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Visual Communication Design

Year 9 - Core

Length of Course: Semester
Department: Design and Creative Arts
Head of Department: Mr Dean Alchin
Year Available: 2025

This is a semester based unit of work which introduces students to the world of visual communication. They will experience design techniques and methodologies from the environmental (architecture), industrial (product design) and communication (graphic design and packaging design) design fields. Within this subject, students will have the opportunity to follow a design process and apply design thinking strategies to create design resolutions to a given brief. They will also be given opportunities to explore a broad range of methods designers use to create visually appealing communications such as (but not limited to) drawing, printmaking, photography and digital design in the Adobe Creative suite of products.

Curriculum focus

Focus 1 - Type, Imagery and Graphic Messages

Students explore the relationship of type and image through a variety of tasks. These tasks provide an opportunity to understand the range of design elements and design principles that designers use in their work.

Focus 2 - 2D and 3D Drawing

Learn and practice new drawing skills including: visualisation, freehand and instrumental drawing, one point & two point perspective, tonal rendering, drawing from observation and drawing from the imagination.

Focus 3 - Responding to a Brief

Students will use the design process and design thinking strategies to respond to a given brief. They will investigate characteristics of specific target audiences and use visual devices to gain and maintain the audience attention in a given context.

Assessment

Practical projects are assessed with regular feedback and an end-of-project rubric. An end-of-semester examination will test the content of both practical and theory projects. Homework will be assessed with regular feedback and grades.

Key Resource

  • A4 Visual Journal (spiral bound, blank pages)

  • Grey lead and coloured pencils

  • Black Fine liners (0.2 - 0.8)