Outline

Overview

The Professional Practice in Design unit of study aims to develop an understanding of the core professional and practice-based roles and responsibilities of designer in industry, including project management, copyright and intellectual property, and ethics. The unit also provides knowledge in identifying, planning, and delivering a strategy for professional career development, preparing students through professional standard portfolio creation, self-promotion, and application advice, and developing interview and presentation skills.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Design Lab
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	(DECO1006 or DECO2016) and DECO1012 and DESN1001 and DECO1015
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Leigh-Anne Hepburn, leigh-anne.hepburn@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Yasemin Tekmen Araci, yasemin.tekmenaraci@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Report Research report	40%	Week 07 Due date: 03 Apr 2023 at 23:59	5-10 pages
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Position Statement A written position statement	30%	Week 10 Due date: 01 May 2023 at 23:59	1000 Words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Career Strategy Written career strategy	30%	Week 13 Due date: 22 May 2023 at 23:59	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Assessment 1: Research Report

The assessment task requires you demonstrate your knowledge of the professional design marketplace. You should compile a report that presents and discusses at least two areas of professional design practice that are of interest to you (e.g. design fields, job markets). You may also include profiles of professional designers working in your chosen field as examples. You are required to make connections with your developing knowledge and philosophy of/about design practice, and you must incorporate information from the course and connections with relevant academic literature. The report should be 5-10 pages in length and can include visual elements.

Assessment 2: Position Statement

This assessment task requires you to consider theory and practice in design to develop an emerging understanding of yourself as a professional design practitioner. You should write a 1000 words statement that identifies your personal position, and contextualises the position within the professional practice landscape. Your response should be personal - linking your knowledge and beliefs of design with a demonstration of how you might apply this philosophy in a real-world role.

Assessment 3: Career Strategy

This assessment task asks you to think strategically about your chosen career path, and identify key milestones to support your progression. Your strategy should be 2000 words in length and should include a review of your strengths, weaknesses, motivators, and values; identified opportunities and leverage points; networking potential; goals and actions.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2021, (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction of work of a very high standard, a credit of work of a good standard, and a pass work of an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Work of outstanding quality, demonstrating mastery of the learning outcomes assessed. The work shows significant innovation, experimentation, critical analysis, synthesis, insight, creativity, and/or exceptional skill.
Distinction	75 - 84	Work of excellent quality, demonstrating a sound grasp of the learning outcomes assessed. The work shows innovation, experimentation, critical analysis, synthesis, insight, creativity, and/or superior skill.
Credit	65 - 74	Work of good quality, demonstrating more than satisfactory achievement of the learning outcomes assessed, or work of excellent quality for a majority of the learning outcomes assessed.
Pass	50 - 64	Work demonstrating satisfactory achievement of the learning outcomes assessed.
Fail	0 - 49	Work that does not demonstrate satisfactory achievement of one or more of the learning outcomes assessed.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Please refer to the Resolutions of the University School, Part 3, 8.2: https://www.sydney.edu.au/policies/showdoc.aspx?recnum=PDOC2022/542&RendNum=0

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 02	Design as a Professional Practice	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 03	Positionality and Practice	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 04	Contextualising Practice Panel #1	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 05	Ethical Considerations	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 06	Legal Considerations	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 07	S.T.E.E.P. and other considerations	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 08	Contextualising Practice Panel #2	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 09	Responding to a brief	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 10	Writing in Professional Practice	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 11	Exhibitions and Portfolio Building	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 12	Presenting and Interviews in Professional Practice	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 13	Contextualising Practice Panel #3	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of design as a profession and understand the diversity of contemporary practices and applications of design in professional contexts.
LO2. Explore and understand issues, dilemmas, and challenges in professional design practice, including ethics, ethical practices, and legal obligations relating to copyright and intellectual property requirements.
LO3. Develop a confident professional design practitioner position and understanding of personal design practice within the discipline and broader professional context.
LO4. Develop appropriate strategies for professional development, including presentation, portfolio, exhibition, and writing, to focus on specific career opportunities.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

New unit

Disclaimer

Important: the University of Sydney regularly reviews units of study and reserves the right to change the units of study available annually. To stay up to date on available study options, including unit of study details and availability, refer to the relevant handbook.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

DECO2020: Professional Design Practice

Semester 1, 2023 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links