Outline

Overview

This unit focuses on how the emergence of new technologies has revolutionised the way companies interact and build relationships with customers. In this unit, students explore the concept of 'the channel'. Traditionally, customer relationships have been managed via a push approach in communication, mainly 'what can we sell customers?', with the hope of cultivating customer loyalty. The unit explores the emotional understanding of customers and the impact this has on how they feel about a product, service or business. Students learn how exploring and analysing customers' emotional understanding can drastically alter their engagement, behaviour and purchasing preferences. The unit therefore aims to extend students' understanding of how this rapidly-evolving landscape has changed the way digital channels are designed, monitored and managed. In this unit, digital channel strategies and relationships are examined, and useful concepts for designing digital engagements are detailed. The unit encompasses customer-centric design approaches as well as techniques such as scenario building, forecasting and backcasting to explore possible futures.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Design Lab
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Karen Cochrane, karen.cochrane@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Digital Strategy Critique Written assessment	40%	Week 06 Due date: 18 Apr 2021 at 17:00	Max 16 pages excluding references.
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Developing Assets of a Digital Strategy Campaign - Presentation Presentation	20%	Week 10 Due date: 14 May 2021 at 09:00	10 Minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Developing Assets of a Digital Strategy Campaign - Report Visual Report	40%	Week 11 Due date: 21 May 2021 at 17:00	30 pages not including Ref. or Appendix
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Assessment 1: Digital Strategy Critique (40%)

Students will individually produce a report that will critique a digital strategy of an existing company/brand. Students will articulate how the company/brand digital strategy fits in with the overall business strategy and also the various levels of fidelity encompassed by digital strategy e.g. brand strategy, communications strategy, visual communication, channels, social media, campaigns etc. The report will be generated based on desktop research conducted on the organisation. This information will then be used to analyse and critique the digital strategy including assets, call-to-actions and outcomes.

Assessment 2: Developing a Digital Strategy Campaign - Presentation (20%)

In groups, students will present a digital strategy and assets based on a brief provided by our industry partner. This will need to be innovative, novel, and utilise the theory and tools taught during class. The presentation should highlight important aspects of the design process undertaken during the project along with insightful design decisions and changes along with the justifications behind them.

Assessment 3: Developing a Digital Strategy Campaign - Report (40%)

In groups students will create a digital strategy and associated digital assets based on a brief provided by our industry partner. This will need to be innovative, novel, and utilise the theory and tools taught during class. The design report should document the entire design process undertaken during the project and all the design decisions and changes made along with the justifications behind them.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Work of outstanding quality, demonstrating mastery of the learning outcomes assessed. The work shows significant innovation, experimentation, critical analysis, synthesis, insight, creativity, and/or exceptional skill.
Distinction	75 - 84	Work of excellent quality, demonstrating a sound grasp of the learning outcomes assessed. The work shows innovation, experimentation, critical analysis, synthesis, insight, creativity, and/or superior skill.
Credit	65 - 74	Work of good quality, demonstrating more than satisfactory achievement of the learning outcomes assessed, or work of excellent quality for a majority of the learning outcomes assessed.
Pass	50 - 64	Work demonstrating satisfactory achievement of the learning outcomes assessed.
Fail	0 - 49	Work that does not demonstrate satisfactory achievement of one or more of the learning outcomes assessed.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Penalties for late submission of work and related policies are included in the Resolutions of the University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning, which are available at http://sydney.edu.au/handbooks/architecture/rules/faculty_resolutions.shtml. It is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with these policies. Applications for special consideration must be lodged online at http://sydney.edu.au/current_students/special_consideration/apply.shtml.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 03	Understanding the Buyer’s Journey from the Linear Marketing Funnel to the Infinite Loop	Block teaching (3 hr)
Week 03	Understanding the Customer	Block teaching (4 hr)
Week 04	Brand Awareness and Consideration of Channels and TouchPoints	Block teaching (3 hr)
Week 04	The Loyalty Loop – Developing Long-Term Relationships with your Customers	Block teaching (4 hr)
Week 06	Where Design Fits into Differentiation Strategies	Block teaching (3 hr)
Week 06	Presentation Skills & Developing Pitch Desk Slides	Block teaching (4 hr)
Week 07	Guest Lecture & Assignment Consultation	Block teaching (3 hr)
Week 07	Digital Transformations and Marketing Strategies	Block teaching (4 hr)
Week 08	Assignment 2 Presentations	Block teaching (7 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Please refer to the Resolutions of the University School: http://sydney.edu.au/handbooks/architecture/rules/faculty_resolutions.shtml

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Readings will be available on Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. understand the digital landscape surrounding threats to innovation
LO2. plan a strategic digital strategy for such oncoming threats
LO3. identify customer emotive drivers and design a digital strategy based on these accordingly
LO4. understand the complexities and methods of utilising design within a business context
LO5. use various design-based research approaches and methodologies to design a successful digital strategy.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Changes to due date to overcome multiple assessment due on same weeks

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

DESN9002: Designing for the Digital Revolution

Semester 1, 2021 [Block mode] - Remote

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect