Course coordinator
Dr Mehrnoosh Mirzaei
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2026 (23/02/2026 - 20/06/2026)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Architecture, Design and Planning School
DSGN1100 introduces foundational visual communication within the design process. Students learn a variety of design techniques, from sketching methods to analogue visualisation, to effectively convey design concepts. The course explores essential design principles and processes, enabling students to craft effective communication for the design solutions.
This course is last offered Semester 1 2026. Students should enrol in DSGN1002 Design Methods from Semester 2 2026. Please email adp@uq.edu.au for all enquiries.
DSGN1100 is a foundational visual communication course offered in the Bachelor of Design Program. Students develop knowledge and skills in analogue visualisation techniques and methods, ranging from drawing conventions to the fundamentals of analogue rendering. The course aims to equip students with the skills and techniques to communicate and present design ideas effectively. These design methods are essential for cultivating a deep understanding of how to communicate different design ideas. Students will engage in analogue sketching, fostering their ability to represent design ideas and articulate their concepts through drawing and visual principles. Knowledge is delivered through lectures and applied in hands-on activities within a collaborative studio environment. Studios are supported by self-directed online video content and resources. Due to the practical, hands-on learning nature of the course, weekly participation in class exercises is expected for effective skill development. Additional work outside studio time will also be required to develop skills and complete assessment tasks, following UQ guidelines.
Course requirements
Assumed background
Students are assumed to have Year 12 English. ﾠVisual communication skills gained from the study of art, graphics or other design-based subjects may be of benefit but are not assumed knowledge.
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
DSGN1002
Course contact
Course staff
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
This course aims to introduce students to visualisation communication techniques, conventions and fundamental design principles to effectively covey and present design concepts.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Record and develop visual communication techniques.
LO2.
Create sketches and images using a range of media while adhering to design and drawing conventions
LO3.
Explore and apply fundamental design principles to create concepts that convey context and design information.
LO4.
Recognise and select appropriate visualisation techniques for effective communication of the design process.
LO5.
Engage in collaborative studio activities to apply learned skills in design tasks and projects.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio |
Assessment 1: Visual Work in Progress Portfolio
|
40% |
1/04/2026 4:00 pm |
| Presentation, Portfolio |
Assessment 2: Portfolio and Presentation
|
60% |
Digital Submission 27/05/2026 4:00 pm Hardcopy Submission: Presentation & Review 27/05/2026 9:00 am |
Assessment details
Assessment 1: Visual Work in Progress Portfolio
- Identity Verified
- Mode
- Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia
- Category
- Portfolio
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
1/04/2026 4:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L04
Task description
Assessment Rationale:
The Visual Work in Progress Portfolio is a series of weekly in-studio and homework activities. The portfolio is an A3 Landscape booklet that includes all weekly activities in a single PDF document. Each page should include the name of the activity, the activity number, and your name. All drawings and text should be completed by hand and must include your name and last name. Check task instructions on the course website for more information.
Visual Work in Progress Portfolio will be assessed via:
· Drawing Techniques
· Communication and clarity
For more information, check the Assessment 1 Rubric on Blackboard.
Complex / authentic assessment using AI and/or MT to support learning:
This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI and/or MT technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance. A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI and MT tools.
Submission guidelines
The School of Architecture, Design and Planning uses Blackboard and Turnitin for assessment submission. Turnitin is accessed through the course Blackboard site. Turnitin also checks for plagiarism or instances where the original work of others is not appropriately acknowledged. Uploaded files must contain readable text and not be rasterised. Uploaded files must contain readable text and not be rasterised. Students are advised to commence assignment uploads with sufficient amount of time (consider possible technical problems with computers, internet speed, etc). After successfully submitting an assignment through Turnitin, a ‘Submission Complete!’ screen will be displayed. It is the student’s responsibility to check assignment preview and confirm successful submission. If the ‘Submission Complete!’ screen isn’t displayed, the student should regard the submission as unsuccessful. Students should download a copy of the digital receipt as proof they have submitted the assignment. Students who are experiencing upload issues must advise the Course Coordinator immediately by email and should include screenshots and a copy of the assessment for submission. To meet professional accreditation, public engagement and quality assurance obligations, digital copies of all course assessment items must be submitted in addition to any hard copy submission requirements specified in individual Course / Studio Outlines. Any physical models should be photographed and a minimum of two photographs describing the complete and full model must be included in the digital submission.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 14 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
If a student wishes to apply for an extension, they must apply online on or before the assignment due date. When possible, it is suggested that requests are submitted 2 business days prior to the submission due date for the assignment to allow processing time. Students with outstanding applications for extensions are advised to submit their assessment by the original due date, irrespective of whether the work is complete, so that what has been done can be graded. The maximum extension limit for assessment items in all design studio courses is 14 days.
Late submission
The late penalty for this assessment item will be calculated as follows:
1st hour block - initial 1 hour grace period no penalty.
2nd hour to 8th hour block - 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item (or 1 grade) will be deducted per hour up to a maximum of 70%
Any submissions received after eight hours will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved.
Each one-hour block is recorded from the time the submission is due.
Assessment 2: Portfolio and Presentation
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Mode
- Oral, Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia
- Category
- Presentation, Portfolio
- Weight
- 60%
- Due date
Digital Submission 27/05/2026 4:00 pm
Hardcopy Submission: Presentation & Review 27/05/2026 9:00 am
- Other conditions
- Peer assessment factor.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05
Task description
Assessment Rationale:
For assessment 2, you will produce a Portfolio documenting the redesign of an everyday object. The portfolio will demonstrate your ability to explore and apply fundamental design principles, conduct research, and communicate a clear and considered final design concept and its evolving process. The final portfolio is a series of weekly activities related to the design project that you will be asked to complete in class from weeks 6 to 12. You will present your final design portfolio to your tutors and peers in class during Week 13.
Note: This assessment includes a collaborative aspect, followed by individual design development and a final designed concept. While students will work collaboratively during the research stage, all portfolio submissions and marks are awarded individually.
There are three components for Assessment 2:
1) The Portfolio: Digital (PDF) submission-Individual (40%)
The portfolio must include:
- Evidence of collaborative research (clearly labelled), and
- Clear evidence of your individual research activities (clearly labelled), documented through sketches, notes, photographs, or diagrams
- Identification of shared group insights, accompanied by your own interpretation and individual contribution. Your portfolio should clearly demonstrate what the group discovered and how you personally developed or responded to those insights, using annotations, before-and-after comparisons, or brief reflective notes. The final portfolio must be compiled digitally into a single PDF.
Note for the collaborative aspect:
- Collaborative activities include user research.
- Each student is responsible for making an active and documented individual contribution to the group research.
- Collaboration is assessed through evidence of individual engagement, not group output.
- You are not assessed on the performance of other group members.
- Failure to document your individual contribution may impact your research and process marks.
2) Portfolio Presentation: Presentation-Individual (10%)
You will deliver an oral summary of your Portfolio to your tutor and peers.
3) A3 Sketchbook - Individual (10%)
Complex / authentic assessment using AI and/or MT to support learning:
This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI and/or MT technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance. A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI and MT tools.
Submission guidelines
The School of Architecture, Design and Planning uses Blackboard and Turnitin for assessment submission. Turnitin is accessed through the course Blackboard site. Turnitin also checks for plagiarism or instances where the original work of others is not appropriately acknowledged. Uploaded files must contain readable text and not be rasterised. Uploaded files must contain readable text and not be rasterised. Students are advised to commence assignment uploads with sufficient amount of time (consider possible technical problems with computers, internet speed, etc). After successfully submitting an assignment through Turnitin, a ‘Submission Complete!’ screen will be displayed. It is the student’s responsibility to check assignment preview and confirm successful submission. If the ‘Submission Complete!’ screen isn’t displayed, the student should regard the submission as unsuccessful. Students should download a copy of the digital receipt as proof they have submitted the assignment. Students who are experiencing upload issues must advise the Course Coordinator immediately by email and should include screenshots and a copy of the assessment for submission. To meet professional accreditation, public engagement and quality assurance obligations, digital copies of all course assessment items must be submitted in addition to any hard copy submission requirements specified in individual Course / Studio Outlines. Any physical models should be photographed and a minimum of two photographs describing the complete and full model must be included in the digital submission.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Discretionary extensions are not available for this task.
The maximum extension allowed is 14 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
If a student wishes to apply for an extension, they must apply online on or before the assignment due date. When possible, it is suggested that requests are submitted 2 business days prior to the submission due date for the assignment to allow processing time. Students with outstanding applications for extensions are advised to submit their assessment by the original due date, irrespective of whether the work is complete, so that what has been done can be graded.
Critique panels cannot be reconvened for the presentation component of assessment when an extension has been approved. Students with granted extensions (or pending extension applications) are able to attend but are not permitted to participate in the design review.
No Discretionary Extension will be available for the presentation or associated component of this assessment (e.g. Presentation Slides submitted the day before).
Late submission
The late penalty for this assessment item will be calculated as follows:
1st hour block - initial 1 hour grace period no penalty.
2nd hour to 8th hour block - 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item (or 1 grade) will be deducted per hour up to a maximum of 70%
Any submissions received after eight hours will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved.
Each one-hour block is recorded from the time the submission is due.
The stated late penalty applies. This is to allow the presentation to proceed as scheduled and is consistent with professional and industry expectations. This has been approved by the Associate Dean (Academic).
Presentation - 100% Late Penalty. No grace period. Consistent with industry practice around presentations to clients/industry partners, no late submissions will be accepted and a 100% late penalty applies. This has been approved by the Associate Dean (Academic).
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 24 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 2 (Fail) | 25 - 44 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 45 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
Additional course grading information
Identity verified assessment (IVA) - Design Courses
Design courses require the cumulative integration of critical reflection and feedback on original creative ideas in an iterative process of project work developed over time in the studio context. To meet assessment validity and integrity obligations in Design courses, students must regularly present and discuss their work with staff over the course of scheduled studio learning activities including lectures, structured studio activities, workshops, individual and group consultations, presentations and critiques. Students are expected to participate in at least 80% of scheduled studio activities in which the progress of their work is intended to be monitored and reviewed. If participation in such activities falls below 80% students may be requested to submit process work (such as drawings, models and design exegesis). If a student is not able to provide evidence of authorship to the satisfaction of the course coordinator, or if their participation falls below 50%, a maximum grade of 3 will be awarded.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is not available for this course.
Supplementary assessment will not be offered in Architectural Design courses to any student with a failing grade of 3 or less. Due to the need for the cumulative integration of critical reflection and feedback on original creative ideas in an iterative process of project work development over time.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
DRAWING EQUIPMENT
You are required to bring your drawing equipment to the studios from Week 1. You are encouraged to browse stationery stores such as Officeworks and test out the options available to find products you enjoy and prefer using.
The supplies for this course include the following:
- 1 x A3 Sketchpad – Unruled plain at least 100 Pages (with a cover and binding)
- 1 x A4 Sketchpad – Unruled plain
- Pen Fine Tip Rollerball, Biro or Felt Tip Gel (2 minimum: 0.4, 0.8 or 0.6mm) – Balck and Blue
- Graphite Pencils (2 minimum: HB, 2B)
- Polychromos Colour Pencils: White, Black and matching colours with your marker colours (at least two hues)
- 1 x Paint marker fine point – e.g. White Signo broad gel pen 1.00 or POSCA
- 1 x Steel ruler-300mm
- 1 x Eraser
Recommended equipment:
Double-tipped brush, Copic marker, following colours:
- 1 x Copic Grey C3
- 1 x Copic Grey C5
- 1 x Copic Grey C7
- 1 x C100 Black
- 1 x Copic E35 Chamois
- Two tones of two different hues (e.g. 1 x Light and 1 x Dark Blue or 1 x Light and 1 x Dark Green, etc.)- Choose your favourite colour
LAPTOPS
It is highly recommended to make use of personal laptops. Students will be required to complete exercises and/or present their work in studio/tutorials/reviews using computers. The school recommends the use of laptop computers capable of software applications such as Adobe Creative Suite, Revit, ArchiCad, AutoCad, Rhino/Grasshopper, SketchUp or similar. Students must also consider backup storage solutions such as an external hard driveﾠor a cloudﾠservice.
SOFTWARE
Design students will use a wide range of software throughout their education and future careers. For this course, the School will provide educational licenses for Adobe Creative Cloud, which is available via the UQ Digital Workspace (UQDW).
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 1 To Week 12 |
Studio |
Studio Further information in blackboard Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure
- AI for Assessment Guide
- Recording of Teaching Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.