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Advice for teachers -
Visual Communication Design

Developing a program

A program outlines the nature and sequence of teaching and learning necessary for students to demonstrate achievement of the set of outcomes for a unit. The areas of study broadly describe the learning context and the knowledge required for the demonstration of each outcome. Outcomes are introduced by summary statements and are informed by key knowledge and key skills.

Teachers must develop programs that include appropriate and stimulating learning activities to enable students to develop the key knowledge and key skills identified in the outcome statements in each unit.

VCE Visual Communication Design is the creative communication of information, ideas and visual messages to suit a specified need, purpose, audience and context using ‘visual language’.

In planning a program teachers design tasks to provide opportunities for students to work within specific and appropriate stages of the design process and incorporate activities that allow students to come into contact with real objects, forms, spaces and contexts for visual communications where possible.

Students are required to practise a wide range of drawing, communication layout and image-making methods using both manual and digital methods.

Units 1 and 2

Unit 1 focuses on students developing drawing skills as a means of recording and describing form and understanding design elements and design principles.

Teachers select assessment tasks from the list provided in the study design. Tasks should be varied and the mix of tasks should reflect the fact that different types of tasks suit different knowledge and skills and different learning styles. Tasks do not have to be lengthy for a decision to be made about student demonstration of achievement of an outcome and may be comprised of several smaller sequenced components.

In Areas of Study 1 and 2 students focus on developing their skills and understanding in two- and three-dimensional drawing, and technical drawing conventions. Students may work in manual or digital methods selecting appropriate media and materials when creating visual communications. The selection of manual or digital methods is determined by resources, student preference, teacher expertise, the drawing purposes and methods. Students choose which methods, media and materials to explore, or they are directed to explore. However, the use of manual and digital drawing methods is compulsory in Area of Study 2.

In Area of Study 3 students undertake a case study to examine the technical, economic and environmental factors that shape contemporary visual communications. Either they select a contemporary designer and examine factors influencing their work practices or they select a visual communication and examine factors that have influenced its style. Technical, economic and environmental factors influencing visual communication design include global and cultural technological developments. Economic factors relate to affordability of access to materials, media and technologies of the time and place where visual communications are produced. Environmental factors may extend to the impact on the natural environment from the development and presentation of visual communication design.

Unit 2 offers a practical context for learning and applying specific drawing methods, standards and conventions across the three design fields. This includes an understanding of the application of typographic conventions and the interplay of type and image to communicate a message. Students are introduced to the design process that underpins visual communication design practice.

In Area of Study 1 students develop their knowledge and practice of the application of appropriate basic technical drawing conventions within the contexts of either environmental or industrial design fields. The selection of context will be determined by the teacher to meet the needs and interests of students. Different approaches may be taken to develop and apply the appropriate drawing conventions to address the context. Existing sample designs of buildings, structures or objects can be used as the source for students to develop the appropriate drawings. It is important that students use the correct drawing systems appropriate to the chosen design field. Students are required to understand the role of the Australian Standards and how these standards frame the documentation requirements of drawings for the design industry. The appropriate Australian Standards are located in the Technical Drawing Specifications Resource (pdf - 5.88mb) published on the study page. This guide provides a modified version of the Australian Standards to assist students in interpreting this professional documentation. Specified labeling has been included in this resource for teaching and learning purposes.

In Area of Study 2 students explore typography; historical and contemporary features of type and the relationship between type and image to communicate visually and to convey a message.

In Area of Study 3 students complete a design process in response to a given brief. The brief is provided by teachers to best address the key knowledge and key skills. Briefs should be devised to acknowledge the interests of students and will include relevant information such as the client, client profile and need, the purpose, context and constraints of the visual communication, and the characteristics of the audience that will be influenced by the visual communication. Briefs should address a field of communication design, industrial design or environmental design and include the desired presentation format.

Units 3 and 4

In Units 3 and 4 teachers must consider how their assessment tasks are to be divided among the requirements of learning within the communication, environmental and industrial design fields and students completing both analysis and production of visual communications.

In Unit 3 Area of Study 1 students decode visual communications and this analysis informs their own practice in response to set tasks. Students should not undertake a full design process on a single topic within a single design field. While the stimulus material and tasks selected by the teacher may be themed or linked in some way, it is critical that teachers select stimulus material, provide drawing exercises and design tasks that cover the breadth of the knowledge and skills in Area of Study 1. Advice on technical drawing specifications (pdf - 5.88mb) is located on the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority website.

In Area of Study 2 students investigate the design process in industrial and professional contexts. Teachers should support students with access to a broad variety of case studies that demonstrate different approaches to the stages of design process and practices of both contemporary Australian and international designers. Where possible, students should have the opportunity to observe industry practices, interview local designers and interact with members of an industry.

In Area of Study 3 students develop a brief for a client and undertake suitable research to generate a range of ideas. It is important that students carefully consider the content of the brief to ensure they are able to maintain interest and achieve their goals. Research should be relevant and extensive to support the design brief and generate a broad range of initial ideas.

In Unit 4 students review the range of ideas generated in Unit 3 Area of Study 3 and then proceed to develop distinctly different design concepts that address each identified client need and the requirements of the brief. They apply creative, critical and reflective thinking as they select ideas and refine them in relation to the brief. Manual and digital methods support the design process and assist students to explore and interpret a variety of design solutions to address the client needs. Students consider the functional and aesthetic value of each concept they develop using mock-ups to support the preferred option. Students evaluate their final design presentations, identifying how best they have addressed the needs of the client in each and then present their findings. It would be helpful for teachers to support students in developing a checklist to identify the most important aspects and features of the final presentations that will appeal to a client and therefore be valuable to include in the pitch.

The manufacture of functional prototypes is not a requirement of this study and all outsourced manufacturing must be clearly acknowledged. Presentations using generic templates from online providers, or in-built libraries from software programs, should be discouraged.

The School-assessed Task runs over Units 3 and 4 and assessment criteria are provided in the February VCAA Bulletin VCE, VCAL and VET each year. Teachers should note these criteria when developing learning activities.

Final presentations and engaging third parties in the design process

Students must have creative control over technical processes used in the production and final presentation of their visual communications and design solutions. Teachers must be able to authenticate students’ work.

If a student has engaged a third party in the production of their final presentation; for example, a surfboard print company, online stationery design, print company or online t-shirt print company this must be clearly acknowledged in the design process folio and the teacher must be able to authenticate and differentiate between the student input and student outsourcing.

Students must be encouraged to maintain complete creative control over their work and discouraged from using online companies that offer immediate or template design solutions.

Units 1–4

All units in the VCE are constructed on the basis of 50 hours of class contact time with students. Consistent with this, the following time allocation is suggested for each area of study.

Unit 1: Introduction to visual communication design

Suggested time allocation:
Area of StudySuggested time allocation (hours)
1. Drawing as a means of communication20 hours
2. Design elements and design principles20 hours
3. Visual communications in context10 hours

Unit 2: Applications of visual communication within design fields

Suggested time allocation:
Area of StudySuggested time allocation (hours)
1. Technical drawing in context15
2. Type and imagery in context15
3. Applying the design process20

Unit 3: Visual communication design practices

Suggested time allocation:
Area of StudySuggested time allocation (hours)
1. Analysis and practice in context20
2. Design industry practice10
3. Developing a brief and generating ideas20

Unit 3, Outcome 3 forms part of the School-assessed Task.


Unit 4: Visual communication design development, evaluation and presentation

Suggested time allocation:
Area of StudySuggested time allocation (hours)
1. Development, refinement and evaluation35
2. Final presentations15

Unit 4, Outcomes 1 and 2, form part of the School-assessed Task.