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Course Description

Head of Faculty - Kaihautuu: Mr S. Qureshi.

Design and Visual Communication (DVC) is about the interrelated strands of design thinking, visual communication, and design heritage.

Design encompasses the ideation, exploration, progression, and communication of design ideas into potential outcomes that serve a specific purpose, provide innovative possibilities, and can be informed by design heritage and a designer’s perspective.

Within DVC, design consists of product design and spatial design.

Product design focuses on the development of tangible items that have a specific function within people's everyday lives.

Spatial design is about the designing of three-dimensional spaces in terms of how they are experienced, occupied, or used by people. These spaces can range from those defined by walls and physical elements to those more permeable and determined by ritual, activity, or occupancy. Spatial design incorporates concepts from such fields as architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, urban design etc.

Visual communication addresses how design ideas and outcomes are appropriately presented to the viewer. Design ideas and outcomes are expressed in a manner that makes visible the learner’s thoughts, allowing for engagement, feedback, and collaboration.

By developing the skills and techniques of Design and Visual Communication, learners will discover how to give form and expression to their ideas. In order to create purposeful and future-focused design ideas, learners must be willing to experiment, develop, respond to feedback, and reflect on their design thinking to improve and refine the product and spatial design ideas they propose. This helps to build confidence in their strengths, talents, and abilities, as well as resilience, resourcefulness, and a sense of ethical responsibility to the peoples and places they are designing for.

Course Overview

Term 1
Research phase to explore and investigate influential designers related to graphics, product and spatial design. Using the design features of the influential designer, students start creating their own graphics or product design ideas. The whole process takes at least 15 weeks. The emphasis is on how students can use the influential designers design features and produce freehand sketches to communicate their own design ideas.

Term 2
First half of Term 2 is a focus on skill development around rendering techniques and graphic practice.
Second half of term 2, we start with a new project based on spatial design. Students research, investigate, and do critical analysis around the design brief they are given and further develop the design ideas through graphics practice. A more in depth development process, more freehand sketches and rendering techniques are explored during this time.

Term 3
The focus in the first half of term 3 is to work on development and detailed drawings and on going research.
Second half of term 3 is about learning skills and techniques on promoting an organised body of design work to an audience using visual communication techniques.

Term 4
The major focus in term 4 is to compile and complete the design portfolio and submit it for external assessment.

Technology

Recommended Prior Learning

Some skills preferred in freehand drawings, rendering and instrumental drawings from year 9 and 10. Willingness to learn Design and Visual Communication is required at all times.

Possible Jobs using your Graphics Skills
Illustrator, Graphic Designer, Model Maker, Interior Designer, Landscape, Sign Maker, Web Design , Architect, Animator, Advertising, Scenic Designer, Cartoonist, Product Design.

Assessment Information

Students will be doing 4 Internals and 1 External Achievement standards. The students will get total of 19 credits in Level 1 DVC.
Evidence for assessment will be produced during the school year while you are studying this subject. This will include folio presentations and practical outcomes including observation of your practice in the classroom. Assessment will be in the form of Achievement Standards, both internal and external. Assessment in the Technology Department will be consistent with the school wide assessment policy including opportunities for further assessment.