Course coordinator
Dr Mehrnoosh Mirzaei
For questions or appointments, please contact Dr Mehrnoosh Mirzaei via email: m.mirzaei@uq.edu.au
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Architecture, Design and Planning School
This course explores the significance of design in shaping user experience. It focuses on the capacity of design to engage human behaviours that can imbue forms and spaces with new cultural meanings. Spatial and programmatic studies are undertaken of contemporary settings where design can be used to activate experience. Learning is undertaken in a collaborative studio setting where students will develop a sensibility for the visual and spatial in design.
The project theme for this semester revolves around “self-care” and emphasises the importance of addressing user needs to develop ideas and concepts that enhance the user experience. Students will explore various aspects of self-care, such as physical, mental, and emotional well-being, to create innovative solutions that cater to the diverse needs of users.
Course requirements
Recommended prerequisites
We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:
DSGN1100 or DSGN1500
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Dr Mehrnoosh Mirzaei
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
This course aims to introduce students to the significance of design in shaping user experience.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Analyse the opportunities and constraints in using design processes to address identified issues or problems
LO2.
Apply an intentional design process to the development of a positive response to identified issues or problems
LO3.
Communicate a schematic design outcome using a variety of media
LO4.
Demonstrate skills in working collaboratively
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poster |
Project Outline & Refined Proposition
|
40% |
Digital submission 28/08/2024 4:00 pm Poster pinup and review in studio 29/08/2024 |
| Portfolio, Product/ Design |
Concept generation & Prototyping
|
20% |
18/09/2024 4:00 pm |
| Presentation, Portfolio, Product/ Design, Project |
Designed Solution & User feedback
|
40% |
Portfolio submission 23/10/2024 4:00 pm Poster presentation in class 24/10/2024 |
Assessment details
Project Outline & Refined Proposition
- Identity Verified
- Online
- Mode
- Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia
- Category
- Poster
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
Digital submission 28/08/2024 4:00 pm
Poster pinup and review in studio 29/08/2024
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L03
Task description
Assessment Rationale:
Format: Digital (PDF) and printed
The first assessment is a research poster that will outline the project background, research and refined proposition, describing the individual project and progress to date, including:
1- the design context
2- problem analysis
3- personas, journey maps
4- a refined proposition
Assessment tasks prohibiting use of AI or MT: This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
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.
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 28 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.
Late submission
The late penalty for this assessment item will be calculated as follows:
First 1-hour block - initial 1 hour grace period no penalty.
Second 1-hour block - An penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item will be deducted
Third 1-hour block - An additional penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item will be deducted. (adding up to a total penalty of 20% of the maximum possible mark)
Any submissions received after three 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.
Concept generation & Prototyping
- Identity Verified
- Online
- Mode
- Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia, Written
- Category
- Portfolio, Product/ Design
- Weight
- 20%
- Due date
18/09/2024 4:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03
Task description
Assessment Rationale:
For Assessment 2, students will select the three best concepts generated after Assignment 1 and justify their selection with a short paragraph. They will then demonstrate that they have created a low-fidelity prototype for at least two concepts.
Complex/Authentic assessment using AI and/or MT to support learning: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
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.
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 28 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.
Late submission
The late penalty for this assessment item will be calculated as follows:
First 1-hour block - initial 1 hour grace period no penalty.
Second 1-hour block - An penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item will be deducted
Third 1-hour block - An additional penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item will be deducted. (adding up to a total penalty of 20% of the maximum possible mark)
Any submissions received after three 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.
Designed Solution & User feedback
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Online
- Mode
- Oral, Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia
- Category
- Presentation, Portfolio, Product/ Design, Project
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
Portfolio submission 23/10/2024 4:00 pm
Poster presentation in class 24/10/2024
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
Assessment Rationale:
The final submission will comprise two components: a portfolio presenting the final designed solution and an oral presentation of a poster.
Component 1: Portfolio
A portfolio describes the project as a whole. The portfolio presents the process from Assignment 2 and includes the refined prepositions from Assessment 1, as well as new tasks specific to Assignment 3: final design solution. For the final portfolio, students will resubmit sections 1,2 and 3 with the option to improve the concepts and justify the final selection. In this assignment, each section will be evaluated based on specific criteria, including the quality and originality of the ideas, the rationale behind selecting the best concepts.
Note for section 4 of the portfolio: Students will collaboratively test their prototypes with their peers during studio sessions. They will collect feedback from their peers in a group and include the feedback sheet, along with an explanation of how they addressed that feedback, as part of the portfolio.
Component 2: Poster & Presentation
The poster should present the final designed solution in a context related to the user. The poster presentation is in person and will be held in class. Each presentation has a maximum duration of 5 minutes, followed by 5 minutes for questions and discussion.
Complex/Authentic assessment using AI and/or MT to support learning: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
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.
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 28 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.
Late submission
The late penalty for this assessment item will be calculated as follows:
First 1-hour block - initial 1 hour grace period no penalty.
Second 1-hour block - An penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item will be deducted
Third 1-hour block - An additional penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item will be deducted. (adding up to a total penalty of 20% of the maximum possible mark)
Any submissions received after three 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.
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.
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, supplementary assessment cannot be offered in design courses to any student with a failing grade of 3 or less.
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
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
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 |
Lecture |
Lecture Week 1 - What is experience design?: Introduction to design and experience ontologies. Introduction to the course and project brief. Week 2 - How can an appropriate design problem be found?: Identifying and describing the key design factors in a current scenario. Week 3 - How can an appropriate project be defined?: Describing the relationships between factors in a current situation and targeting an improvement. Week 4 - Why and how should user insights be generated?: Introduction to user-centred design principles. Week 5 - Design as a verb or a noun? Re-framing the design problem and developing a proposition. Week 6 - How can the proposition be met? [Ideation 1]: Generating new concepts. Week 7 - How can concepts be demonstrated? [Ideation 2]: Creating appropriate prototypes. Week 8 - How can concepts be tested? [Development 1]: Methods for collecting responses to designs. Week 9 - How can a concept be improved? [Development 2]: Iterating a concept based on the user's feedback. No Lecture - Mid semester break Week 10 - How can outcomes be produced? [Development 3]: From prototype to manufacturing/implementation. Week 11 - How can developed solutions be communicated?: Specification and presentation. Week 12 - How can outcomes be evaluated?: Judgements of process, tools, and output. Week 13 -No lecture Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Studio |
Studio Week 1: Deconstructing experiences & planning design: Understand & practice - Identifying components of experience and planning an experience design project. Week 2: Describing an existing experience: Understand & practice - Analysis of the chosen experience. Week 3: Analysing an existing experience: Understand & practice - Create a conceptual model and undertake problem analysis for the chosen project. Week 4: Generating user insights: Understand & practice - Selecting and applying insight-generation tools. Week 5: Developing a proposition: Understand & practice - Defining a proposition and re-framing the chosen design problem to achieve aims. Week 6: Generating ideas with consideration of emotional affect: Understand & practice - Generating concepts aligned with the defined proposition. Week 7: Prototyping: Understand & practice: Defining the purpose of a prototype - Selecting appropriate methods for the purpose. Week 8: Obtaining user feedback: Understand & practice - Selecting appropriate types of feedback and participants for the specified aims and project constraints. Week 9: Iterating a concept: Understand & practice - Analysing feedback and verifying proposed iterations. Mid Semester Break Week 10: Refining a solution: Understand & practice - Identifying refinements required for manufacturing and/or production processes. Week 11: Presenting designed experiences. Writing a design specification. Week 12: Presentation rehearsal and Drop-in advice session with the opportunity to ask any remaining questions about assignment 3. Week 13: Presentations Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
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 - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.