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Unit of study_

DESN3003: Design for Social Impact

2025 unit information

This unit gets students to consider the broader application of design thinking as a way of informing and creating social outcomes. Design for social impact aims to design solutions to meet social needs in a better way than the existing solution. Students will have the opportunity to develop their design thinking competency through the application of a real-world social problem. Students will address prevailing or emerging social issues through the design of products, services and experiences. Students will be guided through the design thinking process of understanding user and stakeholder needs, defining problems, ideating solutions, prototyping and testing design solutions. This unit gives students the opportunity to tackle the challenges of 21st Century life through the exploration of new technology and current practices to design the future they want to live in.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning

Study level Undergraduate
Academic unit Design Lab
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
? 
DECO2016 or DECO1006
Corequisites:
? 
None
Prohibitions:
? 
None
Assumed knowledge:
? 
Knowledge of design thinking methods and processes

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

  • LO1. Demonstrate the effective use of oral, written and visual means to critique, negotiate, create and communicate understanding
  • LO2. Practice design skills reflectively
  • LO3. Work effectively in teams
  • LO4. Interrogate the capacity of design as an agent of change to respond to social issues

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2025
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2020
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2023
Normal day Remote

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.