Course Title: Industrial Design Studies Specialisation

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Industrial Design Studies Specialisation

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
GRAP1044	City Campus	Undergraduate	315H Architecture & Design	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2006, Sem 2 2007, Sem 2 2008, Sem 2 2009, Sem 1 2010, Sem 2 2010, Sem 1 2011, Sem 2 2011, Sem 1 2012, Sem 2 2012, Sem 1 2013, Sem 2 2013
GRAP1044	City Campus	Undergraduate	320H Architecture & Urban Design	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2014, Sem 2 2014, Sem 1 2015, Sem 2 2015, Sem 1 2016, Sem 2 2016

Course Coordinator: Liam Fennessy

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 5330

Course Coordinator Email: liam.fennessy@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 100.05.02

Course Coordinator Availability: Contact via email for appointment

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

 GRAP 1041 Design in Society: Histories, Politics and Contexts of Application

GRAP 1042 Industrial Design Ecologies: Sustainability, Socio-technical systems and Change

GRAP 1043 Industrial Design Tactics: temporal, perceptual, and experiential methods

Course Description

Industrial Design Studies Specialisation is final of the four courses in the Industrial Design Studies Stream and provides an opportunity to revisit the theoretical and methodological domains of any tutorial project offered within:

Industrial Design Tactics: temporal, perceptual, and experiential methods

Industrial Design & Society: Histories, Politics and Contexts of Application

Industrial Design Ecologies: Sustainability, Socio-technical systems and Change

This course rounds out an educational experience of the historical, theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of the Industrial Design discipline by presenting you a range of learning opportunities from which to choose and to develop a degree of methodological specialization in. The tutorials offered deal with different aspects of theory in industrial design and each provides a different route towards capability development in design research, design thinking and how meanings of and for industrial design practice may be constructed. The specific tutorials offered within the each course are unique in each and every semester and are intended to expose you to diverse ways of engaging with, and responding to, contemporary issues and possibilities for design practice.

Building on the knowledge, capabilities and criticality demonstrated in the previous Design Studies stream courses undertaken you are encouraged to explore, experiment and challenge theoretical concepts and methodologies; to become curious, rigorous, critical and confident in the ways in which you approach, appreciate, articulate, challenge and champion the social, political, technological, cognitive and aesthetic complexities of design and it’s role in shaping our ideas of the world and your agency within it.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

- effectively map, research, analyze and communicate theories, projects and their interrelationships confidently and independently through written, design, oral and multimedia presentations
-accurately evidence propositions and ideas in response to specific methods of research and academic conventions
-lead peer to peer learning and critique processes, mentor others, and be critical and reflective of own work
-assemble and compose formal and informal knowledge in ways that creatively challenge and champion design
-locate key ideas in design theory with reference to their historical and contextual origins.
-Articulate a degree of specialisation in a chosen domain of industrial design theory, method or practice
 

You will be assessed on your development of the following program learning outcomes:

- Apply analytical, critical, creative and strategic thinking to industrial design problems and research within complex and unfamiliar contexts and concerns
- Articulate complex design ideas to diverse audiences through an advanced and adaptable repertoire of communication strategies and technologies
- Advocate through design practice the improvement of the conditions and wellbeing of people, cultural practices and environments
-Reflect on own learning and the efficacy of design decisions made, adapting to needs and issues as they arise, and continuously seeking improvement
- Demonstrate through practice-based design research an advanced knowledge of the socio-technical, environmental and economic eco-systems of industrial design both locally and globally

Overview of Learning Activities

You will be actively engaged in learning that involves a range of face to face and online activities such as lectures, tutorials, group and class discussion, group activities and individual research.

You will be required to engage in the following learning activities: reading, in field observations, watching films and documentaries, field trips, debates, presentations, academic writing, drawing, peer review and associated design activities. You are encouraged and expected to participate (in an ongoing manner) in tutorial discussions and activities and to present their work and ideas in an open way for appraisal by peers.

Each Design Studies Stream tutorial has its own specific learning activities and outcomes related to it’s particular content and methodological focus.
 

Overview of Learning Resources

To effectively participate in coursework you are advised to procure (as a minimum) the following:

- Drawing Supplies including visual diaries, pens, pencils, markers and ancillary products and consumables.
- Documentation Equipment including a digital camera and an audio recording device such as an MP3 player or mobile phone.

Additionally it is advisable that you have a personal computer of an appropriate specification.

Assessment tasks, lecture notes and other study materials will be available online through the MyRMIT portal. You will also be expected to seek further resources relevant to the focus of your own learning.

RMIT Swanston Library has extensive resources for Industrial Design Students: To effectively participate in coursework you are advised to procure (as a minimum) the following:

- Drawing Supplies including visual diaries, pens, pencils, markers and ancillary products and consumables.
- Documentation Equipment including a digital camera and an audio recording device such as an MP3 player or mobile phone.

Additionally it is advisable that you have a personal computer of an appropriate specification.

Assessment tasks, lecture notes and other study materials will be available online through the MyRMIT portal. You will also be expected to seek further resources relevant to the focus of your own learning.

RMIT Swanston Library has extensive resources for Industrial Design Students: www.lib.rmit.edu.au/guides/industrial-design.html

Overview of Assessment

Assessment will cover both theoretical and practical aspects of your learning. You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes and on your development against the program learning outcomes. Assessment may include essays, reports, visualisations, design prototypes, and presentations. Assessment tasks may be undertaken either individually or in teams.

Summative feedback will be given on all assessment tasks and may be delivered in a variety of forms including critique panels, audio or video recordings and written reports. Additionally you will receive ongoing formative feedback as you progress through the course from your lecturer and from your peers in view of continuous improvement and greater degrees of reflectivity on your own learning.

If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or the Disability Liaison Unit if you would like to find out more.

An assessment charter http://mams.rmit.edu.au/kh6a3ly2wi2h1.pdf summarises your responsibilities as an RMIT student as well as those of your teachers.

Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies and procedures which are described and referenced in a single document: http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=ln1kd66y87rc