Outline

Overview

This is the culminating studio of the Master of Interaction Design and Electronic Arts that provides students with a capstone experience. The aim of this studio is to draw together and synthesise the learning that has taken place during the whole degree. Students develop a design project based on an industry or community-focused brief. Students will work in small teams or individually to produce a design proposal that addresses contemporary issues, and incorporates innovative applications of digital or emergent technologies. The submitted design work will be high quality, suitable for professional presentation and portfolio.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	IDEA9301
Academic unit	Design Lab
Credit points	12
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	48 credit points including (18 credit points from IDEA9103 and IDEA9105 and IDEA9106) and (18 credit points from IDEA9101 or IDEA9102 or IDEA9201 or IDEA9202)
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Yasemin Tekmen Araci, yasemin.tekmenaraci@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Yasemin Tekmen Araci, yasemin.tekmenaraci@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Rully Zakaria, rully.zakaria@sydney.edu.au
	Christina Liu, christina.liu@sydney.edu.au
	Nina Osada-Phornsiri, nina.osada-phornsiri@sydney.edu.au
	Moe Qashlan, moe.qashlan@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	A5: Online Portfolio A website documenting of a cohesive portfolio	25%	STUVAC Due date: 12 Nov 2023 at 23:59	Digital Product
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	A1: Design Project and Presentation 1 Research and understanding the problem space	10%	Week 04 Due date: 24 Aug 2023 at 11:00	10 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	A2: Design Project and Presentation 2 Design solutions and concepts	10%	Week 08 Due date: 21 Sep 2023 at 11:00	10 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	A3: Design project and Final presentation Professional design pitch	20%	Week 12 Due date: 26 Oct 2023 at 11:00	10 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	A4: Final prototype A functioning prototype of a digital output	20%	Week 12 Due date: 26 Oct 2023 at 23:59	Submitted work
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	A6: Reflective essay A critical reflection of design process	15%	Week 13 Due date: 05 Nov 2023 at 23:59	1000 words
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ?

Assessment summary

A1 Presentation 1 is concerned with researching and understanding the problem, resulting in the identification of opportunities for innovation. You will make a case for pursuing specific opportunities informed by your user and background research.

A2 Presentation 2 is concerned with ideation, resulting in exploring potential research or design solutions through a combination of design thinking methodologies. You should converge on a single research or design concept and showcase a low fidelity prototype of the chosen design concept.

A3 Final Presentation further refines your design concept. Further user testing and iterative design should assist in enhancing the usefulness, usability and optimal user experience of the solution. In the presentation, you should showcase a high-fidelity prototype of the design concept. This presentation will be in the form of a professional pitch to your industry partner rather than describing your project process. Your aim should be to convince them to fund your project.

A4 Final Prototype. The aim of this assignment is to create a functioning prototype of a digital output that addresses a specific problem or fulfills a particular need depending on the design brief provided. The prototype will be presented in your final presentation.

A5 Online Portfolio. The aim of this assignment is to work on the documenting skills of a cohesive portfolio of student work throughout the MIDEA program.

A6 Reflective essay. The aim of this assignment is to critically examine students' design process during this semester and to work on reflective skills in this process.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass 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	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades

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:

See school policy.

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.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

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 to unit and project brief	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 01	Getting to know each other Ethical considerations in design Reframing the project brief	Studio (2 hr)
Week 02	Project brief Guest lecture: Industry partner	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 02	Forming groups Brainstorming session	Studio (2 hr)
Week 03	Participatory design research methods	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 03	Developing a research plan Ideation	Studio (2 hr)
Week 04	Presentation skills	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 04	Group presentations in-class	Studio (2 hr)
Week 05	Developing effective portfolios	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 05	Begin designing portfolios	Studio (2 hr)
Week 06	Expert panel discussion on professional practice	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 06	Reflection on designer skills Continue project	Studio (2 hr)
Week 07	Product development process	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 07	Product development Continue project	Studio (2 hr)
Week 08	In class presentations	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 08	In class presentations	Studio (2 hr)
Week 09	Collaborative design	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 09	Co-design Usability testing	Studio (2 hr)
Week 10	Expert panel discussion on employability skills	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 10	Product development Continue project	Studio (2 hr)
Week 11	Pitching design ideas	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 11	Peer review feedback session of Online portfolios	Studio (2 hr)
Week 12	Future of design	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 12	Final group presentations in-class	Studio (2 hr)
Week 13	Reflection on learning	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 13	Final student consultations on reflective essays and portfolios	Studio (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Please refer to the Resolutions of the University School: http://sydney.edu.au/handbooks/architecture/rules/faculty_resolutions.shtml

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 12 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 240-300 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

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. Formulate, plan and execute an individual/group design project in response to a design brief
LO2. Choose appropriate methods as part of a human-centred design process to suit the problem space
LO3. Analyse data from multiple sources to understand the problem space and ideate, iterate and improve potential design solutions.
LO4. Document and report research-led design work
LO5. Deliver evidence-based design presentations that are clear, confident and engaging to an external audience.
LO6. Critically analyse and reflect upon self and peer practices to identify and improve personal accountability in relation to the ethics and values of the discipline and profession.

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.

As per suggestions from previous semesters, lecture content, assignments, and the rubrics have been modified.

Additional information

Additional costs

There might be some additional costs in the course depending on the direction of your design project.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

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

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Additional costs

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

IDEA9301: Graduation Studio

Semester 2, 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

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Additional costs

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect