User Centred Design (8973.4)

Required texts

Recommended text: "Universal Principles of Design", by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, Jill Butler, Rockport ( Bookshop and Library)

Submission of assessment items

Good studio practices

The following additional discipline specific regulations and procedures are designed to ensure equity for students in the submission, feedback and assessment of projects.

Studio Clean-up/ Shared Use

Studios are to be cleared of work at the end of each class. Students are responsible for removing their materials, equipment, progress models and drawings as needed to ensure clear teaching spaces for subsequent studios. 

Critique Feedback and return of material

Apart from the grades/marks/comments given for the progressive assignments through Canvas, feedback will be provided in the form of verbal comments and critique during studio classes and at juries. An ability to present, explain and justify her/his work is an essential task of any design professional. Students will be required to stand-up, pin-up, and talk to their work, presenting their ideas and explaining the design to a group. Students will be given time slots with time for questions. During a critique students should be able to discuss the aims, design process and how they have approached the design brief. 

Verbal critiques are designed to provide iterative feedback to the students on their progress against the assessment outcomes of the Design Brief. They are conducted a number of times a semester in front of peers, and students are encouraged to benchmark their work against that of others. It is often a good idea to jot down some key points for presentation and discussion and students are encouraged to enlist the help of a peer to take notes or record the feedback on their behalf during the presentation.  

The final critique, also known as a jury, is held in front of invited guests. During the final critique academics will usually undertake one of the following activities: seek information, test an argument, evaluate outcomes, or make contextual and theoretical comparisons. In return students are invited to present their own work and to evaluate their level of understanding of the learning outcomes. This two-way process necessarily elicits both positive and negative critique and can lead to misunderstandings about the process and outcomes. However, at all times, all participants can expect to be treated respectfully and ethically by staff, students and visitors, as they work in partnership to improve the learning outcomes for all. The critique is always about the work presented and is never about the person.

All grades will be posted on the dedicated studio unit on Canvas. Work will not be available for collection before the nominated return date. Students must retain a digital copy of their assessable work; this includes the electronic copy of physical artefacts. Students should expect that tutors will write on or otherwise alter their work as a part of the assessment and feedback process. 

Announcements and Additional information

Additional information, including assignment and submission requirements will be provided in separate handouts. Reading and complying with this information and instruction is a requirement for students enrolled in this unit.

Announcements made during studios, seminars or lectures, or sent to your University of Canberra student email address, will be deemed to have been made to the whole group. Students are responsible for regularly checking their UC student email.

Consultation with Staff

Contact with staff should generally be within the allocated class times. Consultation outside of these hours shall be by prior appointment, and in addition to, not in lieu of the scheduled class time. Students who fail to attend classes, and who do not have a medical or counsellor’s certificate or other genuine reason for missing classes, should not expect additional tutorial or consultation time.

Please note: staff are not able to return telephone calls after normal hours or on weekends or holidays. Emails are normally not checked or answered at nights, on weekends or on public holidays.

Teaching staff (and particularly part-time staff) may not be able to attend to phone calls or reply to emails immediately. Please ensure any urgent matters are brought to their attention within the studio session or request assistance in notifying the Unit Convener through the Administrative Assistant for the Course.

End of Semester Clean-up

Studios are to be cleared of work and generally cleaned-up at the end of each semester. Projects not removed by the advertised date may be discarded without further notice. University of Canberra staff and sessional studio tutors are not responsible for submission materials. Students are required to retrieve submissions at the end of the jury day as noted. Unless special arrangements have been made with the convener, items that are not collected as required may be discarded without further notice. This is particularly important at the end of semester, when the studios and pin-up spaces must be cleared for graduation exhibitions.

Courtesy in Tutorials/Studios

All mobile phones are to be switched to silent mode during all lectures, tutorials, workshops and presentations. During these sessions, all computers may only be used for purposes directly related to scheduled tutorial (i.e. no games, emailing, internet browsing etc.).

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Participation requirements

Students who attend campus for class or other purposes must play their part in keeping our campus and community safe by following these basic guidelines to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission:

• Practise good hand hygiene, washing hands regularly;
• If you do happen to cough or sneeze, please do so into the crook of your elbow, dispose of tissues immediately and wash hands immediately
• Practise effective physical distancing;
• Follow all directions of teaching and other UC staff regarding safety measures;
• Stay off campus if you are unwell and get tested according to Queensland Government guidelines, and
• Follow TAFE Queensland communications for current health and campus advice https://tafeqld.edu.au/current-students/health-advice.html

Full attendance at all lectures, studios and seminars is expected. Students must contact the studio tutor in advance if they are unable to attend. There is a significant link between a student's attendance/participation, and the quality of their learning outcomes demonstrated by the submitted assessable project components.  

Required IT skills

Students are expected to have basic skills in software associated with digital composition, presentation and report writing. 

Work placement, internships or practicums

None.

Additional information

Refer to Canvas site

• Semester 1, 2021, On-campus, UC - TAFE Queensland, South Bank (199287)
• Semester 1, 2020, On-campus, UC - TAFE Queensland, South Bank (194047)
• Semester 1, 2019, On-campus, UC - TAFE Queensland, South Bank (190813)