Diploma of Design

Build lasting relationships...

"My favourite part were the friendships I made with both fellow classmates and lecturers. "

Nikita Karr | 2015 Graduate
Bachelor of Communication Design

If you have a flair for creativity but can’t decide between graphic design, digital design, video production, interior design or fashion, this higher- education diploma gives you the ability to choose your design career options.

Sample between 2-4 of the following specialist areas: Branded Fashion Design, Communication Design, Digital Media Design or Interior Design.

The Diploma of Design provides full credit as a pathway into the more advanced courses so you can use the diploma to finish your degree quickly. This design course is available on campus in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

CRICOS CODE
094008C

Key Study Outcomes:

  • Break into a creative career as a junior designer
  • Fundamentals of design
  • Visual communication vocabulary
  • Theory and practice of moving image and 3D design production
  • Discover how branding shapes the nature and role of design practice
  • Create brand collateral that delivers results

About the School

Billy Blue College of Design courses are delivered by Torrens University Australia Ltd, ABN 99 154 937 005, RTO 41343, CRICOS 03389E.

Read more about Billy Blue College of Design

Billy Blue College of Design

Course Delivery

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Workload and Assessment

No. of timetabled hours per week:

12 hours per week full-time or 6 hours per week part-time.

Contact a Course and Career Advisor for more information on full-time and part-time workloads.

Typical assessment includes:

  • Practical assignments

  • Research projects

  • Presentations

Subject Information

The subject introduces the student to various aspects of the elements of design, e.g. materiality, form and shape, colour, positive and negative space etc. utilised in creative problem solving. Initially students are introduced to a design development process, from the tangible to the digital; through paper model making with its inherent skills development and risk taking, then on to further digital development using newly introduced software. Concurrent, weekly, individual homework tasks focus on understanding and appreciation of materials, their many varied uses, properties and the manufacturing processes related to them. Students will make incremental progress towards choosing a material in which their individual design can be realised. The submission will include a material and colour folio. The final submission will be a model executed in an appropriate material with its function/usage contextualised with all relevant information gleaned throughout the trimester.

This introductory subject places design process and practice within the context of a chronological survey of major historical eras of influence. Students are encouraged to engage with the historical socio-political movements influencing design trends of each era through research and reflection. Academic skills (research, referencing, essay writing, and sentence structure) and design software skills are taught in weekly lessons. Students use the academic and software skills to document historical research and generate creative responses to the themes of historical eras.

Students will be offered the opportunity to work within a professional design studio experience for an extended period of time. It encourages students to build long-term relationships with the design industry and exposes them to the rigour of applied design practice while building their confidence in adapting to new environments. It also provides a context in which to enhance their communication skills and work collaboratively in a professional arena. Students will be matched to an appropriate mentor at the placement site and monitored by an academic in the discipline of study.

Design Studio 2 offers an introduction to the building blocks of creating and developing brands and is designed to give students a broad understanding of the stages and methodologies adopted in the brand development process. The subject draws on the theory and practice that sits behind brand creation. It covers the broad spectrum of brand development, values, trends and branding techniques, as well as fundamentals such as brand positioning and brand architecture. The subject also explores the relationship between branding and audiences, cross-cultural influences and shifts in consumer behaviour. Students must first understand and apply the fundamentals of branding and then go on to use that knowledge as the basis for developing and progressing a brand. This theoretical and practical subject will equip students with the knowledge and insight with which to build their own branding expertise.

This subject develops students’ understanding of typographic convention in both traditional and contemporary applications. Students will use their understanding of basic typographic formatting, page composition and layout to explore advanced typographic setting, work flow and content editing across print and digital platforms.

Students will also explore the role of typographic narrative within the sequenced delivery of information across a variety of environments. They will be challenged to consider the ‘voice of type’ and develop a greater appreciation and understanding of how content is read and viewed in traditional and non-traditional mediums.

This subject seeks to develop conceptual and practical frameworks for the generation of visual images, enabling students to create innovative visual responses in their work. It will encourage students to expand their frame of visual understanding and explore idea generation as well as historical approaches to visual representation, resulting in developing skills in the practical interpretation of ideas. This is achieved through sketching, photography, and experimenting with analogue and digital materials.

This subject advances students’ understanding of publishing design in both traditional and contemporary applications. Students will use their understanding of basic typographic settings, page composition and layout to explore advanced typographic setting, workflow and content editing. Students will be challenged to consider the ‘voice of type’ and develop a greater appreciation and understanding of how content is read and viewed through a variety of mediums. They will embrace traditional bookbinding and construction methods alongside screen based, digital applications to realise design outcomes. Students will work both individually and in small teams, reflecting the experiences and structure of a publishing team. Through lectures, workshops and tutorials, students will investigate methods and techniques central to publishing design, considering content generation, document sequencing, publishing terminology and advanced typographic settings crucial to a comprehensive understanding of contemporary publishing design.

This subject serves as an introduction to communicating with imagery, from initial concepts and quick sketches through to more sophisticated visual responses, utilising a variety of media. With an emphasis on exploration within historical, practical, and technical parameters,‘Thinking Visually’ aims to enable the student to effectively articulate ideas through both drawing and photography. Students will develop skills in observation,idea generation, and effective visual communication through a combination of theoretical studies, observational drawing and material experimentation.

This subject introduces students to the theory and practice of Information Design. Students will visualise both quantitative and qualitative data from a variety of sources via linear and non-linear typography, signs, icons, pictograms and mapping techniques. They will explore theories and practical approaches that examine instructional systems, methods to convey instructions and complex information systems.

Working individually and as part of a small team, students are required to research a number of given topics. They will analyse and process this information within the context of the LATCH organisational system, demonstrating their knowledge via the design of a series of visual graphics that dramatise both the research they have conducted and the skills they have gained.

Systems and Documentation 2 (Residential) continues to develop the student’s understanding of the different construction systems applicable to residential design applicable to small to mid-scale projects. It also investigates how design solutions are communicated to stakeholders (contract managers, consultants and contractors)- namely through documentation, specifications and contract management. Students will develop a complete set of documentation drawings for their nominated residential design proposal. The tutorials and a
assessments will all be carried out using computer aided documentation.

This subject investigates the evolution of built environment design. It explores major art and architectural movements throughout history and the development of contemporary design by investigating significant turning points and historic milestones.

This subject will focus on developing the students’ understanding of the complexities of designing an area within a spatial environment whilst identifying and activating an urban site, with consideration of the longevity and adaptability of the final design solution. Students will integrate their research and knowledge of environments, identifying design related and environmental imperatives in the realisation of design briefs.

The purpose of this subject is to introduce the fundamental theories, practices, and methods for developing three-dimensional design. The subject covers 3D concepts and techniques, as well as practice in contemporary industry software. The subject investigates the integration of modelling, texture and light in three-dimensional space. Concept development is practiced in a range of spatial activities, investigating the relationship of spatial projects to a target audience. Development in professional work disciplines for design practice is key to the delivery of this subject.

Systems and Documentation 1 introduces students to the different construction systems applicable to the design of nominated interiors, and how design solutions are communicated to stakeholders (contract managers, consultants and contractors) through contract documentation. Students will develop a series of documentation drawings for a small scale nominated environment.

This subject examines perspectives on models of practice relevant to Interior Design. It examines design practice in response to changing needs and requirements of clients and design briefs. It also explores the strategies used for expressing ideas, and the design skills required to communicate them. The purpose of the subject is for students to gain knowledge in foundation level design practice relevant to Interior Design. The design process workflow from original idea to review of work in progress, revision, presentation and reflection is explored.

This subject examines the way design ideas are generated. Students will explore concepts of assimilation, synthesis and transformation and will develop an understanding of reflective design practice. A foundation language of experimentation, risk-taking and problem solving is introduced, combined with theories of ideas generation and their transformation into a design outcome. In addition, students will investigate a variety of methods and techniques to understand design innovation through individual and group exploration and analysis.

This subject introduces the importance of clothing structure, shape, form, line and volume. A variety of cutting, sewing and finishing techniques and terminology are introduced through the examination of constructed garments and the execution of a variety of sewing samples. Through the analysis of a manually deconstructed garment, students are able to familiarise themselves with the various components that make up a garment and the interrelationships between those components. Using this knowledge, students execute and assemble a self-designed garment that addresses an understanding of the structural purpose and interrelationships of individual pattern pieces. Students will be
required to make decisions about the most appropriate construction techniques to use based on the relevant market position.

Students have the option of participating in a Sewing Skills program – a series of additional sewing workshops that run concurrently with their formal study. These weekly two hour workshops provide students with an opportunity to further develop their garment construction skills, should they so choose.

This subject provides the opportunity for discourse on the “meaning” of fashion, branded fashion and clothing. The students will study various texts and historical periods to develop their sensitivities and understanding of the “fashion phenomenon” and clothing behaviour.
Examination of several case studies of fashion occurrences will inform the student of the issues, attitudes and foundations that may lead up to the formation of a fashion, the role of the designer in that process and its effect on general dress behaviour as a result. Students research a variety of historical periods and develop a digital design folio depicting clothing of the studied periods in addition to an essay on a chosen historical period. To compliment this study, students will gain digital design foundation skills and techniques used to present their work.

In this subject, students will simultaneously study the human body and its ergonomics whilst developing the skill of visual representation and communication through the art of drawing. It acknowledges drawing as a fundamental skill of the designer, and its importance in communicating design ideas.

Students will cultivate an understanding of human movement, balance, proportion and shape by developing their observational and drawing skills. Students will also develop their ability to visually render various surfaces, fabrics and structures as they learn to understand the manner in which different materials and fabrics drape, shape, change and interact with and on the human body.

This subject underpins the development of fundamental principles of apparel design such as proportion, materiality and coordination, as well as the capacity of the student to visually communicate their designs.

This subject is twofold e.g. hand drawing and computer drawing skills development. Students develop hand-drawing skills to depict, show their understanding as well as explore technical and construction details for apparel. In addition students demonstrate their understanding of clothing history and fashion by isolating key recognisable garment design elements and principles specific to the identified historical periods. In addition to a folio with hand drawings, students develop a digital folio with fully annotated and proportionally correct garment drawings. In order to transfer their hand skill drawings they are introduced to CAD drawing methods and folio layout specific for branded fashion.

By analysing and evaluating their hand drawings they select and synthesis these into a computer generated document.

This subject introduces the foundational theory and practice of motion graphic design and live action camera production. The unit introduces basic skills in concept development, asset creation, 2D animation and compositing suitable for motion graphic production.

The process of developing a live action video piece is also introduced, from pre-production through to post-production, and including fundamental sound design principles. Students will gain basic skills in camera-based production including basics of lighting, sound recording and editing.

This subject introduces the foundational theory and practice of motion graphic design and live action camera production. The unit introduces basic skills in concept development, asset creation, 2D animation and compositing suitable for motion graphic production.

The process of developing a live action video piece is also introduced, from pre-production through to post-production, and including fundamental sound design principles. Students will gain basic skills in camera-based production including basics of lighting, sound recording and editing.

This subject provides an introduction to the fundamental theory and practice of interaction design. Key concepts including experience, interface and interaction are explored, along with fundamental technologies, services and platforms pertinent to the design and production of interactive digital media. Students will also investigate the social, cultural and technological frameworks that inform interaction design and identify the relationships between each.

This subject continues the exploration of the theory and practice of interaction design for digital media. The subject covers core research and concept development methods for interaction design. Students will focus on interpreting and structuring information content for interactive non-linear presentation and delivery, and will also focus on visual aspects of interface design and the ways in which visual design affects end-user experience.

This subject develops foundational skills in drawing, visual perception and exploration. Students engage with the practice and theory of various drawing modes, including life and environmental drawing, in order to enrich the concept development process. In addition to developing general visualisation skills students will also work in concept development forms specific to specialist areas of digital media practice.

This subject provides an introduction to the fundamental theory and practice of moving image and 3D design and production. Students will be familiarised with a basic set of tools and techniques for creating moving image sequences and 3D visualisations. Fundamental moving image, screen language and spatial design concepts are introduced, and students will use these concepts in conjunction with basic production techniques to communicate and convey narrative. The subject also introduces concept development techniques and materials specific to the development of motion and 3D design outcomes.

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