DECO1006: Design Process and Methods

Early Feedback Task : The Higher Education Support Amendment Bill 2023 has mandated the development of a Support for Students policy at all Australian universities, requiring among other things a pre-census task with feedback to be introduced in all first-year units of study. https://bit.ly/earlyfeedbacktask . The aim of this assessment is to check your initial understanding of human-centred design (LO1).

Assessment 1: Video : The aim of this individual assessment is to demonstrate your personal appreciation of design and its impact in everyday life (LO1 and LO2). You will introduce yourself, select an object you use frequently, and explain what you like and/or dislike about it from a design perspective. You will then reflect on how designers may have arrived at this solution, considering assumptions, decisions, and trade-offs involved in the design process. The video is free format, must be 90 seconds in length, and should clearly communicate your ideas. You are also required to submit the script or transcript of your video, along with any sources used.

Assessment 2: Poster: The aim of this group assessment is to demonstrate your ability to engage in research and inquiry to identify the need for a design (LO2) and to communicate information, ideas, and insights visually (LO4). Working in groups, you will undertake a discovery project in response to a brief during Weeks 4 to 8. Your research activities should lead to the identification of at least one meaningful design insight and the formulation of a clear problem statement. You will produce an A2 poster that visually presents your discovery process, key findings, and insights from this stage of the project. The poster must clearly communicate the rationale behind your framing and specify each group member’s individual contribution.

Assessment 3: Design Journal: The aim of this individual assessment is to evidence your ongoing design practice across the semester, including imagination and competence in ideation (LO3), visual communication (LO4), evaluation from multiple perspectives (LO5), and reflective and ethical critique (LO6). You will maintain a physical A4 design journal throughout the unit. The journal is not something you start late in semester. It is the continuous record of your learning, process, and decision-making as you move through research, framing, ideation, prototyping, critique, and iteration.

Attendance: Students should be present and engaged in their learning during classes. Late arrival/early departure will be deemed as an absence. Students who do not meet the minimum 90% threshold, who have approved special consideration may be offered the opportunity to sit an alternative assessment to pass this unit.