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Unit outline_

IDEA9301: Graduation Studio

Semester 2, 2022 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

This is the culminating studio of the Master of Interaction Design and Electronic Arts that provides students with a capstone experience. The aim of this studio is to draw together and synthesise the learning that has taken place during the whole degree. Students develop a design project based on an industry or community-focused brief. Students will work in small teams or individually to produce a design proposal that addresses contemporary issues, and incorporates innovative applications of digital or emergent technologies. The submitted design work will be high quality, suitable for professional presentation and portfolio.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Design Lab
Credit points 12
Prerequisites
? 
48 credit points including (18 credit points from IDEA9103 and IDEA9105 and IDEA9106) and (18 credit points from IDEA9101 or IDEA9102 or IDEA9201 or IDEA9202)
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Somwrita Sarkar, somwrita.sarkar@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s) Somwrita Sarkar, somwrita.sarkar@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Online task A1: Design Activities and Coding Tasks
Coding and generating visualisations with Web Technologies
35% Multiple weeks Weekly entries to an online quiz.
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO3 LO2 LO6
Presentation group assignment A2: Presentation 1
Each phase of the design process culminates in a presentation.
10% Week 05 10 minutes
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Presentation group assignment A2: Presentation 2
Each phase of the design process culminates in a presentation.
15% Week 09 10 minutes
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Presentation group assignment A2: Presentation 3
Each phase of the design process culminates in a presentation.
25% Week 13 10 minutes
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Assignment group assignment A3: Portfolio
A website, app, or any other digital product or tool responding to brief
15% Week 13 Digital Product
Outcomes assessed: LO4 LO5 LO1 LO2 LO3 LO6
group assignment = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

You will have an opportunity to engage directly with an external industry partner, who provides the assignment brief. Each group will be working on a design project in the studio throughout the semester, which forms the major assignment (2 and 3) for this unit of study. Assignment 1 prepares the students individually with the necessary skills for Assignments 2 and 3. The aim of the project is for you to engage in relevant problems and design processes. The design process consists of phases, tailored to the partner. For the group assignments, you can work individually or in a group of up to three people. The project outcomes will vary depending on the brief set by the external industry partner.

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

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

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:

See school policy.

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.

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.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 - Introduction to IDEA9301. - Introduction to Information Visualisation. Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO2
- Introduction to Industry Partner and Project Brief - Form groups - Introduction to HTML, CSS, SVG Studio (2 hr) LO1 LO2
Week 02 Industry Lecture on Project Brief Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO2
- Generating Mock Visualisations with HTML, CSS, SVG, and Figma Studio (2 hr) LO2 LO3
Week 03 Visual Design Principles and ChartJunk Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO2
First dive into JavaScript Studio (2 hr) LO2 LO3
Week 04 Categorical and Temporal Data Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO2
Student consultations for Week 5 Presentation Studio (2 hr) LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 05 Student Presentations and Industry Partner Feedback - Assessment 2, Presentation 1 Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Student Presentations and Industry Partner Feedback - Assessment 2, Presentation 1 Studio (2 hr) LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 06 Spatial data Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Introduction to D3.js Studio (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Week 07 Higher dimensional data and networks Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Generating visualisations with D3.js Studio (2 hr) LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 08 Principles of Interactive Information Visualisation Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Student consultations for Week 9 Presentations Studio (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 09 Student Presentations and Industry Partner Feedback - Assessment 2, Presentation 2 Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Student Presentations and Industry Partner Feedback - Assessment 2, Presentation 2 Studio (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Week 10 Analytics, Informatics, and Big Data Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Generating visualisations with D3.js Studio (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Week 11 Industry Lecture: Careers in Design Lecture (1 hr) LO6
Generating visualisations with D3.js Studio (2 hr) LO6
Week 12 Final student consultations Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Final student consultations Studio (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Week 13 Student Presentations and Industry Partner Feedback - Assessment 2, Presentation 3 Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Student Presentations and Industry Partner Feedback - Assessment 2, Presentation 3 Studio (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6

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 12 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 240-300 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

These books are available in the library, and are classics in the field. They are not mandatory for you to purchase, but are an incredibly valuable resource if you work with any type of data as a designer. 

Tufte, E. R., 2001, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Graphics Press, Cheshire, Connecticut. 

Tufte, E. R., 1990, Envisioning Information, Graphics Press, Cheshire, Connecticut. 

 

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.

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

  • LO1. Formulate, plan and execute an individual/group design project in response to a design brief
  • LO2. Choose appropriate methods as part of a human-centred design process to suit the problem space
  • LO3. Analyse data from multiple sources to understand the problem space and ideate, iterate and improve potential design solutions.
  • LO4. Document and report research-led design work
  • LO5. Deliver evidence-based design presentations that are clear, confident and engaging to an external audience.
  • LO6. Critically analyse and reflect upon self and peer practices to identify and improve personal accountability in relation to the ethics and values of the discipline and profession.

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
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

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

As per suggestions from previous semesters, lecture content, assignments, and the rubrics have been modified.

 

Slack

We will use a Slack group to encourage group discussions and as a platform to exchange ideas as well as for posting questions about the assessments.

The Slack signup information will be posted on Canvas.

Additional costs

There might be some additional costs in the course depending on the direction of your design project.

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.