Bachelor of Design (Visual Communication)

2025 Deakin University Handbook

Year

2026 course information

Award granted Bachelor of Design (Visual Communication)
Course Credit Points24
Deakin course codeA345
Course version1
Faculty

Faculty of Arts and Education

Course Information

For students who commenced from 2018 to 2022

Final Intake

Offered to continuing students only.

The final intake to this course was in teaching period 3, 2022. Students should contact Student Central for course, course map and enrolment information.

Duration3 years full-time or part-time equivalent
CRICOS code095257M Burwood (Melbourne), Waterfront (Geelong)

Course sub-headings

Articulated courses

Bachelor of Communication and Creative Arts (Honours) (A450)

Course Learning Outcomes

Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes Course Learning Outcomes
Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities Develop theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the forms, functions, processes, languages and materials of visual communication design. Developing the capacity to meet client requirements in a rapidly changing industry setting.
Communication Effectively communicate ideas using specific language, concepts and media to transmit ideas in response to design briefs.
Digital literacy Utilize theoretical knowledge and practical skills with digital technologies to achieve user experience design outcomes.
Critical thinking Acquire skills in critical thinking and the analytical evaluation of design. Critically engaging a range of strategies to achieve professional industry based outcomes.
Problem solving Utilize design thinking methods to empathise, analyse, ideate, prototype and test complex and ill-defined problems.
Self-management Initiate autonomous and self-directed management techniques; demonstrating professional responsibility and accountability to a wide range of design projects.
Teamwork Lead, deliver and perform within a collaborative professional team to deliver industry standard outcomes.
Global citizenship Critically engage designs capacity to act as an agent of change in multiple contexts. To identify and develop proposals for personal and corporate social, cultural and ethical responsibilities in a global and domestic context.

Approved at Faculty Board March 2017

Course rules

To complete the Bachelor of Design (Visual Communication) you must pass 24 credit points. This includes:

  • DAI001 Academic Integrity Module (0-credit-point compulsory unit) in your first study period
  • 17 credit points of core units
  • 2 credit points of course elective units
  • 5 credit points of open elective units
  • no more than 10 credit points at level 1
  • minimum of 6 credit points at level 3.

Most units are equal to one credit point. As a full-time student you will study four credit points per trimester and usually undertake two trimesters per year.

Students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements.

Course structure

Level 1

ADD101Design and Creative Thinking

ADD105Design Fundamentals

ADD106Typography Foundations

ADT102Interaction and UX Design Fundamentals

ADD102 Design Skills and Technologies 1 [No longer available for enrolment, ADD105 replaces this unit]

ADV102 Typography and Publication Design [No longer available for enrolment, ADD106 replaces this unit]

ADD103 Animation Project [No longer available for enrolment, ADT102 replaces this unit]

Level 2

ADD204Brand and Product Design

ADD206Information Design

ADD204Brand and Product Design

ADT201Digital Experience Design

ADT202Web and Interface Design

ADD208Experimental Publication Design

ADD207 Environmental Design [no longer available for enrolment]

ADD209 Design Laboratory [no longer available for enrolment, ADD204 replaces this unit]

ADV101 Drawing and Illustration [no longer available for enrolment, ADD208 replaces this unit]

ADV202 Branding Design [no longer available for enrolment, ADD204 replaces this unit]

ADD203 Professional Practice in Design [no longer available for enrolment, ADD207 previously replaced this unit]

ADV206 Type and Icons [no longer available for enrolment, ADD206 replaces this unit]

ADV205 Designing User Experience [no longer available for enrolment, previously coded ADD201, ADT201 replaces this unit]

ADV201 Web Design and Interactivity [No longer available for enrolment, ADT202 replaces this unit]

Level 3

ADD305Strategic Design Studio

ACC302Advertising: Desire, Consumption and the Attention Economy

ADD306Creative Design Studio

ALM305Media Ecologies

Plus 1 level 3 general elective

ADD303 Design for Change [No longer available for enrolment]

ADD301 Collaborative Design Project [2 credit points, no longer available for enrolment, ADD305 & ACC302 replace this unit]

ADD302 Individual Design Portfolio [no longer available for enrolment, replacement unit level 3 general elective]

ADD304 Creative Design Studio [2 credit points, no longer available for enrolment, ADD306 & ALM305 replace this unit]

Course electives

Plus 2 credit points of course electives from:

ACC302Advertising: Desire, Consumption and the Attention Economy

ADA107Principles of Animation [replaces ACF107]

ADA206Visual Effects and Effects Animation [replaces ACF212]

ACI102Digital Photography

ADA102Designing 3D Animated Environments

ADA201Character Design and Development for Animation

ADA202Character Animation

ADA204Animated Motion Graphics

AIP347Media and Politics: Campaign Strategies [replaces AIP247]

ALA102Creative Brand Communication

ALA201Art Direction and Visualisation

ALM102Making Video

AWL300Internship [replaces ACC317]

IND101Introduction to Aboriginal Studies

SIT102Introduction to Programming

ACG308 Screen and Design Industry Project [No longer available for enrolment]

ACC317 Communication And Creative Arts Internship A [No longer available for enrolment, replacement unit AWL300]

Plus 5 credit points of open elective units

Fees and charges

Tuition fees will vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study, your study load and/or unit discipline.

Your tuition fees will increase annually at the start of each calendar year. All fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD) and do not include additional costs such as textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment, mandatory checks, travel, consumables and other costs.

For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current students website.

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