration.

Examples of learning activities

• Visit the workplaces of two designers practising in the same or similar field but in very different contexts, such as a multidisciplinary agency, small studio, freelance arrangement or in-house for a company or brand. Prepare a written report comparing the contexts in which they work, their applications of visual communication practices and processes, and how they collaborate with others, both in and beyond the workplace, to address design opportunities.
• Conduct online research to identify the role of visual communication in a chosen field of design practice. Learn about signature ways of thinking and working in the field, together with conventions and terminology typically used to communicate ideas. Search for two designers working in your chosen field but whose use of methods, materials or processes is very different from one another. You might, for example, choose an illustrator specialising in hand lettering and another who produces digital animations. Prepare an annotated visual report comparing the contexts in which your chosen designers work, while highlighting their relationships with specialists and stakeholders, and the factors that influence their design practice.
• Present an annotated timeline documenting the ways in which a field of design practice has evolved over time, taking note of influential technological, economic, cultural, environmental and social factors. Also take note of how conceptions of good design have changed over time, together with legal and ethical obligations. Identify seminal designers working in the field, both in the past and present, adding them to the timeline. Speculate about ways in which the design field might further evolve in the future.
• Arrange a presentation from designers working for the same studio or brand, but with differing responsibilities. This might be a user-experience designer and motion graphics designer working for an app developer, or a wayfinding specialist and interior designer working for an architectural practice. Learn about the ways in which each practitioner contributes to the design and decision-making process, and uses visual communication practices as part of their role. Create a presentation of your findings.
• 
  Conduct a remote interview with designers who work at separate design practices but are contributing to the same design project. This might be a lead architect representing a large multidisciplinary practice who is collaborating with a smaller studio specialising in sustainability for the redesign of a cultural precinct. Alternatively, it might be a fashion designer and visual merchandiser collaborating on a runway show. Learn about the roles and relationships between your chosen designers, and how they use visual language to communicate ideas to audiences, stakeholders, and one another. Present a reflective summary of the interview with imagery to support written descriptions.
  
• Map the working relationships between designers, specialists and stakeholders that characterise a chosen field of design practice. Identify factors that influence these relationships, together with the nature, timing and obligations of these connections. Accompany your map with written elaborations on the contexts, methods, materials and processes, and the role of visual language that characterise your chosen design field.
• Embark on two practical design exercises to learn more about the visual communication practices used by designers you have studied. To ensure the exercises are achievable in the allocated time frame, aim to explore selected stages or skills rather than all components of a design process. You might choose to focus on skills or knowledge that you would like to develop or refine, or that will benefit your future folio work. Some examples are provided below.
  • An architectural plan and perspective drawing of an existing or designed structure
  • Experimentations with type using Adobe Illustrator, and a brand identity proposal
  • Rendered development drawings exploring a range of materials, media and methods, and an orthogonal drawing with relevant documentation conventions
  • A user journey map for an existing website and selection of low-fidelity wireframes for a new interface design
  • A digital repeat pattern and low fidelity package prototype.
• Combine Unit 3 Areas of Study 1 and 2, aligning case studies of professional design practice with accompanying practical exercises and analyses of design examples from selected fields. Choose, for example, a designer to study from each or some of the fields of design practice and find samples of their work online. Pair designer profiles with critical reflections of selected projects in the form of a comparative analysis. Some potential case studies with accompanying practical exercises are listed below.
  • Explore the visual communication practices used by Gemma O’Brien in her production of hand-drawn lettering and custom typography, before analysing her creation of a wall mural for Tiffany & Co in Shanghai. Embark on your own manipulation of type using both digital and manual methods and produce four interpretations of the same word.
  • Explore the visual communication practices used by creative director and event designer Amanda Henderson who, together with her team at Gloss Creative, specialise in the design of temporary events, spaces, sets and retail installations. Analyse Gloss Creative’s visual merchandising for Sportsgirl’s Brave New World campaign. Then, respond to a brief requiring the design of a pop-up Christmas wrapping counter at Myer Melbourne. Present your proposal as a concept board including a floor plan and elevation.
  • Explore the visual communication practices used by Cindy Lee Davies in the development of her Lightly homewares brand and analyse the Lightly garden vessel collection. Develop your own page of ideation sketches for a pendant light, exploring marker rendering techniques.
  • Explore the visual communication practices used in audience engagement at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) and the museum’s technological transformation and renew of journey experience. Complete an analysis of ‘The Lens’, an interactive navigation device created exclusively for visitors to use both in and beyond the ACMI’s museum space, before developing your own journey experience map for a given location.
• Complete two practical design exercises in response to an open-ended, multidisciplinary brief, keeping in mind that a complete design process with finished proposals is not a requirement of this outcome. The brief could take inspiration from designers studied during this outcome and should invite various fields of design practice to be explored. A sample project might be as follows:
  Ponchu is a new brand of stationary and desk accessories featuring vibrant patterns and a punchy colour palette. With a product range ready to launch, Ponchu require a brand strategy with accompanying visual language and marketing campaign, proposals for new stationary and packaging ranges, interior design for a small retail space, a website including online store, and a new fidget toy to add to their range.
  
  Some design exercises you might produce in response to this brief include:
  • a selection of repeat pattern experiments in varying colourways, and a documentation drawing of the shop interior with proposed finishes and fittings
  • a brand strategy proposal and mock ups for an advertising campaign
  • A user journey map for an existing website and selection of low-fidelity wireframes for a new interface design
  • development drawings for a fidget toy and set of icons for Ponchu’s website interface.
• Visit a location in or near your school that presents a range of design opportunities, using these as starting points for the completion of two practical design exercises. This location could be:
  • a local park in need of more seating options, clearer signage, updated play equipment, refreshed landscaping and more engaging interactive experiences for visitors
  • a school library in need of a quiet reading space with flexible furnishing options and a promotional campaign to encourage reading
  • a bus shelter offering high visibility advertising space, but in need of improved weather protection for diverse users and a more accessible timetable.

Detailed example

Conduct a remote interview with designers who work at separate design practices but are contributing to the same design project. This might be a lead architect representing a large multidisciplinary practice who is collaborating with a smaller studio specialising in sustainability for the redesign of a cultural precinct. Alternatively, it might be a fashion designer and visual merchandiser collaborating on a runway show.

Learn about the roles and relationships between your chosen designers, and how they use visual language to communicate ideas to audiences, stakeholders, and one another. Present a reflective summary of the interview with imagery to support written descriptions.

In groups, study a multidisciplinary design project such as ACMI’s museum experience renewal, where creative collaborations include the disciplines of architecture, exhibition and experience design, lighting, interior design, web and product development, wayfinding and brand strategy. Collect information via interviews, site visits or internet research about the design practices and processes used by key practitioners involved in the project, and investigate their collaborative partnerships with stakeholders, specialists, and one another. Identify factors that have influenced how these design practitioners approach their work and professional relationships, while noting techniques used to evaluate design ideas and the role of visual language in addressing design problems.

Choose one field of design practice featured in the multidisciplinary project for further study. The field of design practice may be one that students can explore further in the School-assessed Task. Research more widely into the signature practices of others working in this field, drawing comparisons between their methods, media, materials, contexts and conceptions of good design, together with the varying roles of visual communication. Identify ways in which these practices have changed over time and describe factors influencing the field’s evolution, including ethical and legal responsibilities. Consider how the chosen design field might further evolve in the future. Present findings as a comparative analysis alongside annotated imagery.

Complete two practical design exercises aimed at developing specific skills or knowledge that will be of benefit for future folio work. For example:

• Explore digital rendering techniques in Photoshop and illustrate a chrome kettle.
• Complete a perspective drawing of a building, including landscape to suggest the context.
• Illustrate two garments using maker rendering to emphasis form, colour and texture.
• Use the design elements and principles to generate ideas for a logo. Take one idea and use coloured paper to further generate ideas through the method of collage.

Present the design exercises alongside the comparative analysis, with an accompanying reflection on the learning that took place.

Outcome 2

Compare and analyse design examples from selected field(s) of design practice, describing how aesthetic considerations contribute to the effective communication of information or ideas.

Examples of learning activities

How can visual language communicate to audiences and shape behaviours?

• Draw on material and content from Area of Study 1 to investigate the use of visual language.
  Provided with examples of visual communications from messages, objects, environments, and interactive experiences fields of design, observe the visual communication in these examples and then describe what can be seen. Unpack each example by identifying the use of visual language and describing how this may engage the target audience. Describe how the visual language communicates ideas and information through visual means.

Purposes

• Select an example of a visual communication from each of the four design fields. Identify the purpose for each example and explain how the designer has met the purpose, referring to the use of visual language.

Characteristics of an audience

• In pairs, undertake the thinking routine ‘Think, Pair, Share’.
  Provided with examples of visual communications from different fields of design, work in pairs to identify the target audience. Initially, think independently about the target audience, then take turns to share thoughts. Listening carefully to your partner so that you can later explain their  thinking. Each pair then summarises their ideas and shares with the whole class.

Definitions and vocabulary

• Identify and develop definitions and vocabulary for terms to describe the factors that impact on design, including aesthetics, historical events, cultural observances, social values and lifestyles, political changes, economic growth and depression, technological advances. Support the vocabulary list with visual examples.

Aesthetic decisions

• Consider the type of aesthetic decisions that are made by designers when producing messages, objects, environments or interactive experiences. Complete this task by identifying examples of aesthetic decisions made by designers in the different fields of design practice. An example follows:
  

  Messages	Objects	Environments	Interactive experiences
  A typeface that is more legible	A material that has a glossier reflection to appeal to an expensive market	A more open plan to accommodate for a small space to look bigger	To provide fewer options to create an easier and smoother process

Mapping analysis

• Find one example of a visual communication from each of the four design fields.
  For each example, identify and label the design elements and principles, Gestalt principles of visual perception and the methods, media and materials used to create the visual communication. Annotate how these have been used effectively to meet the purpose and context.
  

Aesthetic considerations

• Complete a short-answer visual analysis of existing visual communications from two different design fields, describing how aesthetic considerations contribute to the effective communication. At the end of the analysis, explain how you might use the same aesthetic considerations as inspiration for research when discovering and defining design problems for the School-assessed Task.

Influencing factors

• Working in small groups, investigate the influence of technological, economic, cultural, social or environmental factors on design decisions. Create a table of examples for each design field and share your results with the class to produce a common document for future activities.

Design features

• Complete a short, written analysis focusing on the design features and characteristics of two examples of Australian architecture. The two examples need to show the architect's different use of methods, including drawing (manual or digital), model-making or prototyping, visualisation drawing and / or technical drawing. Discuss how the architect uses these methods and any associated conventions to communicate information to a target audience.

Brand design

• Visit the Victorian Premier's Design Awards website and select an example of a winning brand design. Describe how the designer has achieved a consistent brand across a range of design collateral.

Interactive experiences

• Select an example of where interaction design has been applied, such as an app, and describe how aesthetic considerations (specifically the use of the Gestalt principles of visual perception) have been used to create an effective experience. The response must identify the target audience and purpose.

Australian architect

• Research the work of Australian architect Glenn Murcutt and in particular his work on the Newport Mosque. Discuss the way this work is influenced by social and cultural factors.

Australian Design Awards

• Examine a range of contemporary product designs found on the Better Future website. Select two products and consider how the industrial designers have addressed the relationships between aesthetic decisions and the purposes, contexts of products that they have designed.

Design styles

• Collect examples from past design styles that could have influenced current designers. How have technological, economic, cultural, social or environmental factors or influences changed?

Pavillion design

• Investigate the MPavilion program and the past examples of pavilion design. Identify and discuss the context and culture, purpose and audience of the pavilions and examine how design elements and principles, methods, materials and media have been best used to attract attention and maintain engagement of a specific audience.

Design comparison

• 
  Compare design examples from selected design fields, describing how aesthetic considerations contribute to the effective communication of information or ideas. Complete a written report that compares and analyses two unseen design examples under test conditions.
  

Detailed example

Compare design examples from selected design fields, describing how aesthetic considerations contribute to the effective communication of information or ideas.

Learning activities

As a class look at examples of good design from the design fields of messages, objects, environments, and interactive design. Using these examples, identify criteria for good design and then discuss why these are examples of good design.

Working in small groups collect examples of good design for each design field and arrange in a digital format, such as a digital whiteboard or PowerPoint, for collaboration purposes. Begin by looking at the Victorian Premier's Design Awards or Melbourne Now. For each example, identify purposes, contexts and the target audience and discuss how a visual language is used to engage and maintain the attention of the target audience.

Independently, select two visual communications from different design fields or a single design field. If choosing examples from the same design field, ensure that the examples are different in purpose, context and use of methods, media and materials. Use a Venn Diagram to identify the similarities and differences.

Written task

Complete a written report that compares and analyses two unseen design examples under test conditions. Use the following prompts to assist in comparing the similarities and differences:

• Describe the visual communication.
• Describe the target audience or users.
• Identify and discuss the purposes and contexts.
• Identify two design elements and two design principles. With reference to the visual communication, explain how they have been used to communicate an idea or message.
• Identify the use of methods, media and materials. Choose one of each to discuss how they have been used to target the audience, purpose and context.
• Discuss how visual language is used to engage the audience and maintain their attention.
• Depending on the field of design, how has the designer influenced how users experience, interact, and respond with places, systems and things?
• What factors may have influenced a design decision?
• How would the designer respond to ethical and legal requirements?
• Why is this an example of good design?
• What are the similarities and differences?

Outcome 3

Identify two communication needs for a client, prepare a brief and develop design ideas, while applying the VCD design process and design thinking strategies.

Examples of learning activities

Discover and Define

During the Discover and Define stages of the design process, students may undertake a series of exercises such as:

• Conduct user research
  Interview potential users and target audience members, gathering information about their needs, what they appreciate, what could be improved, etc. For instance, a student may ask 10 people of various age ranges and demographics to use a particular product for a week, before preparing a series of questions with a variety of answer types (agreement scales, yes / no, comments, etc.) and survey them on the successes and shortcomings of the product.
• Analyse competitors
  Students may trial, using existing products and services already existing on the market, to draw their own conclusions on what works and what doesn’t. For example, they may download five different fitness apps and over the course of a fortnight they might track their exercise movements using each app and then summarise their findings in their folio. The folio may contain accompanying screenshots of the user interface for each app, summaries and rating scales of how ‘user friendly’ the applications were, how they could be improved, unique features of each, etc.
• Ethical research practices
  Teachers use a range of common research scenarios and pose questions to the class on how they would respond. Students discuss the ethical dilemmas that designers are faced with when conducting research, and how they can overcome these situations.
• Create personas
  Develop fictional characters that represent the target audience to help guide the design process. Complete a user profile for each persona and explain how they might have a need for a particular design. For example, it might be creating personas for refugees and asylum seekers new to Australia, and documenting their needs for housing, transport, food, education, jobs, etc. This may lead to ideas around ways in which design could help accommodate migrants to Australia through architecture, government applications and services, or products.
• Information and imagery
  Students gather information and imagery from a range of sources (books, Internet, physical artefacts). They use written annotations to discuss and evaluate the use of design elements and principles and how they are used effectively to communicate messages to the audience. They can also comment on the use of different materials, methods and media used by the designer, explaining possible decisions based on these aspects.
• Empathise with users
  Students put themselves in the shoes of the target user and then create a journey map of their experience, considering what type of design might assist this target audience in their daily life.
• Observations
  Students pay attention to daily experiences and identify areas of inefficiency. They can document these through a combination of word lists, journal entries, drawings and photographs.
• Brainstorming
  As a class or in small groups, work in teams to brainstorm a range of issues or problems that could be solved through design. Students may start with broad areas of focus, such as global issues / current affairs, health, education, crime, transport, etc., before narrowing down on more specific concerns around each area that could be improved by design.
• Researching current events
  To stay informed about current events and new developments, students take a newspaper or magazine, cut out different articles and place them in their folios, identifying ways in which they could address these issue through design.

Synthesise findings

• Based on the research and analysis conducted, students synthesise their findings using convergent thinking strategies to begin defining a design problem. For example, the design problem may be to develop a new product that makes it easier for people with disabilities to access public transport. The product should be reliable, convenient and affordable, and address the key challenges faced by people with disabilities when using public transport.

Write a brief

• Students write a single design brief for a real or fictional client. This could be a letter from the client’s perspective or a return brief from the designer to the client.
  They identify a real or fictional client and describe their background, interests, aspirations, and how that ties in with the focus for the design needs.
  Students provide details on the two distinctively different design needs by outlining the purpose and the context, how it will serve the target audience, and what it must achieve.
  They outline any constraints and expectations that may limit the development of visual communication solutions, such as budget, materials and deadlines.
  The brief should also identify the final presentation format for the design and explain how the concept for the space will be depicted, using specified methods such as drawing (two- and three-dimensional), manual and / or digital-based methods, 3D processes, etc.
  These areas are formalised in the written document with dated signatures of both the client (teacher) and designer (student).

Develop

During the develop stage of the design process, students may undertake a series of exercises such as:

• Mind mapping
  Students create a visual diagram of related ideas and concepts, allowing them to explore different paths.
• Further research
  Once the brief is defined, students may feel it necessary to complete a range of additional research tasks, both primary and secondary. These tasks may include: surveys, mood boards, user interviews, competitor analysis, market research, observational drawing, site analysis, case studies, material research, logo matrices, etc.
• Sketching and ideation
  Students use sketching and ideation as design thinking techniques to generate a wide range of ideas in a creative and unstructured manner. The goal of the process is to encourage students to come up with as many ideas as possible that are relevant to the client’s needs, without worrying about whether they are good or bad. By producing a wide range of ideas in a free-flowing manner, with little to no initial critique or evaluation, students are encouraged to be creative and think divergently, leading to more innovative solutions to the design problem.
• SCAMPER
  Students may use a creative thinking technique such as SCAMPER, in order to re-imagine an existing design in different ways. This involves considering how the existing design could be modified and adapted to generate new ideas and directions. They use SCAMPER to ask themselves the following types of questions while generating ideas:
  • Substitute: What other materials, components, or technologies could used instead of the existing ones?
  • Combine: What happens when the function of a design is combined with another function which may not typically be associated?
  • Adapt / Add: What changes to the function could be adapted, or what new features or functions could be added?
  • Modify: How could design elements and principles such as colour, texture, type, shape, form, scale, proportion and any other physical characteristic of the design be modified?
  • Put to another use: How might the design be used for a different purpose, or work in a different context?
  • Eliminate: Which parts of the design can be removed without effecting its functionality?
  • Rearrange / Reverse: How could the layout, order, or structure of the design be rearranged or reversed to create a more innovative solution?
• Action words
  Students generate a list of actions words such as ‘stretch’, ‘flip’, ‘surround’, ‘clone’, ‘twist’, ‘flip’, ‘break’, etc. to take an existing form and manipulate it into a multitude of new ideas using visualisation sketches. These sketches can be quick, simple and explorative in nature, leading to a range of starting points for more purposeful ideas to develop.
• Two-minute sketches
  Students generate ideas using a timer to ensure they are producing ideas rapidly and ensuring that they are not being too detailed with their drawings. This activity can be completed as a class, where the teacher sets a timer and students aim for 30 sketches in an hour. Each sketch can build from the previous one, or be a new idea itself. Students should be encouraged not to worry about detail or accuracy, rather focusing on basic form and structure. Once the sketches are finished, students can review their ideas and annotate them in regard to what they might take further throughout the process. This could be applied to logo ideas, poster layouts, architectural floor plans or forms, products, garments, website layouts, etc.
• Class critique
  Students collate their ideas / approaches to the problem at hand, and informally present these to their peers. They use a range of drawings and prototypes to explain their thought-process, where they see their ideas going, what the limitations might be, and remain open-minded to thoughtful and constructive feedback to develop their ideas further.

Detailed example

Discover

Students would begin this outcome by using divergent thinking during the Discover stage of the VCD Design Process, to identify a design problem or opportunity. Examples of broad topics which students may choose to research in depth could include: health and wellbeing, poverty, war, migration, safety, transport, education, the environment, housing. There are many other topics that provide opportunities for design to play a role. Students are encouraged to think broadly, and consider areas of personal interest that will sustain them throughout the duration of the SAT.

For the purposes of this example, a student may opt to research the health sector in more depth, to discover what opportunities for design may emerge. They would be required to first learn about ethical research methods to be used that would enable them to research and discover opportunities to be solved or improved through design. For instance, how to best gather data from government sources and private health institutions, as well as how to ensure the privacy of any patients and health workers when using interviews and personal anecdotes in the documentation of their folio.

Define

Through the use and documentation of brainstorming, mindmaps, interviews, creation of personas, watching documentaries, reading articles, analysing data, and observation, the student would then move into the Define stage of the VCD Design Process. This is where they would synthesise the findings, and use convergent thinking to articulate design opportunities. The student may then define the following needs that could potentially be pursued, for example:

• Digital health solutions
  There is a growing need for digital health solutions that can improve patient outcomes, streamline workflows, and enhance communication between healthcare providers and patients. The designer could work on developing apps, websites and other digital tools that make it easier for patients to access health information, schedule appointments, and communicate with their healthcare providers. 
• Medical equipment design
  Designers can work on developing innovative medical equipment that is more user-friendly, efficient and effective. For example, wearable technology could help patients monitor their health in real time, while medical devices could be designed to minimise discomfort and improve patient outcomes.
• Hospital design
  Hospital design is another area where designers can make a significant impact. Hospitals need to be designed in a way that promotes healing, minimises stress and anxiety, and supports the needs of patients, families and staff. Designers can help create spaces that are more welcoming, comfortable, and conducive to healing.
• Health education and communication
  There is a need for more effective health education and communication materials, particularly for patients from diverse backgrounds. Designers can develop materials that are easy to understand, visually appealing, and culturally appropriate, all of which can improve patient understanding and engagement.

The student would then choose a client (fictional or real) and create a single design brief that defines two distinctly different communication needs. For instance, they may decide to focus on the architectural design for a new hospital for the first need, and the design of a logo and digital application for the hospital as the second need. The student would also define in the brief the relevant final presentation formats, as well as the audience, context, purpose and constraints of these presentations. Once formally written and signed by the student and teacher, they move into the Develop stage of the design process.

Develop

During the Develop stage of the design process, the student would use divergent thinking to think iteratively about each design need. They complete two separate processes, both of which would likely include a level of additional research, brainstorming and sketching / visualisation drawings, to generate and develop a range of design ideas and concepts.

In this instance the student may complete additional research by looking at case studies of hospital designs, and make a site visit of the designated area to gain an understanding of the topography, existing conditions, surrounding buildings, etc. They may gather sources of inspiration from their own observation, as well as secondary sources such as architecture magazines and the internet.

They would then move onto creating schematic sketches that roughly indicate the various rooms required and the layout for the hospital, using a ‘bubble diagram’ approach, before developing these further into slightly more developed floor plans to scale. Additionally, the student might consider the various façades of the hospital in both two- and three-dimensions, using informal elevations and rendered perspectives to create ideas and develop concepts.

Simultaneously, the student would also be using the Develop stage to respond to the section of the brief that pertains to the hospital logo and mobile application. Therefore, they may be undertaking further research on health-related applications that currently exist and evaluating the user interface used, along with their first-hand experience. They may conduct a survey of their target audience to ascertain what type of features should be included, and what existing apps they feel are well-designed from a UX perspective. The student could then complete additional research on health-related logos, placing them on a matrix and evaluating them to assist with the generation of their own designs where they might use a brainstorm and 2-minute sketches to generate a range of logo directions quite quickly. For the mobile application, the student may design wireframes for potential screens on the app, considering design elements and principles such as colour, type, shape, hierarchy and pattern to create effective layouts.

The student would expand on these activities and complete a range to ensure they are thoroughly covering the development of both needs outlined in the brief. Throughout this process the student would complete a critique of their design to ensure they are continually able to apply feedback provided to them by teacher and peers.

Outcome 1

Refine and resolve distinct design concepts for each communication need, and devise and deliver a pitch to communicate concepts to an audience or users, evaluating the extent to which these meet the requirements of the brief.

Examples of learning activities

Define and Deliver

During the Define and Deliver stages of the design process, students may undertake a series of exercises such as ones suggested below.

• Create a table that lists selected concepts and identifies a range of methods (manual and digital), media and materials as well as design elements and design principles that may be suited to each concept and appropriate to the design field. This table ensures that a range of design components have been trialed and explored.
• Conduct a SWOT analysis to critically evaluate the range of concepts for each of the communication needs against the requirements of the brief. Consider functional and aesthetic factors of each design.
• Study earlier research of the target audience, context, purpose and format which may provide a range of references from which to identify suitable methods, material and media to incorporate in the development of chosen concepts.
• Select methods that are appropriate to the design field and that enable clarity of communication and suitability for context, purpose and audience. Consider two- and three-dimensional approaches.
• Expand on a chosen concept by deliberately exploring an opposing option; for example, if the concept is balanced symmetrically then deliberately explore an asymmetric composition or substitute different materials or lighting effects to develop concepts.
• Produce mock-ups to trial two- and / or three-dimensional presentation formats to size or to scale. Apply design elements and principles to refine composition. Manage, manipulate and apply type, testing effective legibility and composition. Refine digital methods.
• Create a range of mock-ups for one concept; then, using a group of individuals as an audience, test and evaluate how the mock-up gains and maintains audience engagement.
• Select at least two methods to develop proficiency; these may include manual and digital methods of generating visuals, photography, printing, three-dimensional mock-ups or mixed media collage. Seek feedback to clarify direction.

Activities for refining and evaluating concepts

• Create several small exploratory works before building compositions, adding type as required, and use a variety of materials and media. Apply design elements and principles, experimenting with hierarchy, and evaluate impact on the target audience; for example, if photography is one of the methods, the various capabilities of a digital camera may be used (focus, micro / macro, panorama, fisheye, etc.) while compositional consideration should be shown through angles, close-ups, wide shots, etc. as well as a sensitive use of natural and artificial lighting, and an awareness of background detractions. Images can be further enhanced and manipulated using digital imaging programs and sized to fit proposed presentation formats. Document the use of digital design applications and annotate hardcopies, applying critical and reflective thinking.

Activities for evaluating concepts

• Create a selection process, developing clear checkpoints developed from the brief with reference to the client’s needs, purpose and audience. Evaluate each of the ideas generated for their effectiveness. Use a scaling or rating device to assess and compare concepts. Select those with the greatest potential to solve the requirements of the brief that offer innovative and creative thinking. Select a variety of possible directions to pursue further.
• Annotate concepts, explaining the thinking behind ideas and how they will satisfy the requirements of the brief, specifically how it appeals to the intended audience, satisfies purpose and conveys style.
• Show critical and reflective thinking in annotations during development and refinement of concepts through considered evaluation and reflection. Make regular reference to the brief and seek feedback from the client and target audience.
• Test legibility and visual impact on sample target audience groups. Make adjustments and refinements where necessary.
• Conduct a short pitch of the final concept and intended resolution to either the class or a small panel. Document feedback in a grid that covers all the assessment criteria; this can be used for evaluation and reflective thinking before incorporating it (where practicable) into the refinement of the final presentation.
• Practise presenting the pitch, explaining the thinking behind the final concept and intended resolution. Use original drawings or digital images and any supporting background information. Other research may be used as evidence to demonstrate the impact concepts may have in given environments and the expected responses from the target audience. Record responses from teacher and class members in terms of strengths and weaknesses of concepts, appropriateness of methods, media and materials, and choice of presentation formats. Record this in the developmental folio to stimulate further design investigation.

Outcome 2

Produce a design solution for each communication need defined in the brief, satisfying the specified design criteria.

Examples of learning activities

• Two distinctively different final presentations are presented outside of, and separate to, the development folio, and which address all the stipulated requirements of the brief. They must be different in intent, purpose (where appropriate), context and presentation format.
• Final presentations will reflect the best options from refinement work, demonstrating proficiency in methods and use of design elements, design principles and appropriate selection of suitable media and materials. These may be two- or three-dimensional presentations. The critical and reflective thinking in the development folio will support these choices.
• Revisit the brief to ensure all components that were identified in the brief have been delivered as final presentations.
• Prepare final digital files of communication design artwork to full production size. Print sections of larger format work at 100% and place them on walls to view at appropriate and realistic distances in order to evaluate the techniques for gaining attention and maintaining audience interest in the designs before the final presentations are printed.
• Construct models using appropriate materials for substrate and final surfaces that have been trialled in the design process. Evaluate these referring to the brief and use of materials and methods in the construction of the models.
• Evaluate final technical presentation drawings against the Visual Communication Design Technical Conventions guidelines to ensure all standards and conventions have been represented correctly. Document the evaluations in the folio and discuss this in the ‘pitch.
  
• Check printed mock-ups of digital work to ensure that image resolution and print resolution are to the appropriate standard. Document any refinements that need to be made.
• Document any part of the final presentation that is outsourced, including communication with the third party. Carefully document in the folio all evidence of decisions made and production files that have been digitally created.