This interdisciplinary studies unit will engage with complex contemporary challenges via project-based activities and problem-based learning. Students will apply knowledge, techniques and methodologies from their individual disciplines in collaboration with others' as they investigate a range of disciplinary perspectives and approaches relevant to the challenge at hand. Student cohorts may include any combination of art, design or architecture students as well as students from other disciplinary backgrounds. Developing the ability to critically and creatively engage with 'real world' problems through interdisciplinary approaches will be the core of learning in this unit. Students will develop skills in communication, collaboration and innovation, as well as reflective approaches that will focus on developing a clearer understanding of the personal perspective and skills each contributor brings to a shared challenge. Final outcomes from the unit may include collaborative or individual submissions.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Understand a range of opportunities for discipline-specific practitioners in interdisciplinary contexts;
2. Apply collaboration, representation and communication skills for interdisciplinary engagement;
3. Conduct critical enquiry relevant to an identified issue, and analyse and evaluate findings;
4. Conceptualise, develop and present a creative response to a given interdisciplinary problem;
5. Critically reflect on the students' own contributions to an interdisciplinary undertaking;
6. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the interdisciplinary study, in order to collaborate safely with peers.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours total per week including 4 contact hours plus 8 hours of independent study time, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

Design Thinking applies the skills and strategies developed by designers to a wide range of problems and situations. These skills and strategies include a range of conceptual and communication approaches, ways to explore and reconsider the context in which we work, as well as what should or could be achieved. Design thinking brings together some approaches that are known in the sciences and humanities, such as analysis and synthesis, but applies them in ways that are particular to a design approach. Design thinking can enable a more flexible approach to problem solving, and a more nuanced engagement with the complex issues of our contemporary world. This unit will introduce students to the key skills and practices associated with design thinking, and offer opportunities to explore the application of these basic creativity techniques in a range of disciplines.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of the concepts of design thinking and their application;
2. Identify and analyse ill-defined, real-world project problems and relevant design thinking approaches;
3. Apply Design Thinking methods and approaches to a project-based problem, to develop new perspectives on key issues and to identify potential opportunties;
4. Develop, test and evaluate original proposals in response to project-based problems;
5. Develop an awareness of their preferred approaches to complex tasks, and ways these may be extended through Design Thinking.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including an average of 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

The interdisciplinary studio environment provides through team-based project activities and problem-based learning, the application of knowledge, techniques and methodologies from the students' individual disciplines, whilst addressing a complex multi-faceted problem. The unit may involve any combination of art, design or architecture students. The ability to critically and creatively engage with 'real world' problems through interdisciplinary approaches will be the core of this unit. Students will develop skills in communication, collaboration and innovation, essential tools for both professional practice and research activities within their chosen field and beyond. The final outcomes from the unit may be collaborative or individual.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Operate constructively and collaboratively as part of a team;
2. Develop observation, research, communication and information gathering skills;
3. Contribute as a discipline-specific practitioner within an interdisciplinary context;
4. Conduct critical enquiry and provide summative reviews of peers across disciplines;
5. Conceptualise, design and create a response to a given interdisciplinary problem;
6. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the interdisciplinary practice, in order to collaborate safely with peers.

Fieldwork may be required for this unit. Full details will be outlined in the Unit Guide.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours total per week including 8 contact hours plus 16 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This interdisciplinary studies unit will engage with complex contemporary challenges via project-based activities and problem-based learning. Students will apply knowledge, techniques and methodologies from their individual disciplines in collaboration with others' as they investigate a range of disciplinary perspectives and approaches relevant to the challenge at hand. Student cohorts may include any combination of art, design or architecture students as well as students from other disciplinary backgrounds. Developing the ability to critically and creatively engage with 'real world' problems through interdisciplinary approaches will be the core of learning in this unit. Students will develop skills in communication, collaboration and innovation, as well as reflective approaches that will focus on developing a clearer understanding of the personal perspective and skills each contributor brings to a shared challenge. Final outcomes from the unit may include collaborative or individual submissions.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Understand a range of opportunities for discipline-specific practitioners in interdisciplinary contexts;
2. Apply collaboration, representation and communication skills for interdisciplinary engagement;
3. Conduct critical enquiry relevant to an identified issue, and analyse and evaluate findings;
4. Conceptualise, develop and present a creative response to a given interdisciplinary problem;
5. Critically reflect on the students' own contributions to an interdisciplinary undertaking;
6. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the interdisciplinary study, in order to collaborate safely with peers.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 4 contact hours plus 8 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

The interdisciplinary studio environment provides through team-based project activities and problem-based learning, the application of knowledge, techniques and methodologies from the students' individual disciplines, whilst addressing a complex multi-faceted problem. The unit may involve any combination of art, design or architecture students. The ability to critically and creatively engage with 'real world' problems through interdisciplinary approaches will be the core of this unit. Students will further develop skills in communication, collaboration and innovation, essential tools for both professional practice and research activities within their chosen field and beyond. The final outcomes from the unit may be collaborative or individual.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Operate constructively and collaboratively as part of a team;
2. Develop observation, research, communication and information gathering skills;
3. Contribute as a discipline-specific practitioner within an interdisciplinary context;
4. Conduct critical enquiry and provide summative reviews of peers across disciplines;
5. Conceptualise, design and create a response to a given interdisciplinary problem;
6. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the interdisciplinary practice, in order to collaborate safely with peers.

Fieldwork may be required for this unit. Full details will be outlined in the Unit Guide.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 8 contact hours plus 16 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This interdisciplinary studies unit will engage with complex contemporary challenges via project-based activities and problem-based learning. Students will apply knowledge, techniques and methodologies from their individual disciplines in collaboration with others' as they investigate a range of disciplinary perspectives and approaches relevant to the challenge at hand. Student cohorts may include any combination of art, design or architecture students as well as students from other disciplinary backgrounds. Developing the ability to critically and creatively engage with 'real world' problems through interdisciplinary approaches will be the core of learning in this unit. Students will develop skills in communication, collaboration and innovation, as well as reflective approaches that will focus on developing a clearer understanding of the personal perspective and skills each contributor brings to a shared challenge. Final outcomes from the unit may include collaborative or individual submissions.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Understand a range of opportunities for discipline-specific practitioners in interdisciplinary contexts;
2. Apply collaboration, representation and communication skills for interdisciplinary engagement;
3. Conduct critical enquiry relevant to an identified issue, and analyse and evaluate findings;
4. Conceptualise, develop and present a creative response to a given interdisciplinary problem;
5. Critically reflect on the students' own contributions to an interdisciplinary undertaking;
6. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the interdisciplinary study, in order to collaborate safely with peers.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 4 contact hours plus 8 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

Design Thinking applies the skills and strategies developed by designers to a wide range of problems and situations. These skills and strategies include a range of conceptual and communication approaches, ways to explore and reconsider the context in which we work, as well as what should or could be achieved. Design thinking brings together some approaches that are known in the sciences and humanities, such as analysis and synthesis, but applies them in ways that are particular to a design approach. Design thinking can enable a more flexible approach to problem solving, and a more nuanced engagement with the complex issues of our contemporary world. This unit will introduce students to the key skills and practices associated with design thinking, and offer opportunities to explore the application of these basic creativity techniques in a range of disciplines.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of the concepts of design thinking and their application;
2. Identify and analyse ill-defined, real-world project problems and relevant design thinking approaches;
3. Apply Design Thinking methods and approaches to a project-based problem, to develop new perspectives on key issues and to identify potential opportunties;
4. Develop, test and evaluate original proposals in response to project-based problems;
5. Develop an awareness of their preferred approaches to complex tasks, and ways these may be extended through Design Thinking.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including an average of 3 contact hours (in person or online) plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

Digital humanities

The interdisciplinary studio environment provides through team-based project activities and problem-based learning, the further application of knowledge, techniques and methodologies from the students' individual disciplines, whilst addressing a complex multi-faceted problem. The unit may involve any combination of art, design or architecture students. The ability to critically and creatively engage with research and 'real world' problems through interdisciplinary approaches will be the core of this unit. Students will further develop skills in communication, collaboration and innovation, essential tools for both professional practice and research activities within their chosen field and beyond. The final outcomes from the unit may be collaborative or individual.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Operate constructively and collaboratively as part of a team;
2. Develop observation, research, communication and information gathering skills;
3. Contribute as a discipline-specific practitioner within an interdisciplinary context;
4. Conduct critical enquiry and provide summative reviews of peers across disciplines;
5. Conceptualise, design and create a response to a given interdisciplinary problem;
6. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the interdisciplinary practice, in order to collaborate safely with peers.

Fieldwork may be required for this unit. Full details will be outlined in the Unit Guide.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 8 contact hours plus 16 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit builds on ADA1111 or ADA3111 for students in undergraduate courses, and on ADA4500 for coursework Masters' students. The unit will extend students' individual understanding of Design Thinking approaches, supporting the development of valuable personal practices to inform new proposals relevant to students' interests and disciplines. Students will explore skills that support design insight and innovation and will refine bespoke approaches to the resolution of project-based problems and explorations. Students will develop their ability to investigate context and to identify actionable opportunities, applying and refining Design Thinking principles to connect project potential to real-world opportunities.

The unit highlights the 'opportunities of wickedness' in ill-defined design problems, and will focus on student development and application of communication tools that support the fruitful exploration of personal perspective. Reflective practices focussing on the experience, engendering and application of conceptual momentum will be a key element of the unit.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of the concepts of Design Thinking and identification of actionable opportunities in developing projects;
2. Understand and actively engage personal perspectives in a design development process;
3. Identify, capitalise on and maximise the 'opportunities of wickedness' in project design;
4. Apply project communication techniques using a range of tools to articulate and critique the evolution of design solutions;
5. Effectively employ reflective practices as part of the development of design solutions.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including an average of 3 contact hours (in person or online) plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit is an introduction to visual cultures from the perspectives of art, design and architecture. Key themes within contemporary visual culture are discussed in terms of aesthetic, technological, historical and ideological contexts. Students develop critical skills in analysing the diverse artefacts and practices of art, design and architecture and communicating their significance in verbal and written forms.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will have the ability to:

1. Identify works of art, design and architecture and place them in cultural contexts;
2. Recognise relationships between art, design and architecture in the development of visual culture;
3. Engage with key issues and concerns within contemporary visual culture;
4. Critically analyse works of visual culture and communicate their findings in verbal and written form;
5. Identify contemporary visual culture with an awareness of ethical, social and cultural issues.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

The aesthetic, spiritual and ideological energies of the industrial period in painting, furniture, advertising, metalwork and so on. The meaning of works of art and design and the meaning of the standard survey which is traditionally constructed to explain the patterns of art history.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Interpret the cultural significance of works of art and design by placing them in the appropriate social, cultural and artistic climate;
2. Chart the aesthetic and semantic origins of works and identify their social role, engaging a structured combination of historical information and imaginative conjecture;
3. Cultivate theoretical curiosity for the increasing alienation of design, art and craft in the industrial period;
4. Produce a perceptive description of works and imaginatively connect such description with critical awareness;
5. Present a combination of factual and subjective arguments in an articulate, critical and written manner;
6. Recognise and champion critical values when conducting visual analysis and purposefully identify subjective habits and assumptions underlying attempts at historical or objective observation.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

Art Writing and Criticism is a unit in the "practical" dimension of the study of art history. Students will explore the various registers, genres and venues in which the discussion of art is carried out today - from academic journals, magazines, newspapers to online. Students will both gain a theoretical perspective on these different approaches to the discussion of art and their various histories and themselves undertake a number of practical exercises in writing in these different styles and formats. Students will especially be directed to thinking what is the future of the discussion of art in the new age of the internet and the electronic media. What opportunities can they think of for themselves and others to put the art-historical knowledge they otherwise gain in their studies to practical use in the public arena?

Throughout the unit a number of practical exercises in writing about art will be undertaken, giving students a sense of the different requirements for different kinds of writing. Above all, they will form the habit of writing about art, and understand that writing about art is a "practice" just as artists have a practice. To this extent, Art Writing and Criticism must be seen as allied to the new units offered in art curation (Curating: Histories and Theories and Curating: Practices) in opening up to students studying Art History certain "practical" or "vocational" outcomes for their skills and knowledges.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify and analyse the different places and formats in which the discussion of art takes place;
2. Demonstrate practical mastery of the various genres and styles of art writing;
3. Apply good work habits with regard to their own "art writing" practice;
4. Develop new venues and opportunities for art writing in the 21st century;
5. Employ new skills in online web publishing, graphic design and layout required to self- and other-publish online and in book and magazine production.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit focuses on European art of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Key historical and theoretical topics in the art of the period will be considered, such as: the emphasis in Italian and Spanish Baroque art on spectacle, excess and spirituality; the tradition and legacy of French classicism from Poussin to Ingres; Northern European genre and still-life painting; art as politics and social commentary in France, England and Spain; the emergence of landscape and the philosophy of the picturesque and the sublime; the eroticism and escapism of Rococo; and the phenomenon of Romanticism.

The unit will provide students with an understanding of the history and historiography of European art after the Renaissance and before Modernism. Recent research and current topics of debate will be emphasised in lectures, seminar discussions and readings.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify the main characteristics of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European art;
2. Understand the historical, cultural and social contexts of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European art;
3. Understand key aesthetic, philosophical and historiographical concepts in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European art;
4. Perform critical analyses of historical works of art;
5. Demonstrate a broad knowledge of the history of European art.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit concentrates on the artist's body in art, including photography, performance, painting, sculpture, video and multi-media art. It will consider examples from the history of 20th century art but will focus primarily on art practice since 1960. The unit will deal with issues of identity, gender, sexuality and difference, drawing on performative theories of subjectivity. It will look closely at experimental art practices and how these practices have sought to close the gap between art and life; from the Happenings of the 1960s, through the body art of the 1960s and 70s, to relational aesthetics, and flash mob performance works in the 2000s. The unit will investigate live action in contrast to represented action, and will consider the live action and its remediation in video, digital art and film.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Have developed a detailed understanding of contemporary, experimental art and performance practice which centres on the body;
2. Have developed a working knowledge of the key debates and theoretical dialogues that have occupied artists and critics in relation to performativity in art;
3. Have developed skills in visual and critical analysis that can be applied to the investigation of the body and its performativity in art;
4. Have acquired the ability to research and write from an informed position about the body in contemporary art.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

World Art offers students an overview of non-Western art, with an emphasis on contemporary art. Particular emphasis will be given to Asian art, but the art of other regions (South America, Africa, the Middle East) will also be taken up. As well as becoming broadly familiar with a range of non-Western artists and art practices, students will be introduced to a number of the important methods for thinking about world or global art (postcolonialism, alternative or parallel modernities). Lectures will also be given on the "pre-history" of our global contemporaneity, with selected case studies showing how art has always been "world art" and Western and non- Western art have always been in a relationship with each other.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Recognise and speak of a wide variety of art from non-Western countries and regions;
2. Engage with and employ a number of the existing art-historical methods to analyse this art;
3. Contextualise historically this art;
4. Analyse critically the existing art-critical methods;
5. Situate both contemporary and historical Australian art within a wider world context.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

International Art 1945-1990 covers the art produced in the second half of the 20th century and its relevance to contemporary practice. Various actions, interventions and critiques of institutions, museums and the art market will be considered, as well as feminist, queer and non-Western perspectives. An objective of the unit is to reach an understanding of the way art-historical discourses promote and exclude certain practices and practitioners (especially due to gender, race, sexuality and location), with an emphasis on incorporating recent research on artists who were previously excluded from the historical "canon".

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify a number of major Western and non-Western artists and art movements after the War;
2. Apply a range of methodological approaches to this art;
3. Employ a critical perspective onto existing constructions of art history;
4. Demonstrate an ability to respond to thoughtfully and critically respond to images in one's own words.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit considers contemporary international art from a variety of perspectives, with each week aligned to a relevant, local exhibition. The unit covers a range of material concerns: sculptural, painterly, filmic, performative, durational, conceptual and so on. Themes may change in different years, but include such questions as "What is contemporary art?", "How do we define aesthetics after conceptualism?" and "How can art be political today?" The course also covers institutional concerns, such as methods of dissemination, global reach, biennales, gallery contexts and curatorial implications. With help from teaching staff, students are encouraged to focus the assessment tasks on the concerns of their studio practice or art writing and art history interests.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify the wider concerns of contemporary international art as they are played out in a local context;
2. Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of contemporary Australian art and the various art institutions of Melbourne;
3. Apply wider aesthetic, political and institutional concerns to particular art practices and institutions.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit looks at key moments in history in which art and artists have actively strived to generate social change. With a particular focus on the late 20th and 21st centuries, Art and Social Change critically explores the dynamic sites in which art, life and activism intersect. Diverse contexts and artistic practices will be examined. Topics include the use of art in political propaganda, culture jamming, identity politics, indigenous art and politics, the environment, art and the impact of global terrorism, and critiques of the art world itself. These thematic weekly study topics will be complimented by discussions of theory from key writers and theorists in the field.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Have developed an appreciation for the diverse ways in which artists have intervened in the social world since the modern period;
2. Approach art history with an appreciation for the social and political forces that inform art practice;
3. Be able to analyse activist art critically in a manner that reveals the strengths and weaknesses of different artistic approaches;
4. Be familiar with the key political philosophies that have informed the production and reception of politically motivated art;
5. Be able to express verbally and in writing critical points of connection between art and social change;
6. Understand the links between practice, theory and spectatorship in activist art.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit focuses on the art and architecture of early modern Italy. Key examples of Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque painting, sculpture, architecture, material culture, urbanism and landscape design are considered on site and in context. The principles of early modern Italian art and architectural theory are introduced, from the Renaissance emulation of Classical culture to the Baroque preoccupation with spectacle. The unit also emphasizes the multiple ways in which historical viewers experienced art: as aesthetic object, as narrative, as craft, as divine presence, and as talisman.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify the main characteristics of Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque art and architecture;
2. Understand the multiple historical, cultural, social and physical contexts of Italian art and architecture;
3. Understand the principles of historical art and architectural theory, as well as their critical reception;
4. Engage in on site analyses of works of visual art and architecture;
5. Demonstrate their awareness of the historical precedents for, and dimensions of, their own practice.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

3 contact hours per week or equivalent, site visits and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit focuses on research in contemporary art and architecture. Using international exhibitions of contemporary art, and/or art historical sites the unit will direct students through a fieldwork program. This will consider the context and conditions of contemporary art and architecture exhibition. Issues of contemporary art and its audiences will be engaged and/or the opportunity for art historical research. Taking advantage of contemporary exhibition opportunities, the unit will allow for a study of a contemporary artist's work in situ and/or a historical artwork.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Research and engage in on site analyses of works of visual art and architecture;
2. Understand and evaluate the cultural, social and physical contexts of contemporary art exhibition;
3. Engage in research fieldwork;
4. Demonstrate their awareness of the precedents for, and dimensions of, their own exhibition practice.

Research book 3000 words (50%)

Essay 2500 words (50%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours, site visits and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

The overall objective of this unit is to gain an understanding of the history of the moving image as it sits in a contemporary art context. The course will cover a range of moving image works, from feature-length films produced with a cinema audience in mind to short films and artist-made films made for art audiences, gallery installations and non-cinematic modes of projection.

Upon successful completion of this subject students should:

1. Understand the dynamic role played by the moving image in modern and contemporary art;
2. Be familiar with key issues in the history of international and Australian art in the modern and contemporary period, as they relate to the moving image;
3. Be able to identify the cultural and historical circumstances in which these artworks have been produced;
4. Identify and understand the developments specific to the constant innovation of moving image practices during this period;
5. Have developed their ability to think creatively and express their ideas clearly in written communication.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit focuses on the representation, design, experience and interpretation of space, both in Australia and abroad. Concepts of space and place are central to any understanding of modern society and culture and are at the forefront of scholarship and thought in several disciplines. This unit considers the aesthetics, politics and ethics of a wide range of social spatial environments, discourses and environments, with a particular emphasis on the ideas of space as inclusion and space as exclusion.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Be aware of current discourses in art, indigenous studies, public space and architecture that deal with the representation, experience and interpretation of space;
2. Be able to identify the social dynamic in key examples of recent art, architectural and design practice concerned with the articulation of place and spatial experience;
3. Have an awareness of how the notion of place differs across the various historical, cultural and political circumstances in which art is made;
4. Have acquired a good understanding of the multiple ways in which space is articulated and experienced within an Australian context that is grounded in Indigenous culture and history;
5. Have developed the skills to perform a critical analysis of spatial environments;
6. Have become aware of the theoretical and cultural precedents for and dimensions of their own practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

Popular Culture offers a history of popular culture from the late 18th century when the idea first arose through to the present. The course also offers a survey of the most important methodological approaches to popular culture. Topics touched on range from Immanuel Kant's theorisation of the "Fine Arts" to the folk music of Bob Dylan. The course concludes with the speculation that the era of popular culture is now over with the rise of the internet.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify the long historical debate between high and popular culture;
2. Elaborate certain important interventions in this debate (Kant, Herder, Adorno, Bourdieu);
3. Demonstrate an ability to use this knowledge to consider and discuss contemporary art.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit offers students a synopsis of Indigenous Australian art and practice as a vehicle for the production of knowledge. This unit promotes an examination of Indigenous cultural productions from an Indigenous viewpoint and lens, which enables students to experience not only an acquisition of content of Indigenous practice but through a unique methodological Indigenous approach. Students examine historical and recent cultural productions to learn about their significance in Aboriginal and Torres Strait culture, society and its knowledge economy and its relationship to the broader Australian historical, cultural and political space. Lectures and tutorials provide students with necessary knowledge and a platform to engage with this knowledge in an appropriately ethnographical and experiential way. These lectures provide insight in to Indigenous production in context of pre-colonial history, an imagined post-colonial trajectory through to its interactivity with de-colonisation and the onset of new materialism. Students will develop a deep understanding of the relationality that Indigenous culture has with the premise of Country, its impact on practice and its relationship to their own place and situated experience.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Develop an appreciation, understanding and critical reconfiguration of the cultural value of Indigenous art and practice;
2. Recognise and discuss the major art forms of Indigenous art and practice;
3. Critically examine and evaluate the changes to Indigenous art and practice through colonisation;
4. Examine the historical development and impact of Indigenous art and practice on the broader Australian artistic and cultural context;
5. Reflect on the value of Indigenous art, practice and knowledge in their own situated experience.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit will offer a history of photography from its invention in the mid-nineteenth century through to the present. It will also offer a survey of the various attempts to theorise the new medium of photography. The unit will conclude with a detailed consideration of the new "digital" era we are now living in, in which not only is "photography" the dominant artistic medium and technique but the whole world becomes in effect "photographic". Today it is arguable that "photography' in the form of the digital not only determines the making of images but also their circulation and reception.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will have developed:

1. A broad knowledge of the multi-disciplinary nature of photography;
2. Critical skills that enable them to analyse a broad range of photographic texts and contexts;
3. An understanding of the critical and theoretical debates related to photography in society;
4. An understanding of two different modes of reproduction: the analogue and the digital;
5. An understanding of the ways in which technologies of reproduction change modes of representation.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit focuses on Neo-Baroque aesthetics in contemporary culture and their historical antecedents. The Baroque themes of spectacle, trompe l'oeil excess, and incorporeal experience will be examined with reference to the visual arts from Caravaggio to Borromini. The return of these preoccupations in contemporary art and media will also be explored. Key historical and theoretical topics, such as the status of illusionism and narrative in art, the representation of spirituality, sexuality and death, and the recent 'remediation'of earlier visual forms and ideas will be emphasized.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify the main characteristics of Baroque and Neo-Baroque visual culture;
2. Understand the historical, cultural, and social contexts of Baroque and Neo-Baroque art and media;
3. Understand key aesthetic and theoretical concepts in Baroque and Neo-Baroque visual culture;
4. Perform critical analyses of historical and contemporary works of visual art and architecture;
5. Demonstrate their awareness of the historical and recent precedents for, and dimensions of, their own practice.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit explores the related practices of art criticism and curatorship and their role in communicating art to its publics. It offers a brief history of criticism/curatorship and critical/curatorial approaches, an assessment of reviews, including those of local exhibitions in Melbourne, and considerations of the theoretical underpinnings of critical reception. Students are invited to explore how they might themselves participate in the production of visual critique in the form of exhibition reviews, catalogue essays, curatorial statements, artist statements and so forth.

Upon successful completion of this unit students should:

1. Have a critical perspective of the selection of the voice, motives and bias of art critics and criticism;
2. Appreciate criticism as a genre of writing, with the unique cultural and practical contingencies acting upon it, and understand the variety of art writing which it comprises;
3. Understand the role of the curator as having a creative, political and active part in the production, mediation and dissemination of contemporary art;
4. Identify and understand the developments specific to the rise of curator as an important cultural commentator, and the contemporary challenges faced by art criticism;
5. Have developed their ability to think creatively and express their ideas clearly in written communication.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

Digital humanities

This unit will offer students an introduction to the most important and influential theories of curating and provide an overview of the history of curating from the mid-18th century on. Although the unit will focus on curating that involves art objects and art practices through a history of exhibitions, it will also consider historical and contemporary instances of curating that do not involve art objects (from the Wunderkammer to curating performance) or approach curating as an expanded field of practice that may be activist, temporal, decolonising, and so on. The overall aim of the unit is to provide students with a working vocabulary so that they can ask critical questions of the contemporary practice of curation.

Lectures will largely provide a chronological history of curating, starting with early museums and collections, but with an emphasis on the rise of curating as a practice and the figure of the curator from the mid-1970s on. A number of key instances of curating (particular exhibitions and international biennales and triennials) will be selected for analysis. In this way, students will be given both an overall history of art curating and a way of thinking critically about the term's almost infinite expansion in the present. The unit aims to provide students with an appropriate working method for curating they might undertake in the future and a way of thinking about issues of curating if they choose to work in a museum or gallery context or write about art. In some ways, the unit is intended as complementary to the more practice-based unit Curating: Practices, although this is not its only possible outcome.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify the key theoretical questions involved in the practice of art curating;
2. Demonstrate a broad historical overview of the practice of curating;
3. Elaborate key moments in the history of curating and of prominent historical and contemporary curators;
4. Apply this knowledge to any practical act of curating they might undertake;
5. Engage with the issues and theories of curating insofar as it applies to their art practice or study of art history.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

Curating: Practices is intended as a complement to Curating: Histories and Theories (although the units may be taken in any order). In this unit, students are encouraged to plan one or several acts of curation that need not involve works of art. Students may curate photographs, their hobbies, pieces of art writing, their own objects or those of others. However, the emphasis will be on the final form of the exhibition and the student's ability to explain and justify this curation. These exhibitions can take place in a variety of public spaces, including online. Classes will consist of 3 contact hours in which the lecturer will work with the students, and the students along with the lecturer will hold "crit" sessions in which proposed and upcoming exhibitions are discussed and workshopped.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate practical and theoretical skills in contemporary curating;
2. Put on an actual or online curated exhibition;
3. Work with others in putting on such a curated exhibition;
4. Evaluate the success or not of their own and others' exhibitions;
5. Be ready to start curating exhibitions.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

Australian Art offers a broad historical survey of Australian art from European colonisation to the present. Topics examined will be the First Fleet artists, the work of John Glover, the Heidelberg School, Australian modernism, post-War Australian landscape, the work of Albert Namatjira and Margaret Preston and the work of a number of contemporary Australian artists, including Gordon Bennett and Tracey Moffatt. The course will ask questions concerning the "Australianness" of Australian art and whether we can write a new history of Australian art appropriate to contemporary conditions.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify a range of critical perspectives onto the history of Australian art;
2. Show a broad familiarity with the major artists in the history of Australian art;
3. Discuss a number of contemporary Australian artists and the methodological questions involved in the writing of Australian art history today;
4. Demonstrate an ability to respond thoughtfully and critically to works of art in the student's own words.

Review of art exhibition 1000 words (20%)

Essay 2000 words (40%)

Slide test (40%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit examines the medium and its materiality across a range of visual art practices including: painting, sculpture, installation, photography, video, multi-media, social practices and performance art. It focuses on a historical lineage of art's mediums and disciplines and how they are framed, constituted and judged in a diverse range of academic fields. Concepts and traditions of modern aesthetics, the effect of late-capitalism, socio-economic critiques of art and technology are pivotal to any understanding of how art's form moves between modes of medium-specificity to trans-disciplinary realms. The unit introduces key theoretical tenets to analyse late modernist and contemporary art practices as case studies. It introduces students to the critical dialogue around the medium and artists' material processes.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Understand and articulate what a medium is both conceptually and practically;
2. Analyse the debates surrounding the defence and criticism of medium specificity and the trans-disciplinary;
3. Contextualise studio practice within the conceptual models explored in the unit;
4. Reflect and engage in critical dialogue about the medium and its importance in twenty-first century art.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

Art Writing and Criticism is a unit in the "practical" dimension of the study of art history. Students will explore the various registers, genres and venues in which the discussion of art is carried out today - from academic journals, magazines, newspapers to online. Students will both gain a theoretical perspective on these different approaches to the discussion of art and their various histories and themselves undertake a number of practical exercises in writing in these different styles and formats. Students will especially be directed to thinking what is the future of the discussion of art in the new age of the internet and the electronic media. What opportunities can they think of for themselves and others to put the art-historical knowledge they otherwise gain in their studies to practical use in the public arena?

Throughout the unit a number of practical exercises in writing about art will be undertaken, giving students a sense of the different requirements for different kinds of writing. Above all, they will form the habit of writing about art, and understand that writing about art is a "practice" just as artists have a practice. To this extent, Art Writing and Criticism must be seen as allied to the new units offered in art curation (Curating: Histories and Theories and Curating: Practices) in opening up to students studying Art History certain "practical" or "vocational" outcomes for their skills and knowledges.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify and analyse the different places and formats in which the discussion of art takes place;
2. Demonstrate practical mastery of the various genres and styles of art writing;
3. Apply good work habits with regard to their own "art writing" practice;
4. Develop new venues and opportunities for art writing in the 21st century;
5. Employ new skills in online web publishing, graphic design and layout required to self- and other-publish online and in book and magazine production.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit focuses on European art of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Key historical and theoretical topics in the art of the period will be considered, such as: the emphasis in Italian and Spanish Baroque art on spectacle, excess and spirituality; the tradition and legacy of French classicism from Poussin to Ingres; Northern European genre and still-life painting; art as politics and social commentary in France, England and Spain; the emergence of landscape and the philosophy of the picturesque and the sublime; the eroticism and escapism of Rococo; and the phenomenon of Romanticism.

The unit will provide students with an understanding of the history and historiography of European art after the Renaissance and before Modernism. Recent research and current topics of debate will be emphasised in lectures, seminar discussions and readings.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify the main characteristics of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European art;
2. Understand the historical, cultural and social contexts of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European art;
3. Understand key aesthetic, philosophical and historiographical concepts in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European art;
4. Perform critical analyses of historical works of art;
5. Demonstrate a broad knowledge of the history of European art.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit concentrates on the artist's body in art, including photography, performance, painting, sculpture, video and multi-media art. It will consider examples from the history of 20th century art but will focus primarily on art practice since 1960. The unit will deal with issues of identity, gender, sexuality and difference, drawing on performative theories of subjectivity. It will look closely at experimental art practices and how these practices have sought to close the gap between art and life; from the Happenings of the 1960s, through the body art of the 1960s and 70s, to relational aesthetics, and flash mob performance works in the 2000s. The unit will investigate live action in contrast to represented action, and will consider the live action and its remediation in video, digital art and film.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will have:

1. Developed a detailed understanding of contemporary, experimental art and performance practice which centres on the body;
2. Developed a working knowledge of the key debates and theoretical dialogues that have occupied artists and critics in relation to performativity in art;
3. Developed skills in visual and critical analysis that can be applied to the investigation of the body and its performativity in art;
4. Acquired the ability to research and write from an informed position about the body in contemporary art.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

International Art 1945-1990 covers the art produced in the second half of the 20th century and its relevance to contemporary practice. Various actions, interventions and critiques of institutions, museums and the art market will be considered, as well as feminist, queer and non-Western perspectives. An objective of the unit is to reach an understanding of the way art-historical discourses promote and exclude certain practices and practitioners (especially due to gender, race, sexuality and location), with an emphasis on incorporating recent research on artists who were previously excluded from the historical "canon".

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify a number of major Western and non-Western artists and art movements after the War;
2. Apply a range of methodological approaches to this art;
3. Employ a critical perspective onto existing constructions of art history;
4. Demonstrate an ability to respond to thoughtfully and critically respond to images in one's own words.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit considers contemporary international art from a variety of perspectives, with each week aligned to a relevant, local exhibition. The unit covers a range of material concerns: sculptural, painterly, filmic, performative, durational, conceptual and so on. Themes may change in different years, but include such questions as "What is contemporary art?", "How do we define aesthetics after conceptualism?" and "How can art be political today?" The course also covers institutional concerns, such as methods of dissemination, global reach, biennales, gallery contexts and curatorial implications. With help from teaching staff, students are encouraged to focus the assessment tasks on the concerns of their studio practice or art writing and art history interests.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify the wider concerns of contemporary international art as they are played out in a local context;
2. Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of contemporary Australian art and the various art institutions of Melbourne;
3. Apply wider aesthetic, political and institutional concerns to particular art practices and institutions.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

A 'survey' of visual arts in Australia from colonisation to contemporary contexts. Historical and social perspectives in the development of painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography and film, architecture and design. Representation and subjectivity, cultural identity, nationalism and nationhood, ethnicity and gender. Issues of mainstream and marginality; notions of the 'centre' and regionalism, Australia's relationship to Europe and European art generally, and the notion of landscape as a shaper of national identity.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Recognise the range of visual practices that have operated within Australian culture from both an historical and contemporary perspective;
2. Understand the significance and ideological uses of Australian visual practices in constructing notions of national identity;
3. Have a post-colonial perspective in contextualizing the historical and social developments of Australian visual culture;
4. Critically discuss the cultural practices of Australian artists and designers, in historical, artistic, ideological and socio-political contexts, and theorise the basis for the marginalisation of certain individuals and groups;
5. Be aware of the problematical nature of Australian artistic practices especially in terms of the local artist/designer's position within both regional and international contexts.

Short essay (40%)

Long essay (55%)

Reader discussion (5%)

12 hours per week including a 2-hour lecture, 1-hour tutorial and 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit looks at key moments in history in which art and artists have actively strived to generate social change. With a particular focus on the late 20th and 21st centuries, Art and Social Change critically explores the dynamic sites in which art, life and activism intersect. Diverse contexts and artistic practices will be examined. Topics include the use of art in political propaganda, culture jamming, identity politics, indigenous art and politics, the environment, art and the impact of global terrorism, and critiques of the art world itself. These thematic weekly study topics will be complimented by discussions of theory from key writers and theorists in the field.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Have developed an appreciation for the diverse ways in which artists have intervened in the social world since the modern period;
2. Approach art history with an appreciation for the social and political forces that inform art practice;
3. Be able to analyse activist art critically in a manner that reveals the strengths and weaknesses of different artistic approaches;
4. Be familiar with the key political philosophies that have informed the production and reception of politically motivated art;
5. Be able to express verbally and in writing critical points of connection between art and social change;
6. Understand the links between practice, theory and spectatorship in activist art.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours per week and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit focuses on the art and architecture of early modern Italy. Key examples of Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque painting, sculpture, architecture, material culture, urbanism and landscape design are considered on site and in context. The principles of early modern Italian art and architectural theory are introduced, from the Renaissance emulation of Classical culture to the Baroque preoccupation with spectacle. The unit also emphasizes the multiple ways in which historical viewers experienced art: as aesthetic object, as narrative, as craft, as divine presence, and as talisman.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify the main characteristics of Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque art and architecture;
2. Understand the multiple historical, cultural, social and physical contexts of Italian art and architecture;
3. Understand the principles of historical art and architectural theory, as well as their critical reception;
4. Engage in on site analyses of works of visual art and architecture;
5. Demonstrate their awareness of the historical precedents for, and dimensions of, their own practice.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week consisting of 3 contact hours or equivalent, site visits and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

The overall objective of this unit is to gain an understanding of the history of the moving image as it sits in a contemporary art context. The course will cover a range of moving image works, from feature-length films produced with a cinema audience in mind to short films and artist-made films made for art audiences, gallery installations and non-cinematic modes of projection.

Upon successful completion of this subject students should:

1. Understand the dynamic role played by the moving image in modern and contemporary art;
2. Be familiar with key issues in the history of international and Australian art in the modern and contemporary period, as they relate to the moving image;
3. Be able to identify the cultural and historical circumstances in which these artworks have been produced;
4. Identify and understand the developments specific to the constant innovation of moving image practices during this period;
5. Have developed their ability to think creatively and express their ideas clearly in written communication.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit focuses on the representation, design, experience and interpretation of space, both in Australia and abroad. Concepts of space and place are central to any understanding of modern society and culture and are at the forefront of scholarship and thought in several disciplines. This unit considers the aesthetics, politics and ethics of a wide range of social spatial environments, discourses and environments, with a particular emphasis on the ideas of space as inclusion and space as exclusion.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Be aware of current discourses in art, indigenous studies, public space and architecture that deal with the representation, experience and interpretation of space;
2. Be able to identify the social dynamic in key examples of recent art, architectural and design practice concerned with the articulation of place and spatial experience;
3. Have an awareness of how the notion of place differs across the various historical, cultural and political circumstances in which art is made;
4. Have acquired a good understanding of the multiple ways in which space is articulated and experienced within an Australian context that is grounded in Indigenous culture and history;
5. Have developed the skills to perform a critical analysis of spatial environments;
6. Have become aware of the theoretical and cultural precedents for and dimensions of their own practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit is designed to assist students specialising in art history and curating to extend their field of study with practical art writing and curatorial experience. A program of directed reading and critical writing, facilitated by regular meetings with staff, will underpin a research project designed to allow students to apply the knowledge they have learnt throughout the degree. Typically, this project will include an exhibition catalogue essay and the curating of an exhibition.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate evidence of extensive research and independent, critical thinking;
2. Appreciate the catalogue essay as a genre of writing, with the unique cultural and practical contingencies acting upon it, and understand the variety of art writing which it comprises;
3. Consolidate their understanding of the role of the curator as having a creative part in the production, mediation and dissemination of contemporary art;
4. Demonstrate their ability to think creatively and express their ideas clearly in written communication.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

Popular Culture offers a history of popular culture from the late 18th century when the idea first arose through to the present. The course also offers a survey of the most important methodological approaches to popular culture. Topics touched on range from Immanuel Kant's theorisation of the "Fine Arts" to the folk music of Bob Dylan. The course concludes with the speculation that the era of popular culture is now over with the rise of the internet.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify the long historical debate between high and popular culture;
2. Elaborate certain important interventions in this debate (Kant, Herder, Adorno, Bourdieu);
3. Demonstrate an ability to use this knowledge to consider and discuss contemporary art.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit offers students a synopsis of Indigenous Australian art and practice as a vehicle for the production of knowledge. This unit promotes an examination of Indigenous cultural productions from an Indigenous viewpoint and lens, which enables students to experience not only an acquisition of content of Indigenous practice but through a unique methodological Indigenous approach. Students examine historical and recent cultural productions to learn about their significance in Aboriginal and Torres Strait culture, society and its knowledge economy and its relationship to the broader Australian historical, cultural and political space. Lectures and tutorials provide students with necessary knowledge and a platform to engage with this knowledge in an appropriately ethnographical and experiential way. These lectures provide insight in to Indigenous production in context of pre-colonial history, an imagined post-colonial trajectory through to its interactivity with de-colonisation and the onset of new materialism. Students will develop a deep understanding of the relationality that Indigenous culture has with the premise of Country, its impact on practice and its relationship to their own place and situated experience.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Develop an appreciation, understanding and critical reconfiguration of the cultural value of Indigenous art and practice;
2. Recognise and discuss the major art forms of Indigenous art and practice;
3. Critically examine and evaluate the changes to Indigenous art and practice through colonisation;
4. Examine the historical development and impact of Indigenous art and practice on the broader Australian artistic and cultural context;
5. Reflect on the value of Indigenous art, practice and knowledge in their own situated experience.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

The unit traces the history of international and Australian photography from the medium's invention to the 21st century. The unit will investigate the concept of analogue reproduction, especially photography's promise to represent the 'real' world, and consider practices in which the real is consistently manipulated. Photography will be considered across a range of disciplines: art, ethnographic and anthropological photographs; documentary photography; and the use of photography by the legal and medical system. Finally, the unit will address the changes in the production and circulation of images evident in digital modes of reproduction.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will have developed:

1. A broad knowledge of the history of international and Australian photography;
2. Critical skills that enable them to identify and analyse a broad range of photographs and contexts;
3. An understanding of the critical and theoretical debates related to photography in society;
4. An understanding of two different modes of reproduction: the analogue and the digital;
5. An understanding of the ways in which technologies of reproduction change modes of representation.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit focuses on Neo-Baroque aesthetics in contemporary culture and their historical antecedents. The Baroque themes of spectacle, trompe l'oeil excess, and incorporeal experience will be examined with reference to the visual arts from Caravaggio to Borromini. The return of these preoccupations in contemporary art and media will also be explored. Key historical and theoretical topics, such as the status of illusionism and narrative in art, the representation of spirituality, sexuality and death, and the recent 'remediation'of earlier visual forms and ideas will be emphasized.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify the main characteristics of Baroque and Neo-Baroque visual culture;
2. Understand the historical, cultural, and social contexts of Baroque and Neo-Baroque art and media;
3. Understand key aesthetic and theoretical concepts in Baroque and Neo-Baroque visual culture;
4. Perform critical analyses of historical and contemporary works of visual art and architecture;
5. Demonstrate their awareness of the historical and recent precedents for, and dimensions of, their own practice.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit explores the related practices of art criticism and curatorship and their role in communicating art to its publics. It offers a brief history of criticism/curatorship and critical/curatorial approaches, an assessment of reviews, including those of local exhibitions in Melbourne, and considerations of the theoretical underpinnings of critical reception. Students are invited to explore how they might themselves participate in the production of visual critique in the form of exhibition reviews, catalogue essays, curatorial statements, artist statements and so forth.

Upon successful completion of this subject students will:

1. Have a critical perspective of the selection of the voice, motives and bias of art critics and criticism;
2. Appreciate criticism as a genre of writing, with the unique cultural and practical contingencies acting upon it, and understand the variety of art writing which it comprises;
3. Understand the role of the curator as having a creative, political and active part in the production, mediation and dissemination of contemporary art;
4. Identify and understand the developments specific to the rise of curator as an important cultural commentator, and the contemporary challenges faced by art criticism;
5. Have developed their ability to think creatively and express their ideas clearly in written communication.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit will offer students an introduction to the most important and influential theories of curating and provide an overview of the history of curating from the mid-18th century on. Although the unit will focus on curating that involves art objects and art practices through a history of exhibitions, it will also consider historical and contemporary instances of curating that do not involve art objects (from the Wunderkammer to curating performance) or approach curating as an expanded field of practice that may be activist, temporal, decolonising, and so on. The overall aim of the unit is to provide students with a working vocabulary so that they can ask critical questions of the contemporary practice of curation.

Lectures will largely provide a chronological history of curating, starting with early museums and collections, but with an emphasis on the rise of curating as a practice and the figure of the curator from the mid-1970s on. A number of key instances of curating (particular exhibitions and international biennales and triennials) will be selected for analysis. In this way, students will be given both an overall history of art curating and a way of thinking critically about the term's almost infinite expansion in the present. The unit aims to provide students with an appropriate working method for curating they might undertake in the future and a way of thinking about issues of curating if they choose to work in a museum or gallery context or write about art. In some ways, the unit is intended as complementary to the more practice-based unit Curating: Practices, although this is not its only possible outcome.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify the key theoretical questions involved in the practice of art curating;
2. Demonstrate a broad historical overview of the practice of curating;
3. Elaborate key moments in the history of curating and of prominent historical and contemporary curators;
4. Apply this knowledge to any practical act of curating they might undertake;
5. Engage with the issues and theories of curating insofar as it applies to their art practice or study of art history.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

Curating: Practices is intended as a complement to Curating: Histories and Theories (although the units may be taken in any order). In this unit, students are encouraged to plan one or several acts of curation that need not involve works of art. Students may curate photographs, their hobbies, pieces of art writing, their own objects or those of others. However, the emphasis will be on the final form of the exhibition and the student's ability to explain and justify this curation. These exhibitions can take place in a variety of public spaces, including online. Classes will consist of 3 contact hours in which the lecturer will work with the students, and the students along with the lecturer will hold "crit" sessions in which proposed and upcoming exhibitions are discussed and workshopped.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate practical and theoretical skills in contemporary curating;
2. Put on an actual or online curated exhibition;
3. Work with others in putting on such a curated exhibition;
4. Evaluate the success or not of their own and others' exhibitions;
5. Be ready to start curating exhibitions.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

Australian Art offers a broad historical survey of Australian art from European colonisation to the present. Topics examined will be the First Fleet artists, the work of John Glover, the Heidelberg School, Australian modernism, post-War Australian landscape, the work of Albert Namatjira and Margaret Preston and the work of a number of contemporary Australian artists, including Gordon Bennett and Tracey Moffatt. The course will ask questions concerning the "Australianness" of Australian art and whether we can write a new history of Australian art appropriate to contemporary conditions.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify a range of critical perspectives onto the history of Australian art;
2. Show a broad familiarity with the major artists in the history of Australian art;
3. Discuss a number of contemporary Australian artists and the methodological questions involved in the writing of Australian art history today;
4. Demonstrate an ability to respond thoughtfully and critically to works of art in the student's own words.

Review of art exhibition 1000 words (20%)

Essay 2000 words (40%)

Slide test (40%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit examines the medium and its materiality across a range of visual art practices including: painting, sculpture, installation, photography, video, multi-media, social practices and performance art. It focuses on a historical lineage of art's mediums and disciplines and how they are framed, constituted and judged in a diverse range of academic fields. Concepts and traditions of modern aesthetics, the effect of late-capitalism, socio-economic critiques of art and technology are pivotal to any understanding of how art's form moves between modes of medium-specificity to trans-disciplinary realms. The unit introduces key theoretical tenets to analyse late modernist and contemporary art practices as case studies. It introduces students to the critical dialogue around the medium and artists' material processes.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Understand and articulate what a medium is both conceptually and practically;
2. Analyse the debates surrounding the defence and criticism of medium specificity and the trans-disciplinary;
3. Contextualise studio practice within the conceptual models explored in the unit;
4. Reflect and engage in critical dialogue about the medium and its importance in twenty-first century art.

Assignment 1500 words (40%)

Research essay 2500 words (60%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

The minor thesis should be on a topic chosen by the student and approved by the department by the end of the previous year. Students will be expected to commence work during the long vacation. The thesis will be written under supervision, and students will be expected to meet regularly with their supervisors. The thesis must be submitted in two typed copies, suitably bound, no later than the final day of the second semester.

100% in-semester assessment

The minor thesis should be on a topic chosen by the student and approved by the department by the end of the previous year. Students will be expected to commence work during the long vacation. The thesis will be written under supervision, and students will be expected to meet regularly with their supervisors. The thesis must be submitted in two typed copies, suitably bound, no later than the final day of the second semester.

100% in-semester assessment

This unit is designed to equip honours students with critical and theoretical skills appropriate to the study of art history and visual culture at an advanced level. Topics to be considered will include theories of the image, representation and meaning, the operation of ideology, especially in relation to race and gender, social theories (including Marxist and neo-Marxist accounts), applications of psychoanalysis to the visual field, postmodernism and its critiques, cyberculture, and recent theorisations of visual culture.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit is based on a practice of internships for students in cultural institutions. It is designed to provide students with first hand experience of working within the culture industry while introducing them to the types of research customarily undertaken in such institutions. After several preliminary seminars, students will be assigned to a museum/ gallery in which they will work for two days per week, over a period of nine weeks, under the direction of the relevant director. They will undertake a research project of specific relevance to the cultural institution.

100% in-semester assessment

1. 5 hour seminar per week for 4 weeks and 2 days per week during the 9 week period of internship.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit is the first part of a major art history, theory or curating research project. It provides an opportunity to research issues of art practice in the area(s) chosen by the student and approved by the department at the time of application. The thesis or equivalent will be developed under supervision, and students will be expected to meet regularly with their supervisors while undertaking independent research. This unit is followed by AHT4112 Major project under which the project and research must be completed.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify and critically evaluate current discourse in relation to an area of contemporary artistic production or curation;
2. Advance sustained critical arguments in relation to a specialised topic;
3. Use research methodology to conduct high level scholarly or curatorial research in their chosen field;
4. Communicate fresh interpretations of the literature or curatorial practice in their chosen field.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours (lecture, tutorial, individual supervision) per week.

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Project Studies is the second part of a major curating or art history and theory research project. Following on from AHT4111, it provides an opportunity to extend and complete the research in to issues of art practice in the area(s) chosen by the student and approved by the department by at the time of application. Consisting of a 15000 word written thesis or curatorial project equivalent, students will be expected to meet regularly with their supervisors while undertaking independent research.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Critically reflect and respond to current discourse in relation to an area of contemporary artistic production or curation;
2. Advance sustained critical arguments in relation to a specialised topic;
3. Apply research methodology to conduct high level scholarly or curatorial research in their chosen field;
4. Articulate interpretations of the literature or curatorial practice in their chosen field.

100% in-semester assessment

36 hours (lecture, tutorial, individual supervision) per week.

See also Unit timetable information

Students enrolled in this unit will complete a six-week internship with an external organisation, such as a gallery or museum, for a minimum of one day per week. The internship is self-managed, with the assistance of the Unit Coordinator and host organisation. The internship experience will enable students to put their skills and knowledge into practice in a professional workplace, and build industry contacts and confidence. Students will complete a journal that documents and reflects on the internship experience.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Work effectively in a professional environment;
2. Understand the essential elements of museum and gallery administration;
3. Apply and extend knowledge obtained through their degree in a professional setting;
4. Work autonomously on a range of tasks, such as the installation of artworks and the marketing of exhibitions;
5. Communicate the results of the internship through a reflexive journal.

Written report 1000 words (100%)

Off-campus: 48 hours (approximately one day per week over six weeks).

See also Unit timetable information

This unit aims to help students develop their knowledge and understanding of various key theoretical writers and concepts relevant to advanced studies in contemporary art. Prevailing critical theories and terms are outlined in order to open up research venues considered particularly productive for the art researcher's own personal directions. The unit is designed as a training for independent research and encourages students to investigate a wide range of ideas circulating in contemporary visual culture.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Be aware of current discourses in a range of disciplines which bear on contemporary artistic production;
2. Be able to pursue critical arguments with a sense of their ideological relativity;
3. Assess the bias of an investigative method, considering gender, class and ethnicity;
4. Understand methodology as a critique of method and be able to practice criticism in their chosen field;
5. Identify assumptions inherent in the formulation of critical questions and cultivate caution against prejudicing the outcomes of research by foreclosing on the terms of inquiry;
6. Be ready to explain the basis of art works not merely as the outcome of practical constraints but the expression of cultural values.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

Designed as a flexible unit, with an innovative small-group mode of delivery that enables the unit content to be student-led. It is specifically designed to enable students to contextualise their own creative practice in theoretical terms. With an emphasis on creative and critically aware approaches to visual production, the unit aims to open up and consolidate research avenues that may be particularly productive for individual student's personal directions.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Have a grasp of key concepts in contemporary art theory relevant to the area of practice which they are pursuing;
2. Be able to relate the terms of their practice to the broader field of contemporary art;
3. Be able to practice criticism in small forums, identifying critical questions of other people's practice and considering and conjecturing how aesthetic standards are the expression of cultural values;
4. Be able to sustain an exegetical defence of their work and its placement in current visual production;
5. Be able to explain the senses in which their art practice involves research.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

Foundation Studio introduces architectural design as a process of investigation, critical observation, and experiment. The unit focuses on design as a process engaged with the three-dimensional and material testing of ideas. Projects will be formulated to introduce issues such as scale in relation to the human body, site and environmental contexts, basic techniques of three-dimensional composition and the correct use of architectural drawing conventions.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Demonstrate a progression to a basic level of competence in architectural design;
2. Have the ability to undertake basic analysis and respond appropriately to a straight-forward brief;
3. Have developed a basic understanding of how observation, analysis, experiment and critique apply to the architectural design process;
4. Have acquired a basic range of skills in verbal, graphic and 3-dimensional presentation;
5. Have acquired a basic range of skills in 3-dimensional and material testing of ideas;
6. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 8 contact hours plus 16 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

Building on the basic architectural knowledge and skills attained in Architecture Foundation studio 1, this unit introduces students to a further level of complexity in the processes of investigation, critical observation, and experiment. The synthesis of a range of complex issues inherent in the production of architecture: material, structure, program, site, history and representation is further investigated in relationship to the production of architectural form.

Architecture Foundation studio 2 further emphasises the development of architectural designs through the three-dimensional and material testing of ideas. Students will continue the development of two and three-dimensional modes of representation. Studies will focus on developing a more nuanced understanding of design as a visual language and process of cultural production with a focus on social and environmental sustainability.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Demonstrate a basic level of competence in architectural design;
2. Have the ability to undertake a level of complex analysis and respond appropriately to a brief;
3. Have refined their understanding of how observation, analysis, experiment and critique apply to the architectural design process;
4. Have acquired a range of skills in verbal, graphic and 3-dimensional presentation;
5. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 6 contact hours plus 18 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

Delivered in conjunction with ARC1002. Explores materials, component systems, products and fabrication systems as they apply to building construction. This includes the study of materials in terms of their physical and chemical properties, environmental sustainability and impact, and involves physical testing and assessment of materials and their application in architecture.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Understand the basic use and properties of materials and fabrication techniques as they apply to architectural design;
2. Be familiar with historic and contemporary development of construction materials, component systems and fabrication techniques;
3. Understand basic physical and structural principles as they pertain to different materials;
4. Understand issues of environmental sustainability in relation to materials selection and design;
5. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 4 contact hours plus 8 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

Explores the principles, history and methods of perspective and orthographic projection, and engages in the practice of descriptive geometry through the use of contemporary computer technology and computer aided drafting (CAD). Basic techniques of visualisation and the translation of traditional analogue modes of representation into the digital will be introduced, along with technical CAD modelling and drawing skills in both two and three-dimensions.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Be aware of the function of computer aided drafting (CAD) as a fundamental tool of two and three-dimensional design;
2. Understand the transition between two-dimensional and three-dimensional systems of representation and their associated drawing conventions;
3. Have developed basic skills in computer aided drawing in two and three dimensions using industry standard hardware / software;
4. Understand the principles of descriptive geometry, its methods of representation and protocols of orthographic and axonometric projection;
5. Have basic knowledge of the theoretical and historical origins of perspective and orthographic projection as an analogue form of practice and representation;
6. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 4 contact hours plus 8 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

Architecture Design Studio 3 further refines the process of investigation, critical observation, and experiment integral to architectural practice. Continuing the emphasis on perceptive synthesis of the range of complex issues inherent in the production of architecture: material, structure, program, site, history and representation will be investigated in their relationship to the production of architectural form.

Design Studio 3 continues to emphasise the development of architectural designs through the three-dimensional and material testing of ideas. Students will continue the development of two and three-dimensional modes of representation. Studies will focus on developing an increasingly sophisticated understanding of design as a visual language and process of cultural production with a focus on social and environmental sustainability.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Demonstrate a progression to an intermediate level of competence in architectural design;
2. Have the ability to critically analyse and respond appropriately to a brief;
3. Have developed a competent understanding of how observation, analysis, experiment and critique apply to the architectural design process;
4. Have acquired an intermediate level of competence in a range of skills in verbal, graphic and 3-dimensional presentation;
5. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 6 contact hours plus 18 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

Architecture Design Studio 4 continues to expand on the conceptual understanding and skill base of preceding design studios. The unit elaborates on architectural design as a process of investigation, critical observation, and experiment. It increases the emphasis on design as a synthetic process encompassing a range of complex issues inherent in the production of architecture: material, structure, program, site, history and representation are investigated in their relationship to the production of architectural form.

Architecture Design Studio 4 continues to enhance the development of architectural designs through the three-dimensional and material testing of ideas. Studies in the unit will maintain their focus on developing an understanding of design as a visual language and process of cultural production with a focus on social and environmental sustainability.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Demonstrate an intermediate level of competence in architectural design;
2. Have the ability to critically analyse and respond appropriately to a compound brief;
3. Have developed a competent understanding of how observation, analysis, experiment and critique apply to the architectural design process;
4. Have acquired an intermediate level of competence in a range of skills in verbal, graphic and 3-dimensional presentation;
5. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 6 contact hours plus 18 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit explores structure as it relates to architectural design and construction. This includes study of structural principles and the implications of these in relation to architectural design and construction processes and outcomes. Direct physical testing and manipulation of materials and structural systems will be used to understand and assess their application in architecture. A range of structural behaviors will be addressed in response to optimisation and material efficiencies as well as their relationship to design intent. Projects will be introduced to promote dialogue between this unit and design studio project processes and outcomes. Integral to the subject matter is the engagement with strategies for environmental sustainability in relation to structure design and construction.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Understand basic structural principles as they apply to architectural design and construction;
2. Understand issues of material properties and construction processes in relation to structural system design;
3. Develop an understanding of issues of environmental sustainability in relation to structural system design;
4. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit focuses on the development of communication skills and understanding of conceptual, historical and ideological concerns which relate to 2 and 3 dimensional modes of representation. Examining the relationship between 2 dimensional modes of representation and 3 dimensional material and physical outcomes is a primary focus. Two related themes are explored: methods of digital image production, including visualisation and rendering; and processes of material production and fabrication.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Demonstrate basic skills and understanding of material fabrication techniques;
2. Demonstrate basic skills in digital rendering of 3-dimensional CAD models (using industry standard hardware/software) and the associated use of post-production software (such as the Adobe suite, for example);
3. Have developed a basic understanding of the transition between abstract 2-dimensional modes of representation and applied three-dimensional physical outcomes;
4. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit introduces the history and theory of selected Australian and international architecture since 1968.The unit will also introduce methods for the written, spoken and visual analysis of buildings including site visits, analytical case studies and other forms of analysis. In addition to the theoretical and historical contexts of the buildings studied the unit will investigate their contribution to architectural design.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will have developed:

1. A basic knowledge of the history and theory of post 1968 architecture;
2. A basic knowledge of the varied contexts of post 1968 architecture;
3. Ability to demonstrate a basic understanding of techniques applicable to the visual analysis of architecture;
4. A basic understanding of the selected buildings' contribution to architectural design;
5. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours work per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent, delivered in regular and or intensive mode.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit introduces the history and theory of 19th and 20th century Australian and international architecture. The subject will also develop methods for the written, discursive and visual analysis of buildings including site visits, analytical case studies and other forms of analysis. In addition to the theoretical and historical contexts of the buildings studied the subject will investigate their contribution to architectural design.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will have developed:

1. Knowledge of the history and theory of 19th and 20th century Australian and international architecture;
2. Knowledge of the varied contexts of 19th and 20th century Australian and international architecture;
3. An ability to demonstrate familiarity with the techniques applicable to the visual analysis of architecture;
4. An understanding of the selected buildings' contribution to architectural design;
5. An understanding and the ability to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

Architecture Design Studio 5 continues to expand and consolidate the conceptual understanding and skill base of preceding design studios. It continues to elaborate on architectural design as a process of investigation, critical observation, and experiment. It increases the emphasis on design as a synthetic process encompassing a range of complex issues inherent in the production of architecture: material, structure, program, site, history and representation are investigated in their relationship to the production of architectural form.

Architecture Design Studio 5 continues the development of architectural designs through the consolidation of three-dimensional and material testing of ideas. Studies in the unit will maintain a focus on developing design as a visual language and process of cultural production with an emphasis on social and environmental sustainability

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Demonstrate a progression to a refined level of competence in architectural design;
2. Have the ability to critically analyse and successfully respond to the complex range of issues inherent in an architectural design project;
3. Have developed a sophisticated understanding of how observation, analysis, experiment and critique apply to the architectural design process;
4. Have acquired an advanced level of competence and consolidation of all presentation skills: verbal, graphic and 3-dimensional;
5. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours a week including 6 contact hours plus 18 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

Architecture Design Studio 6 aims to consolidate the conceptual understanding and skill base of preceding design studios. It continues to elaborate on architectural design as a process of investigation, critical observation, and experiment. It increases the emphasis on design as a synthetic process encompassing a range of complex issues inherent in the production of architecture: material, structure, program, site, history and representation are investigated in their relationship to the production of architectural form.

Architecture Design Studio 6 continues the development of architectural designs through the further consolidation of three-dimensional and material testing of ideas. Studies in the unit will maintain a focus on developing design as a visual language and process of cultural production with an emphasis on social and environmental sustainability.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Demonstrate a refined level of competence in architectural design;
2. Have a demonstrated ability to critically analyse and successfully respond to the complex range of issues inherent in an architectural design project;
3. Have developed a sophisticated understanding of how observation, analysis, experiment and critique apply to the architectural design process;
4. Have acquired an advanced level of competence and consolidation of all presentation skills: verbal, graphic and 3-dimensional;
5. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 6 contact hours plus 18 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit explores environmental systems as they relate to architectural design and construction. This includes study of environmental design principles and the implications of these in relation to architectural design and construction processes and outcomes. Analysis of environmental systems will be conducted with a focus on the relationship to design intent. A range of environmental behaviors will be addressed in response to performance optimisation. Integral to the subject matter is the engagement with strategies for environmental sustainability in relation to architectural design and construction. Projects will be introduced to promote dialogue between this unit and Architecture Design Studio 6 project processes and outcomes.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Demonstrate a basic understanding of environmental design principles as they apply to architectural design and construction;
2. Understand issues of material properties and construction processes in relation to environmental system design;
3. Have developed a competent understanding of issues of environmental sustainability in relation to architectural design;
4. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit culminates the Technologies and Environments sequence with further integration of professional practices. It explores integrated building systems as they relate to architectural design, construction and project delivery. This includes study of principles of integrated design and the implications of these in relation to architectural design, pan-disciplinary collaboration and construction processes and outcomes. Students will be exposed to the multiple requirements and determinants that shape the stages of the professional project cycle. Through project-based exercises, students engage with the professional ethics and practices required for project development and the performative integration of building systems and design intent. Students will understand buildings as a site of collaboration of pan-disciplinary teams of experts and clients, whose input contributes to realisation within technical, legal and economic constraints. The unit also addresses strategies for environmental sustainability and optimisation in design, construction and delivery.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a basic understanding of integrative design principles as they apply to architectural design, collaboration, construction, and ethical project delivery;
2. Have developed awareness of the collaborative processes and engagements inherent in architectural production;
3. Have developed a competent understanding of issues of building system integration in relation to architectural design and construction for environmental sustainability;
4. Understand the professional project cycle and the roles and responsibilities of the architect and participants in shaping the built environment. This includes gaining familiarity with the legal responsibilities of the architect in relation to contracts, codes and regulations and building industry procurement methods and practices;
5. Gain familiarity and proficiency with advanced methods of collaboration and visualization for the integrated design of buildings;
6. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 4 contact hours plus 8 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit introduces the history and theory of contemporary urbanism. The subject will also develop methods for the written, spoken and visual analysis of urban settings and their associated architecture including site visits, analytical case studies and other forms of analysis. In addition to the theoretical and historical contexts of the urban settings and associated architecture the subject will investigate their contribution to architectural design knowledge.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will have developed:

1. Knowledge of the history and theory of contemporary urbanism;
2. Knowledge of the socio economic, political and cultural contexts of selected contemporary cities;
3. The ability to demonstrate the techniques applicable to the visual analysis of urban settings and their associated architecture;
4. An understanding of the selected urban settings and their associated architecture's contribution to architectural design in an urban context;
5. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit introduces aspects of architectural production. This unit covers architectural production in relation to a range of historical, theoretical, material and speculative domains addressing diverse social, cultural, technological, and communicative aspects of architecture. Explorations will incorporate various methodologies and points of view. The unit will help students develop analytical methods for understanding and contributing to the evolving built environment.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a broader exposure and deeper engagement with architectural production;
2. Actively engage research issues in architectural production;
3. Critically assess aspects of architectural production;
4. Utilise principles and strategies influencing the development of architecture;
5. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit provides focused study into aspects of architecture culture. The unit will develop critical capacities for comprehending and contributing to the built environment. This unit explores architectural culture through the lenses of historically and theoretically based speculative and material developments. Investigations will incorporate various methodologies and diverse points of view. Students will also gain awareness of the associated effects on and of architectural design.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Understand and describe aspects of architecture culture;
2. Critically analyse and evaluate dimensions of architecture culture;
3. Compare and utilise methods and tactics involved in architecture culture;
4. Demonstrate skills for producing and communicating explorations of architecture culture;
5. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

The Transition architecture studio 1 is for those entering the three-year Master of Architecture academic program and provides core foundations in architectural design and architectural communications. The unit explores architectural design as a process of investigation, critical observation and experimentation and application in urban contexts while engaging with the three-dimensional and material testing of ideas. Projects will be formulated to introduce key architectural issues such as site, space, context, activity and tectonics. The unit will also develop understanding of two and three-dimensional conventions for representation across a range of media.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate competence in architectural design;
2. Understand how observation, analysis, experiment and critique apply to the architectural design process;
3. Be able to clearly communicate architectural ideas verbally, graphically and 3-dimensionally;
4. Demonstrate ability to critically analyse and respond to issues inherent in an architectural design project;
5. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

36 hours per week including 9 contact hours plus 27 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

The Transition architecture studio 2 is for those enrolled in the three-year Master of Architecture academic program and provides further foundations in architectural design and construction. The unit investigates the synthesis of complex issues inherent in the production of architecture, such as material, structure, construction, program, site, urbanism and representation. The unit will advance understanding of two and three-dimensional conventions for communicating architectural ideas across a range of media. Projects will develop more nuanced understanding of design as a visual language, a process of cultural production and a contributor to social and environmental sustainability.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a refined level of competence in architectural design;
2. Understand how observation, analysis, experiment and critique apply to the architectural design process;
3. Be able to skilfully communicate architectural ideas verbally, graphically and 3-dimensionally;
4. Demonstrate ability to critically analyse and successfully respond to complex issues inherent in an architectural design project;
5. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 6 contact hours plus 18 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

Delivered in conjunction with ARC4032, this unit explores structure as it relates to architectural design and construction. This includes study of materials, component and fabrication systems, structural principles and the implications for architectural design. Direct physical testing and manipulation of materials and structural systems will be used to understand and assess applications in architecture. A range of structural behaviours will be addressed in response to optimisation and material efficiencies as well as their relationship to design intent. The unit also examines strategies for environmental sustainability in relation to structure design and construction.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Understand and discuss basic physical and structural concepts and principles as they pertain to different materials;
2. Apply and assess basic structural principles to architectural design and construction;
3. Critically analyse issues of material properties and construction processes in relation to structural system design;
4. Examine issues of environmental sustainability in relation to structural system design;
5. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit explores the multi-disciplinary nature of communication design by introducing and applying the basic elements and principles of two and three-dimensional design. Students develop a repertoire of knowledge through the exploration of creative problem solving methodologies and manipulation of design elements. Communication design is presented as a creative, analytical and synthesising process with social, cultural and artistic implications. Set projects encourage experimentation and skill development with materials and technology via drawing, image making and various digital imaging software options.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify and apply the basic elements and principles of two and three dimensional design;
2. Recognise the historical and aesthetic parallels between design and art;
3. Demonstrate drawing skills and the use of creative drawing practice as a means of visual thinking;
4. Understand and apply basic colour theories;
5. Express ideas and concepts through introductory-level image making, typography and digital imaging;
6. Construct design solutions using introductory-level digital production processes;
7. Understand and apply the occupational health and safety requirements of this unit.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 8 contact hours plus 16 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit introduces communication design processes relative to the fundamental principles of typography, image, layout manipulation and time-based design. An understanding of how communication design enhances the human experience is initiated in this unit through observation, critical enquiry, interpretation and the creation of visual and interactive forms. Students will utilise typography both as a communicative and expressive tool. Historical and contemporary examples of visual communication, typography and time-based media will be examined, analysed and discussed, providing the opportunity for students to appreciate and develop skills in typography, page layout, motion graphics and digital media design.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Construct design solutions using two and three dimensional design elements, image making, typography and time-based media;
2. Develop a responsible, inquiring and adventurous attitude to design problem solving;
3. Recognise and use terminology specific to communication design, typography and digital media;
4. Understand and apply the fundamental elements and principles of basic typesetting and type design;
5. Use the fundamental processes intrinsic to time-based design and motion graphics;
6. Understand and apply the occupational health and safety requirements of this unit.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 8 contact hours plus 16 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

Photographic Art Direction will develop students' skills in their ability to manipulate and control photographic imagery via a sound understanding of digital camera technology, its associated software and studio lighting. It will build upon the foundation knowledge of photography gained as part of CDS1001.

This unit will expose students to the processes involved in the documentation of their own work, product photography, and other situations that require a sound knowledge of the photographic experience and how best to creatively negotiate its outcome. Students will become adept at being able to intuitively and creatively direct the narrative of a photograph through a competent use of language, composition, timing, light, props and camera technology.

Students will explore the potential of the camera in both studio and outdoor settings, and begin to understand the scope of creative possibilities and challenges each circumstance offers. They will be exposed to the work of leading exponents of the practice, both contemporary and historic. This unit will be of particular interest to students wishing to document folio content as well as those wanting to pursue a design career in advertising and marketing.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Understand key aspects of digital camera technology and its associated software;
2. Recognise the value of lighting, props, timing and exposure in the direction of a photographic outcome;
3. Create a number of photographic outcomes that use both studio lighting and natural lighting in their creation;
4. Direct and edit the narrative of a photograph through use of language, composition, timing, light, props and camera technology;
5. Discuss the value photographic art direction plays in the realm of communication design production;
6. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

Illustration for Narrative explores the role of illustration and related image-making within a contemporary visual communication landscape. It intends to address the diverse media through which image-making can communicate ideas and narrate scenarios through both still and moving image. Contemporary image-makers need to know how to harness the potential of story-telling through various mediaexposure to, and experience with, the diverse processes available in essential to this end. Particular emphasis will be placed on the visual interpretation of words and stories, extracting the essence of their narrative content through visual means. These 'stories' may be provided or authored by the students themselves.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Understand the key role images play in the comprehension of narrative structures;
2. Utilise a variety of illustration techniques: traditional, digital and experimental;
3. Create narrative images using both still and moving media;
4. Identify the key elements of narrative upon which to base their image(s);
5. Respond creatively to any given text or concept as well as narratives developed as both author and image-maker;
6. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

Communication Design Studio 3 will elaborate on the practical and conceptual skills developed in COL1001 or CDS1001 and CDS1002. Students will be exposed to a broad range of creative communication processes from print to digital media, and will be able to identify the appropriate context(s) to which they would be applied independently and in conjunction with one another.

Students will explore a range of media elements including typography, image, layout, three-dimensional form, sound and motion as core components to their communication design solutions. Studio-based projects across both print and digital media platforms will develop skills in narrative structure, typography, image construction and manipulation, production methods and technologies, and the planning and management of design outcomes.

Students will be encouraged to approach all projects with an open attitude to experimentation and critical enquiry. Studies in this unit will help students develop an understanding of the vital space communication designers occupy in developing and contributing to the language of contemporary visual culture, alongside the social responsibilities inherently associated with this.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Construct communication design solutions utilizing a variety of media, including manual, print and digital processes with an open attitude to experimentation and critical inquiry
2. Explore design solutions that utilize sound and motion as core components to their outcome;
3. Produce design solutions that demonstrate an understanding of narrative conventions;
4. Identify and competently use the technology appropriate for each design outcome;
5. Plan and manage a design outcome from initial concept to final resolution;
6. demonstrate an understanding of how observation, analysis, response and conceptual thinking contributes to the practice of communication design;
7. Confidently articulate an informed rationale for each communication design solution;
8. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 8 contact hours plus 16 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

The Communication Design Elective Studio will expose students to a broad range of creative communication processes from print to digital media, and will be able to identify the appropriate context(s) to which they would be applied independently and in conjunction with each other.

Students will explore a range of media elements including typography, image, layout, three-dimensional form, interaction design, spatial environments and visualisation as core components to their communication design solutions. Projects across both print and digital media platforms will develop skills in information design, way-finding, interactivity, user experience (experiential design), typography, image construction and manipulation, production methods, collaborative activity, and the planning and management of design outcomes.

Students will be encouraged to approach all projects with an open attitude to experimentation and critical enquiry. Studies in this unit will help students develop an understanding of the vital space communication designers occupy in developing and contributing to the language of contemporary visual culture, alongside the social responsibilities inherently associated with this.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Construct communication design solutions utilizing a variety of media, including manual, print and digital processes with an open attitude to experimentation and critical enquiry;
2. Identify and competently use the technology appropriate for each design outcome;
3. Engage with and understand print, interactive and online digital production methods;
4. Create communication strategies that demonstrate an understanding of user experience, interaction and interface design;
5. Plan and manage a design outcome from initial concept to final resolution;
6. Demonstrate an understanding of how observation, analysis, response and conceptual thinking contributes to the practice of communication design;
7. Confidently articulate an informed rationale for each communication design solution;
8. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 8 contact hours plus 16 hours of independent study.

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A Brand is more than a logo. It's the narrative story of a product or service that makes people feel a certain way towards it. It is a persuasive and highly potent communication vehicle in which communication designers play a pivotal role.

This unit intends to develop students' comprehension of the value of branding and the development of brand awareness. Through a process of practical studio exercises and tutorials they will explore the development of a brand from the creation of a name, to the development of a logo or identity, to the building of an emotional cache attached to that mark and its applications. Key branding strategies will be explored, including target market identification, product positioning, and competitor analysis. Students will be encouraged to explore creative brand strategies that engage both established and emerging media. They will comprehend specific language and key terminology associated with the branding process. They will be exposed to leading exponents of branding that are both historic and contemporary and will be able to identify key strategies utilised in the creation of their success.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Utilise and understand key terminology and concepts associated with branding;
2. Examine and discuss the historical milestones in the area of branding, including the the value of brands in a contemporary consumer culture;
3. Engage with the various forms of established and emerging media key to the successful creation of a brand;
4. Create a brand strategy beyond the creation of a logo and its applications;
5. Critically analyse the range of strategies utilised by existing brands, including target market identification, product positioning, and competitor analysis;
6. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

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Packaging Design is a unit specifically for those who wish to explore the application of communication design processes within the realm of 3-dimensional packaging design.

Packaging continues to be a prominent component of our visual landscape and this unit will require its students to critically assess its environmental impact, materiality and purpose through well-considered and appropriate design solutions. Different sector needs will be explored. For example, the specific and heavily legislated needs for medication packaging may be analysed alongside the needs of a simple grocery item.

Students will be required to rationalise the environmental impact of each of their project solutions, in terms of materiality, reusability and recyclability. They will also comprehend the value of packaging as both a necessity for some items (sterile medical products, for example), and a persuasive and portable brand vehicle for others (foodstuffs like tea and coffee, for example).

Consumer needs including usability and ergonomics will also be an important consideration for students in this unit. Both form and surface graphics will be explored in detail. In addition students will be required to comprehend and apply the legal and production requirements of their packaging design outcomes.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Understand the place of packaging in a contemporary consumer culture;
2. Create packaging solutions for products that are responsive to environmental issues and consumer needs;
3. Create designs that reflect their understanding of packaging as a brand vehicle;
4. Create designs that merge both form and surface graphics in one successful design outcome;
5. Comprehend and apply the legal and production requirements of their packaging design solution(s);
6. Critically assess the resolution of their packaging solutions, rationalising its environmental impact, materiality and purpose;
7. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

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Code is the building block of all digital software and content. Once the domain of computer programmers, code is now being used by artists, designers and architects to translate their ideas into new forms of creative expression and communication.

This unit will enable students to apply the basic concepts and principles of coding, from concept to implementation, to create these unique forms of expression.

Through a process of practical studio exercises and workshops students will explore how code and software development can enable innovative ways of translating concepts into unique visual and auditory form. Students will be exposed to key terminology and processes of coding and encouraged to explore these processes to create dynamic and unique interactive digital content. An in-depth study of both the historical and contemporary leaders in art, design and architecture who use these processes to generate important cultural artefacts will contextualise the significance of creative coding in these fields.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Examine the unique characteristics of code and programming in contemporary audiovisual culture, and its relationship with other media standards and protocols;
2. Create visual and acoustic content using code, translating concepts into unique visual and auditory forms;
3. Organise and plan application development prior to coding, using processes to plan development of content;
4. Produce design specification documentation applicable to programming and coding, integrating key terminology and coding processes;
5. Apply knowledge of the basic structural organisation of code to develop dynamic and unique interactive digital content;
6. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

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Digital humanities

This unit introduces students to physical computing as a creative endeavour. Simple computers called microprocessors can sense all elements of the physical world including light, sound, heat, vision and motion. The data collected from these microprocessors can be reinterpreted and creatively expressed in software as images, animation, simulation, visualisation, video, sculpture and sound. Artists, designers and architects use this data to create new forms of expression and communication.

Through a process of practical workshops students will create innovative ways to interact with and control microprocessors and the data they collect. This unit will enable students to apply the concepts and principles of designing and controlling electronic components, from concept to implementation, to express unique and engaging forms of visual, sculptural and auditory communication.

In-depth studies of contemporary leaders in art, design and architecture who use creative digital technologies will contextualise the significance of physical computing in these fields.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Understand the basic function and design of electronic components;
2. Create new forms visual and auditory expression using physical computing;
3. Recognise basic micro-processor functions and the relationship microprocessors have with other electronic protocols;
4. Apply the concepts and principles of designing and controlling electronic components, from concept to implementation, to express unique and engaging forms of visual, sculptural and auditory communication;
5. Produce design specification documentation applicable to electronic circuit design and construction;
6. Discuss the unique characteristics physical computing has in art, design and architecture and the context of physical computing in contemporary culture;
7. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% mixed mode

12 hours per week including 4 contact hours plus 8 hours of independent study.

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This unit will enable students to apply advanced principles of coding, from concept to implementation, to create unique forms of data visualisations.

Visualisation is the graphic representation of data. It enables complex information structures to be expressed creatively and understood quickly. Contemporary culture has seen a massive increase in the amount of data generated by social media, web sites like Amazon and other large cultural datasets. The challenge for designers, architects and artists is to translate this data into something that communicates a complex concept efficiently and creatively challenge the visual status quo to generate incisive cultural commentary.

Through a process of practical studio exercises and workshops students will explore how data can be used to generate unique interactive visualisations. Students will be exposed to key processes of data management, including organising, cleaning and preparing data for visualisation. Students are encouraged to explore these processes to create dynamic, unique and creative interactive visualisations. In-depth studies of the contemporary leaders in art, design and architecture who use these processes to generate data visualisations will critically contextualise the social and economic significance of the field.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Examine the unique characteristics and context of data visualisation in historical and contemporary culture, and the relationship between data, information and content;
2. Create dynamic data visualisations through the application of advanced coding principles, from concept through to implementation;
3. Organise and plan content development prior to data visualisation using a range of data management processes;
4. Produce design specification documentation applicable to data visualisation, integrating key terminology and data management processes;
5. Apply advanced knowledge of the structural organisation of computer code to explore how data can be used to generate unique interactive visualisations;
6. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

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Digital humanities

Unconventional Publishing is a unit for those wishing to explore new models of physical publishing involving designer-generated content. Various methods and rationales - both creative and pragmatic - for the instigation of self-initiated projects will be investigated. The unit explores the possibility of communication design as an autonomous creative practice.

The definition of publishing has expanded to include such diverse practices as websites, books, phone-based media, magazines, public posters, etc. In particular, small publishers have become more numerous and specialised, while traditional mass-market publishing is undergoing a slow decline. There are many examples of such small publishers being led by designers.

Merging the traditionally separate roles of content-generator, editor, designer, publisher, printer and distributor reflects contemporary trends in communication design and provides a holistic overview of publishing as discipline. The unit approaches this breadth of publishing as a contiguous practice that can be overseen by an individual or small group and therefore encourages the development of projects outside of the traditional client/designer relationship.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Apply skills in typography, layout and page structure to a publication design;
2. Creatively engage with the material qualities of a publication;
3. Generate their own text and pictorial content for a published output;
4. Demonstrate skills in publication design, pictorial/textual editing, print production and promotion/distribution;
5. Critically assess the cultural value of existing published works;
6. Understand the various professional roles within traditional publishing and its associated processes;
7. Apply the occupational health and safety requirements of this unit.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

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Illustration for Animation explores the role of illustration and related image-making within the animation industry. Students will be exposed to the processes and techniques illustrators use in the production of animatics, the process of turning written narrative into a sequential visual format. Students will become competent in the creation of storyboards, and understand the principles of editing and composition in the construction of an animated narrative.

In this unit students will become familiar with the union of image transition, dialogue, sound effects, music, dissolves, zooms, pans and other production processes used in the construction of animatics. They will also explore character design as a core component of animated story-telling, and how that character is adapted in order to create convincing action, dialogue and emotional expression.

Students will be exposed to the work of leading exponents of the practice, both contemporary and historic, and be able to critically analyse the processes used this work.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Examine the role illustration plays in the animation industry, through the critical analysis of contemporary and historical works;
2. Create a storyboard to translate written narrative into a sequential visual format;
3. Construct an animated narrative using the principles of editing and composition;
4. Employ image transitions, dialogue, sound effects, music, dissolves, zooms, pans and other production processes used in the construction of animatics;
5. Design characters for animated story-telling and apply principles to evoke emotion, action and dialogue;
6. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

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Communication Design Studio 4 will advance to a high level the practical, technical and conceptual skills developed in preceding studios. Having been exposed to a broad range of creative communication processes in the prerequisite units, students will be required to identify an area of specialisation in which to participate in CDS3001. Specialisation areas will be identified upon enrolment into the unit and may include (but will not be limited to) publication design, typography, image, brand, animation, sound and motion, interactivity and others areas that develop as the communication design field continues to broaden.

Within their area of specialisation students will explore the breadth of communication possibilities through a carefully composed program of studio-based projects relevant to their chosen area. These projects, though different in each specialisation, will be comparable in assessment tasks and learning outcomes. Within each studio, students will develop their skills in both the technology and conceptual thinking required of their specialisation to a high level of competency.

Students will be encouraged to approach this unit with the utmost care in their selection of specialisation. General exposure to the areas of specialisation will have occurred throughout the preceding units, but counselling from the unit's chief examiner and the course coordinator will be made available to assist students' selection of their particular area of study.

The projects undertaken in CDS3001 will contribute towards a body of work intended to demonstrate the student's refined level of competence within the communication design field, and assist them to either progress into further study or gain appropriate employment in the communication design arena.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Engage with the communication design process to plan and manage their design outcome from initial research and concept development to final resolution;
2. Construct communication design solutions utilising the media and processes expected in their specialisation;
3. Produce design solutions that demonstrate a clear understanding of communication conventions, but with an open attitude to inquiry and experimentation;
4. Identify and expertly use the technology appropriate for each design outcome;
5. Critically assess their design solutions in order to improve their final outcome;
6. Articulate an informed rationale for each communication design solution;
7. Understand and apply the occupational health and safety requirements appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 8 contact hours plus 16 hours of independent study.

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Communication Design Studio 5 will advance to a high level the practical, technical and conceptual skills developed in preceding studios. Having been exposed to a broad range of creative communication processes in the prerequisite units, students will be required to identify an area of specialisation in which to participate in CDS3002. Students may choose to continue the same area as that selected in CDS3001 to hone their specialist skills, or opt for a different area in order to broaden their expertise. Specialisation areas will be identified upon enrolment into the unit and may include (but will not be limited to) publication design, typography, image, brand, animation, sound and motion, interactivity and others areas that develop as the communication design field continues to broaden.

Within their area of specialisation students will explore the breadth of communication possibilities through a carefully composed program of studio-based projects relevant to their chosen area. These projects, though different in each specialisation, will be comparable in assessment tasks and learning outcomes. Within each studio, students will develop their skills in both the technology and conceptual thinking required of their specialisation to high level of competency.

Students will be encouraged to approach this unit with the utmost care in their selection of specialisation. General exposure to the areas of specialisation will have occurred throughout the preceding units, but counselling from the unit chief examiner and course coordinator will be made available to assist students' selection of their particular area of study.

The projects undertaken in CDS3002 will contribute towards a body of work intended to demonstrate the student's refined level of competence within the communication design field, and assist them to either progress into further study or gain appropriate employment in the communication design arena.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Engage with the communication design process to plan and manage their design outcome from initial research and concept development to final resolution;
2. Construct communication design solutions utilising the media and processes expected in their specialisation;
3. Produce design solutions that demonstrate a clear understanding of communication conventions, but with an open attitude to enquiry and experimentation;
4. Identify and expertly use the technology appropriate for each design outcome;
5. Critically assess their design solutions in order to improve their final outcome;
6. Create a body of work indicative of their highest level of competency to showcase their abilities to potential employers or aptitude for further education;
7. Understand and apply the occupational health and safety requirements appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 8 contact hours plus 16 hours of independent study.

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This unit is part two of the major project sequence for the honours course, and students are expected to continue with the research initiated in CDS4001, and develop a time frame which details the final visual presentation in consultation with a supervisor and the course coordinator. The project must have appropriate aspects to serve as a vehicle to demonstrate the student's professional understanding and capabilities, as well as appropriate complexity to enable the student to professionally undertake and present it within the time and resource limitations of the unit. All documentation must be completed to a professional standard.

Upon successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Develop and refine their graphic design project from the conceptual stage undertaken in CDS4001 Major Project (Communication Design) Part 1 through to a visual presentation which demonstrates a very high level of capability
2. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the discipline and its professional practices, with particular reference to the social, cultural and aesthetic aspects of their investigation;
3. Demonstrate a high level of knowledge of the contemporary discourse in communication design and to be able to position their work relative to it;
4. Debate and/or defend their practice in an informed critical appraisal;
5. Demonstrate they have cultivated high ambitions to perfect their research and practice in communication design.

100% in-semester assessment

36 hours per week including 8 contact hours plus 28 hours of independent study.

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Collaborative Design Studio 1 will immerse students in the essential, foundational learning required of all fields of design. Students will understand how design thinking informs design outcomes and their impact; have the capacity to identify design problems before navigating solutions; locate the user at the centre of all design challenges; identify and apply design methodologies and processes in ethical and culturally sensitive ways; and understand design is beyond an aesthetic, artefact-centred practice, and one that also embraces embodied, temporal and dematerialised modes of engagement. Through studio-based project learning, this unit will introduce its cohort to collaborative activities that encourage thinking beyond traditional discipline specificity, and help students develop hybrid competencies that can be built upon in all ensuing studio units. The projects will blend traditional modes of making with new and innovative ways of doing. Project learning will encourage personal and collective curiosity through applying a range of design enquiry processes such as ideation, prototyping and observation. Students will also learn to be critically reflective, able to review and re-evaluate their design solutions and those of others with clear and constructive communication capabilities.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Develop skills in interpersonal communication and collaboration;
2. Respond to real and speculative challenges through design thinking and making processes;
3. Locate design's role in the expanded realm of contemporary systems of social, economic and political operation;
4. Navigate complexity through an iterative process of prototyping and ideation;
5. Utilise and value transdisciplinary modes of design enquiry and apply them in inventive ways;
6. Observe and apply the OHSE requirements relevant to this unit.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 8 contact hours plus 16 hours of independent study, or equivalent.

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This unit explores the nature of design by introducing the characteristics of space, objects or images as appropriate, as part of a designer's repertoire of knowledge and understanding. Basic design studies provide the framework for the development of a language of design. The understanding of the role of the designer for the enhancement of the human experience is developed by observation, critical enquiry, interpretation, communication and the creation of visual forms. Design is presented as a creative, analytical and synthesising process with social, cultural and artistic implications.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Recognise, analyse and apply the elements and principles of design;
2. Understand the nature of the design process and apply methodical steps in their own projects;
3. Demonstrate the ability to undertake basic analysis and respond to a straight-forward brief;
4. Understand the multidisciplinary nature of many design activities;
5. Understand selected colour theories;
6. Develop capabilities to communicate research outcomes, design concepts and solutions;
7. Appreciate the relationship between design, industry and art;
8. Observe and employ occupational health and safety appropriate to studio practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 4 contact hours plus 8 hours of independent study.

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This unit places the more abstract concepts and studies undertaken in Design Studio 1 in the context of design practice to meet human needs. The project work uses simplified professional projects to ensure students start to consider all aspects of design problems. The projects involve the use of brief, analysis of requirements, design problem solving methods, synthesis of design resolutions and communication of design solutions. The primary concern in the subject is for the student to be able to overcome the project constraints in order to integrate the range of requirements and issues, and achieve a holistic design that addresses human needs.

Upon successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Analyse a simple design brief;
2. Understand the range of technical factors and cultural issues that must be considered for a meaningful and satisfying outcome of requirements;
3. Explore and evaluate design options;
4. Apply problem solving methods, synthesise design resolutions and communicate solutions using models, presentation and technical drawings;
5. Achieve an integrated holistic design at a basic level that addresses human needs;
6. Observe and employ occupational health and safety appropriate to studio practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

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The interdisciplinary studio environment, provides through team-based project activities and problem-based learning, the application of knowledge and techniques from the students individual design disciplines, whilst solving a complex multi-faceted design problem. Offshore context requires students to respond in a conscious and critical manner to the local environment, and to exercise entrepreneurial skills to research.

Upon successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Operate constructively as part of a team;
2. Contribute as a discipline-specific designer within an interdisciplinary design context;
3. Support and assist other design specialists;
4. Develop observation, research and information gathering skills conducted in an unfamiliar cultural context;
5. Conduct critical enquiry and provide summative reviews of self and peers.

Exercises and projects (90%)

Attendance and participation (10%)

8 studio hours and 14 hours of independent study per week.

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This unit develops practical design research, investigation, conceptual development, communication, presentation and practice capabilities. The focus is on design research and design management of multi and inter disciplinary projects, in which a range of design factors are considered and methodologies employed to coordinate their analysis and to achieve a holistic design integration that addresses human needs. Projects will be set in a variety of contexts.

Upon successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Undertake a design project at a conceptual level involving the resolution of user requirements, technical issues, aesthetics, and the communication of the design with presentation drawings and models, technical drawings and specifications;
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of the methodologies they are applying, and explain the reasoning behind their choice of methodology, media, design options and solutions;
3. Understand the role of design as a discipline as well as a professional practice in a particular field;
4. Consider critically the imagery in their designs, and its aesthetic and symbolic resonances;
5. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study.

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This unit further develops design research, investigation, concept development, communication, presentation and practice capabilities achieved in DGN2003 Interdisciplinary design studio 3. It focuses on expanding the details of user, technical and construction requirements. In addition, the social context of design is extensively considered, including cultural and ethical expectations. Projects will be set in a variety of contexts. A critical view toward designing is fostered throughout.

Upon successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate a high level of practical design research, design process and design communication;
2. Demonstrate a practical understanding of user, technical and construction factors;
3. Demonstrate an awareness of social, cultural, environmental and gender issues;
4. Produce design solutions which resolve identified issues with aesthetic integrity;
5. Defend their designs on practical, symbolic, aesthetic and ethical grounds;
6. Understand and apply the principles of occupational health and safety practices in the studio.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study.

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Design Practice as Research provides a platform for students to apply a range of skills and aptitudes towards practice-based research in design. Through an individualised course of study under the guidance of personal research mentors, participants will undertake projects using appropriate methodologies that demonstrate an independent point of view on the social, cultural, technological, and communicative aspects of design. The unit will enhance the combined creative and analytical methods of students as preparation for undertaking practice-based research while also promoting how processes of research and development can make an advanced contribution to contemporary design practice. The unit provides a unique opportunity for establishing interdisciplinary approaches to design research and the intersection of theory and practice. On occasion, these studies may be undertaken as part of an immersive research studio conducted as part of special projects and study abroad experiences.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Identify and describe aspects of design research;
2. Critically analyse and evaluate dimensions of design (as cultural practice, studio research, applied research);
3. Compare and utilise methods and strategies involved in practice-based design research (including disciplinary, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary);
4. Demonstrate skills for investigating, producing and communicating design research processes and outcomes;
5. Plan and produce a project with a high degree of independence, originality, accountability and (if relevant) collaboration with other parties and stakeholders;
6. Communicate in an effective manner for the stated purpose, intended audience and designated context of the project;
7. Understand and apply the occupational health and safety requirements appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

The unit will be delivered through on campus and block modes; overall study plan is based on equivalence of 144 hours (12 hours per week x 12-week semester), composed of supervision and contact hours (36 hours, or 3 hours per week) plus independent study (108 hours, or 9 hours per week).

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Multi-faceted and multidisciplinary projects. Studies of the contemporary discourse in spaces, objects and images. Their embodiment as habitats, artefacts and communications. Related social theory. Students articulate and test their individual design philosophies in studio discussion.

Upon successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Articulate a personal aesthetic that responds to contemporary discourse in design;
2. Undertake design projects with a high degree of integration of all project factors;
3. Competently resolve the technical and/or structural requirements of the design;
4. Specify the production scenario for the design;
5. Communicate the design with high quality presentations and specifications;
6. Observe and employ occupational health and safety principles appropriate to studio practice.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 8 contact hours plus 16 hours of independent study.

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A major project selected by the student in consultation with the course coordinator. The topic will serve as a vehicle to demonstrate the student's understanding and capabilities. Project planning and research is an important aspect of the unit.

Upon successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Undertake a major project with effective resolution of technical detail at a level sufficient to brief specialists;
2. Develop a brief; analyse client and user requirements; research and resolve technical requirements; specify materials, finishes; and construction concepts;
3. Communicate and present the project design to client and constructors;
4. Explain analytically the cultural sources of the inspiration for the design;
5. Express persuasively the aesthetic and symbolic values embedded in the design;
6. Relate the design to historical and contemporary precedents, not only for the sake of explaining its technical and cultural virtues but for potential refinements and the development of vision in their future career;
7. Observe and employ occupational health and safety practices appropriate to studio practice.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 8 contact hours plus 16 hours of independent study.

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Digital Humanities in action provides a distinctive, transdisciplinary opportunity for students to synthesise critical discourse with practice-based application in ways that are characteristic to the field of Digital Humanities (DH). Through active learning, students will be challenged to advance their practical, technical and conceptual skills developed in preceding DH (and other disciplinary) studies towards a complex multi-faceted design research project. The design studio will provide the framework for students to apply their critical understanding and creative skills to problem-based scenarios. The practice-based opportunities provided by the studio will be supplemented by complementary theoretical and design thinking content and methods. Students will be required to undertake a project that demonstrates suitable application of knowledge and techniques drawn from their identified stream of specialisation (in digital media, information and society, digital cultural heritage). Students will be expected to respond in a critical, ethical and reflective manner, while exercising creative, entrepreneurial and independent research skills. Critical discourse will be agile and responsive to contemporary issues arising at the socio-cultural interface of DH scholarship. The resulting project work will demonstrate both conceptual and technical application relevant to their knowledge domain (Arts, Information Technology, or Art Design and Architecture) to a high level of competence and literacy. The nature of the studio environment provides a unique opportunity for encouraging interdisciplinary approaches to practice and research. On occasion, these studies may be undertaken as part of an immersive research studio conducted as part of special projects and study abroad experiences.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Engage with practice-based processes to coordinate project outcomes from initial research and concept development to final resolution and evaluation;
2. Apply an appropriate range of discipline knowledge and interdisciplinary processes to generate prototype solutions to complex problems;
3. Exercise judgment involving a combination of creative, design led, critically informed and self-reflective considerations as part of an iterative process of producing new or novel understandings, interpretations and applications;
4. Apply design processes and methods with an open attitude to inquiry and experimentation;
5. Apply strategic and cognitive knowledge, problem-solving and communication skills that demonstrate capacity to generate, plan, produce, and critique a self-directed project;
6. Plan and produce a project to a high standard with a degree of independence, originality, accountability and (if relevant) collaboration with other parties and stakeholders;
7. Communicate in a manner that is effective for the stated purpose, intended audience and designated context of the project;
8. Understand and apply the occupational health and safety requirements appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

24 hours per week including 8 contact hours plus 16 hours of independent study. NB. On occasion, the unit may be delivered in intensive, block mode.

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Digital humanities

In this unit students will be introduced to design practice for social impact. The unit will establish the historical foundation for and contemporary proliferation of design engaged in social impact work. A project-based studio, students will collaborate with external partners working in spaces of social impact, such as health, urban safety wellbeing organisations or similar on specified design projects. Using design skills, processes and technologies they will engage in research, including user-centred and ethnographic approaches and prototyping. They will be challenged to make, visualise and present design interventions that aim to have positive impact on society. The unit will problematise ideas of design "solving problems" and highlight the complexity of social impact. Students will understand the value of collaboration and partnership as being vital to design practice. The interdisciplinary topic and praxis approach of this unit includes, but is not limited to, spatial design, digital media design, interaction design, communication design, service and product design.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Evaluate and communicate the implications, potential and limitations of design as an agent for social change;
2. Propose and present ethical and responsible design concepts;
3. Understand the significance of collaboration as part of interdisciplinary teamwork in co-creating complex design solutions for social enterprise or innovation;
4. Demonstrate understanding and appropriate application of multi-modal design research methods, including ethnographic approaches, towards a design proposal;
5. Demonstrate skills for visualising and prototyping complex design solutions in the area of social design;
6. Critically analyse and evaluate the social impact of design solutions;
7. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit is the first part of a major design project. It provides an opportunity to research issues, undertake conceptual designs and develop refinements on the basis of the advanced attainment achieved at the end of the Bachelor of Design course. In most instances the project is proposed by the student at the beginning of the semester in consultation with the lecturer, and approved by the lecturer and course coordinator.

Upon successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate a capability to research and explore the full range of issues to be considered in a design project;
2. Practice design to a high standard of professional competency;
3. Relate their work to contemporary discourse and seek to extend its boundaries through their design work;
4. Defend their chosen direction in the major project against informed criticism;
5. Demonstrate a base of sound knowledge, understanding and capability to undertake their major project;
6. Demonstrate they are capable of organising, developing and planning methodologies associated with the major project which will help to successfully determine a viable outcome.

Mid-semester portfolio (20%)

Final portfolio (80%)

24 hours per week including 6 studio hours and 18 hours of independent study.

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This unit is the second part of the major project sequence for the honours course, where students are expected to continue with the research initiated in DGN4001Not offered in 2019, and develop a time frame which details the final visual presentation in consultation with a supervisor and the course coordinator.

Upon successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Develop and refine their design project from the conceptual stage undertaken in DGN4001Not offered in 2019 Major Project (Design) Part 1 through to a visual presentation which demonstrates a very high level of capability;
2. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the discipline and its professional practices, with particular reference to the social, cultural and aesthetic aspects of their investigation;
3. Demonstrate a high level of knowledge of the contemporary discourse in design and visual communication and to be able to position their work relative to it;
4. Debate and/or defend their practice in an informed critical appraisal;
5. Demonstrate they have cultivated high ambitions to perfect their practice of design.

Mid-semester portfolio (20%)

Final portfolio (80%)

36 hours per week including 6 studio hours and 30 hours of independent study.

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This unit encourages the creative, open and innovative use of computer-mediated art and design. Students are introduced to the various software options (including drawing, painting, and image-editing software) and peripheral devices for digital acquisition, storage and output. Demonstrations and lectures are given on the techniques and capabilities of vector and pixel-based applications for both print and screen-based outcomes.

Upon successful completion of this unit students should:

1. Have a basic practical and critical understanding of digital imaging and its links with other media;
2. Be able to access the Faculty computing resources, including access facilities with a clear understanding of appropriate health and safety studio procedures and implement these procedures within their work practice;
3. Competently operate a computer, familiarising themselves with operation system basics and file management;
4. Be able to use peripheral devices (ie. scanners, printers) to acquire, compose and output images;
5. Use image editing software to skilfully create, adapt, edit, manipulate and compose images;
6. Be able to apply digital imaging techniques towards the realisation of conceptualised, communicative works;
7. Have the foundation necessary to undertake further units in digital imaging with a view towards either specialisation or application of the media within other studio disciplines.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

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This unit introduces students to principles of web design. File formats, colour modes, image resolution and bit depth, and preparation of images for on-line delivery. The development, status and potential of delivering information and graphics over digital networks using computers. Variations on network types including Internet and Intranets. Protocols, set-up and file formats commonly used. Motion graphics and on-line delivery of multimedia documents are also covered.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Be able to prepare multimedia documents suited to on-line delivery;
2. Be able to identify the different technologies for web design, including mark-up languages, interactive multimedia formats, video/sound streaming, and database systems;
3. Understand web page construction and principles, file and site management, and web design for accessibility and usability;
4. Be able to use text, images, animation, sound and digital video as multimedia elements in electronic documents;
5. Be familiar with colour mode and resolution requirements for a range of electronic media;
6. Be aware of a variety of file formats, and be able to optimise a media file for a particular application;
7. Be able to understand the role of web design in multimedia.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit introduces students to the methods and processes involved in creating 3D elements, objects and spaces using a computer software. The key areas of modelling, lighting and rendering will be examined, and various modes of output demonstrated. Different applications of CGI (computer generated imagery), such as motion graphics, character animation and virtual environments are discussed. 3D models will be used to generate simple animation.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. Have an understanding of the principles of designing objects and spaces in three dimensions and their translation into computer-based design methodologies;
2. Be able to use 3D imaging software to create environments and objects;
3. Be able to apply surface qualities, lighting, textures, and imported graphic files to elements in a three dimensional composition;
4. Explore the range of options and controls available through 3D imaging and modelling software applications;
5. Understand and manipulate camera properties and viewer perspectives;
6. Recognise the various applications of 3D design and visualisation across multimedia, interior architecture and industrial design practices.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit introduces students to digital imaging within art and design studio practices. It builds sequentially upon the skills and knowledge of digital processes by providing a focus upon creative image production for a range of digital media applications. Students explore the creation, manipulation, composition and output of digital images with increasing confidence and proficiency across a range of options and controls available through vector and pixel-based software applications and use of peripheral devices. Demonstrations and lectures are given on the creation of digital images with an increased conceptual understanding of representational issues, visual language and communication.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Skillfully and insightfully create, edit, manipulate, compose and output digital images;
2. Explore the range of options and controls available through vector and pixel-based software applications and use peripheral devices with increasing confidence and proficiency;
3. Produce creative digital images with an increased conceptual understanding of representational issues, visual language and communication;
4. Demonstrate increased technical understanding of demands required across the development, acquisition, creation and production of digital media;
5. Display an increasingly personalised artistic expression and sophisticated creative digital imaging approach which can be pursued at an advanced stage in subsequent digital imaging studios;
6. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety and environment appropriate to this unit of study, particularly those applying to use of computing equipment, access to facilities, and the environment of healthy and safe studio practices.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

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Digital humanities

This unit introduces students to digital audio and video production. It explores the principles of digital audio visual design and the uses industry-standard software applications to produce media in a variety of genres. Students are introduced to scripting, storyboarding, film and narrative conventions common to cinema. In order to explore audio recording, video capture and nonlinear editing, students are introduced to the tools and features of video cameras and editing software. Demonstrations and lectures are given on planning and collaborative management, types of media sources and output considerations associated with digital audio/video production.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Understand design conventions and narrative concepts common to cinema;
2. Identify tools and features of digital video cameras and digital audio and video software;
3. Utilise script and storyboard to illustrate concepts;
4. Plan and manage an audio recording session;
5. Plan and manage a video capture session;
6. Acquire footage, incorporate graphics and manage a variety of media sources into a video sequence;
7. Explore nonlinear editing techniques, including editing effects, transition and wipes;
8. Collaboratively contribute to planning and management of a digital audio/video production;
9. Address appropriate output considerations for the assembly and preparation a digital video/audio production;
10. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

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This unit introduces students to 3D modelling within art & design studio practices. It builds sequentially upon the skills and knowledge of 3D design and imaging by providing a focus upon the practice and potential of 3D computer-generated modelling for product design. Students explore the creation, manipulation, composition and output of digital 3-dimensional elements with increasing confidence and proficiency across a range of options and controls available through polygon and NURBS-based software applications and the understanding of production issues associated with their output (ie. rendering, rapid-prototyping, multimedia etc.)

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Skillfully and insightfully create, edit, manipulate, compose and output digital 3-Dimensional elements (ie. photorealistic renderings, surface models);
2. Explore the range of options and controls available through polygon and NURBS-based software applications and production issues associated with output (ie. rendering, rapid-prototyping, multimedia, etc) with increasing confidence and proficiency;
3. Produce 3D models with an increased design intention and creative application;
4. Demonstrate increased technical understanding of demands required across the development, application, creation and production of 3D computer-generated models;
5. Display an increasingly personalized expression and sophisticated creative 3D design approach which can be pursued at an advanced stage in subsequent 3D imaging studios;
6. Observe and employ occupational health and safety principles and rules appropriate to studio practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit introduces students to design for 'New Media'. It builds sequentially upon the skills and knowledge of multimedia imaging by providing a focus upon interactive multimedia and authoring. Students are introduced to a conceptual approach to interactivity, non-linear narrative, navigation, and graphical user interface controls. Technically, students will experiment with various software to develop content for multimedia applications. Students will develop skills in planning and organising content for multimedia publication.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Recognise the conceptual and technical demands of producing multimedia content;
2. Creatively approach communication with 'new media';
3. Define, develop, plan and organise content for multimedia publication (ie. develop skills in storyboarding, flowcharting);
4. Apply and experiment with various software to develop, edit and compile asset materials for multimedia publication;
5. Explore the concepts of interactivity, non-linear narrative, navigation, and graphical user interface controls;
6. Apply a range of digital imaging, scripting and organisational techniques and concepts to project work;
7. Develop and produce a multimedia project negotiating aspects of interface design, media, animation and interactivity;
8. Work in a variety of roles required in the development and production of multimedia;
9. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

Exercises (30%)

Project (60%)

Journal (10%)

12 hours per week including a 1 hour-lecture plus 2 tutorial hours and 9 hours of independent study.

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This unit introduces students to time-based imaging for 3D design and imaging. It develops sequentially upon the skills and knowledge of 3D imaging by providing a focus upon advanced asset creation and animation. Students are introduced to the range of options and controls available through 3D imaging and modeling software applications, towards skillfully creating, manipulating and animating 3D objects, manipulating camera properties and viewer perspectives. Demonstrations and lectures are given on conceiving, designing and producing animation sequences for inclusion into multimedia presentations with consideration for delivery methods and the merits of different media types and formats.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Design and develop defined 3D models with application for animation;
2. Skilfully create and manipulate 3D objects within a changing environment utilising light and atmospheric conditions;
3. Explore the range of options and controls available through 3D imaging and modeling software applications;
4. Experiment with surface qualities to enhance the 3D appearance of the created object;
5. Understand and manipulate camera properties and viewer perspectives;
6. Prepare animation sequences for inclusion into multimedia presentations with consideration for delivery methods and the merits of media types and formats;
7. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the unit of study.

Exercises (30%)

Project (60%)

Journal (10%)

12 hours per week including a 1-hour lecture plus 2 tutorial hours and 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit introduces students to electronic design for print outcomes. It develops sequentially upon the skills and knowledge of digital imaging by providing a focus upon the fundamental principles of graphic design and page layout. Students are introduced to the relationship of various software applications for electronic publishing to the design, efficient management of text, image assets and the preparation of files for presentation of digital artwork to a bureau required for the production of printed material. Demonstrations and lectures are given on visual communication and the graphic design of publication projects that emulate advertising industry standards.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Recognise the basic set-up and components of a graphics workstation and peripheral devices and display an understanding of industry-standard publishing software;
2. Understand the relationship of various software applications for electronic publishing to the design and production of printed material;
3. Manage a variety of digital assets associated with an electronic publication (ie. translating and importing native image/graphic files created in other digital imaging applications, format text files, colour management, use typographic style sheets and document specifications);
4. Demonstrate efficient organisation of text, image assets and the preparation and files for presentation of digital artwork to a bureau;
5. Apply visual communication, graphic design and page layout skills to publication projects that emulate advertising industry standards;
6. Understand and be able to apply the rules of occupational health and safety environment appropriate to this unit of study, particularly those applying to use of computing equipment, access to facilities, and the employment of healthy and safety studio practices.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit is designed for students who wish to specialise their skills and knowledge in digital imaging. It builds sequentially upon the skills and knowledge of digital imaging by providing an opportunity to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the methods and theories for generating digital images for static and/or dynamic applications. Emphasis is placed upon students developing their creative skills through a combination of directed and self-directed practice. The unit offers students the opportunity to investigate issues associated with a variety of imaging approaches and digital media specific to their proposed projects.

Upon successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Skillfully and insightfully create, edit, manipulate, compose and output digital images;
2. Apply the range of options and controls available through vector and pixel-based software applications and use of peripheral devices at an advanced level;
3. Produce creative digital images (illustrative, photographic, motion graphic, time-based) with a high level of conceptual understanding of representational issues, visual language and communication;
4. Demonstrate advanced technical understanding of demands required across the development, acquisition, creation and production of digital media;
5. Display a developed personalised artistic expression and sophisticated creative digital imaging approach;
6. Observe and employ occupational health and safety principles and rules appropriate to studio practice.

Directed assignments (30%)

Major project (60%)

Journal (10%)

12 hours per week including 4 studio contact hours and 8 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit extends student's knowledge of concepts and tools applicable to digital and audio production techniques. It builds sequentially upon the skills and knowledge of preceding units by providing a focus upon advanced principles of digital audio and video design and industry-standard software applications. With a greater focus on specialization the students will concentrate on utilizing the medium to a professional level. Emphasis is placed upon exploring the potential of digital video and audio as a medium for inclusion in a wide range of communications and multimedia applications and over various contexts. In this unit student's knowledge will also extend beyond video editing software to sound and DVD authoring applications. Emphasis is placed upon students developing their creative skills through a combination of directed and self-directed practice. On completion students will then be able to confidently return to their studios and utilize these skills artistically and/or commercially with a higher degree of professionalism and understanding of the medium.

Upon successful completion of this unit students should:

1. Utilise a range of software applications (including sound and media authoring) to an advanced level in the creation, editing and realization of conceptual digital audio video works;
2. Have an advanced practical and critical understanding of video production (including various lighting conditions, advanced camera operations and audio recording techniques);
3. Be able to produce a major body of work which demonstrates advanced technique integrally linked with ambitious ideas;
4. Have an advanced understanding of video encoding for a range a distribution methods (web, DVD authoring, digital media players);
5. Be able to apply highly polished audio video production skills to a range of potential output considerations such as: film, video, short film, television, documentary, web, documentation and video art
6. Have considered how their work is placed in the context of current art and design practice;
7. Be able to articulate their practice with clarity and insight to a high standard;
8. Understand key production roles such as: producer, director, art director, director of photography, lighting, sound recordist and editor;
9. Observe and employ occupational health and safety appropriate to studio practice.

Folio (which includes progressive assessment) (90%)

Journal (10%)

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours (1-hour lecture plus 2 hours tutorial) and 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit introduces students to digital publishing within art and design studio practices. It builds sequentially upon the skills and knowledge of electronic design by providing a focus upon digital methods of publication. Students explore digital workflow through a variety of software applications and a range of delivery options for digital publishing with increasing confidence, proficiency and technical understanding of demands required across the development, creation and realisation of networked publishing outcomes.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Skillfully and insightfully conceive, develop, create, compose and output digital publications;
2. Explore digital workflow through a variety of software applications and range of delivery options for digital publishing with increasing confidence and proficiency;
3. Produce creative digital publications with an increased conceptual understanding of hypertext forms and visual communication;
4. Demonstrate increased technical understanding of demands required across the development, creation and realisation of networked publishing outcomes;
5. Display an increasingly personalised artistic expression and sophisticated creative digital media approach which can be applied to self-promotion and publishing strategies for marketing and visual communication;
6. Observe and employ occupational health and safety principles and rules appropriate to studio practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

An intensive program facilitating the acquisition and development of practical and intellectual skills required by art, design and architecture students in the discipline of drawing. Observation, analysis, selection, interpretation and expression are studied through sequential projects. Manufactured and natural forms including the figure and other models are central to the investigation of proportion, structure, volume and space through line, tone, shape, movement and texture. A range of drawing materials and methods are explored.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Produce artworks to represent objects, expressing their proportion, form and volume whilst displaying a basic grasp of structure;
2. Understand the relationships between the formal elements of drawing, including line, tone and shape and the relationships between these as they are incorporated within compositional dynamics;
3. Be critically aware of the need for selectivity and identifying visual prejudice;
4. Analyse the processes of perception and critically consider drawing in relation to observational objectivity;
5. Explore the historical, theoretical, philosophical and aesthetic contexts of drawing;
6. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 4 contact hours plus 8 hours of independent study.

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Landscape, Space and Environment provides students with a specific drawing based subject, addressing landscape as a genre of cultural production, and investigate the philosophical and political questions around space and the environment. Much of this unit will be presented as fieldwork outside of the studio context followed by a studio engagement, allowing for a more robust creative outcome.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Understand the conceptual and technical foundation for successful study in a contemporary practices;
2. Identify landscape, space and environment as a means of creative and critical contemporary expression;
3. Produce creative strategies as a form of expression appropriate to the concept they are investigating;
4. Understand the context of contemporary drawing and investigation in the framework of national and global contemporary culture;
5. Describe the theoretical and historical rationale and context of their work;
6. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 4 contact hours plus 8 hours of independent study.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit provides students with the opportunity to relate to a more expansive definition of drawing and encourages students, through bold graphic experimentation, to maximise their capacity for individual invention and expression in responding to a variety of perceptive and conceptual processe This unit is an advancement on their year 1 foundation drawing.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Have a wide graphic visual vocabulary to serve and maximise their individual expressive needs;
2. Have aesthetic sensibilities that enable them to critically determine imagery that bridges both historical and contemporary art;
3. Productively develop a wide variety of visual material and techniques relevant to their major discipline;
4. Critically engage and produce drawing in relation to their conceptual direction and perceptive observations;
5. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.

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Social based strategies is a studio based drawing unit. Students will be presented with projects introducing themes of the city, architecture, mass media and politics as an investigative drawing practice.The unit provides students with the means to achieve a level of technical competence in these processes, and a consideration of their works in the context of historical, philosophical and contemporary practices.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Understand the conceptual and technical foundation for successful study in a contemporary practices;
2. Identify the city, architecture, mass media and politics as a means of creative and critical contemporary expression;
3. Produce creative strategies as a form of expression appropriate to the concept they are investigating;
4. Understand the context of contemporary drawing and investigation in the framework of national and global contemporary culture;
5. Describe the theoretical and historical rationale and context of their work;
6. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

Folio (100%). The folio will be comprised of works produced during the duration of the unit, and may also include student's works made independently of the unit, and a journal which will document on-going progress and research over the semester.

12 hours per week including 4 studio hours and 8 hours of independent study.

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This unit provides students with an opportunity to relate the broadest possible definition of drawing to current art practices, methods and materials. Through a series of set projects, students will be encouraged, through the use of materials and formats, to explore ideas and develop concepts in ways that may assist their major studies. The study is designed to assist students to develop notational skills, to investigate advanced concepts and to become aware of strategies for successfully articulating visual research.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Have a wide graphic visual vocabulary to serve and maximise their individual expressive needs;
2. Have aesthetic sensibilities that enable them to critically determine imagery that bridges both historical and contemporary art;
3. Productively develop a wide variety of visual material and techniques relevant to their major discipline;
4. Critically engage and produce drawing in relation to their conceptual direction and perceptive observations;
5. Understand and apply the rules of occupational health and safety appropriate to the discipline practice.

100% in-semester assessment

Study Option A: 3 studio hours and 9 independent study hours per week; or Study Option B: 156 hours including 36 hours block teaching and 120 hours of independent study

See also Unit timetable information