Associate Degree of Design & Visual Communication

What You Will Learn

Our course is about much more than visual aesthetics, providing you with a detailed understanding and hands-on experience of the role of design in the contemporary world. You'll explore branding and identity design, online and print design, digital image-making and user-centred design. You'll create targeted designs with a particular audience in mind, and develop the skills to come up with creative solutions to complex problems in almost any context.

At SAE, you will engage in virtual collaborative learning and also one-on-one mentoring opportunities you may not find in a larger university. You'll apply theoretical knowledge through studio best-practices and access the latest software like the Adobe Creative Suite as well as have the option to access on-campus facilities.

Your growth and development will be assessed holistically based on your engagement with and completion of real-world projects and you'll learn to apply a strategic, entrepreneurial eye to your clients' needs. You will build up a diverse portfolio of work to share with potential employers and clients.

Ultimately, the Associate Degree of Design and Visual Communication will allow you to flourish in a rapidly changing world, giving you the skills to apply design-led solutions to a wide range of communication challenges. With a design qualification from SAE, you can work in large corporations or small agencies, as a freelancer, or as part of an entrepreneurial project team in any industry. You'll also be equipped with employability skills, giving you professional strategies in communication and self-promotion, and the confidence to claim your place in the workforce.

The Associate Degree of Design & Visual Communication has two stages that provide foundational learning and applied skill.

• Develop the essential technical design skills and the knowledge required to collaborate with other creative media students and professionals.
• Credit points: 10 In this unit, you will learn about the ideas and concepts of design. You will discover the art of presenting and defending a point of view in a convincing and effective way by referring to valid and trustworthy sources of information. Thinking about and referencing the work of others helps you to develop critical thinking skills. By using tools on the internet and working with others you will expand what you alone can achieve. In your projects, you will delve into the history and language of the design industry in order to develop an understanding of your place and purpose within it.
• Credit points: 10 In this unit you will learn about the principles of design through creating vector graphics in the form of motifs, pictorial marks and logos using Adobe Illustrator and other tools. Project briefs and activities in this unit introduce the principles of design; these are visual rules that can be applied in the creation of any image to enhance their impact, attractiveness and ability to communicate. The principles of design are useful and essential to your ongoing design practice.
• Credit points: 10 In this unit you will learn about illustration and the creative and technical production of digital images using photoshop and other tools. Working by hand and digitally you will explore a range of drawing techniques and tools including processes of iteration and refinement. You will investigate visual storytelling through the development of a series of images. Storytelling through your creative practice is essential to your ongoing design practice.
• Credit points: 10 In this unit you will learn about designing page layouts for print through the combination of images and type. Your work will include the design of posters, brochures and flyers. You will investigate historical design styles; analysing, adapting and applying these styles in your work. You will explore the typographic art of arranging letters and words to make copy easy to read, visually appealing, and stylistically appropriate. Knowing how to use typography and layout effectively is essential to your ongoing design practice.
• Credit points: 10 This unit explores the concepts of entrepreneurship, innovation and project design. You will develop approaches to identify promising opportunities and actionable strategies to transform them into tangible successes. Through exposure to developing new ideas, processes and ways of working - both individually and in entrepreneurial teams - you will hone skills to put creative ideas into practice and achieve real-world impact. As Alan Kay explained, "The best way to predict the future is to create it", so let's get at it!
• Credit points: 10 In this unit, you will learn to understand the user or target audience as part of your design process through exploring UX (user experience) and UI (user interface) design. By applying UX design tools such as personas and user journeys and UI design such as prototyping, iterating and testing, you will explore creating websites or apps that provide an ideal user experience. Knowing how to do user research and design digital interfaces effectively is essential for a contemporary designer.
• Credit points: 20 This unit will simulate being in a real-world studio. Your designs will respond to larger project briefs with multiple deliverables, and you will engage in teamwork. This means time management, communication and scheduling will be crucial. You will learn to consider projects strategically in terms of your client's brand or identity, and how these can be communicated visually and through associated text and structures. You are encouraged to explore and seek out new contemporary methods and tools for design and communication. In this studio setting your facilitator will act as your project manager, producer, mentor and colleague. This unit will be holistically assessed based on the criteria outlined in the unit guide. Teamwork, collaborative skills, and engagement with specific feedback processes are emphasised in this unit, as you further refine and reflect on a set of Transferable Skills.

• Broaden your scope to work on complex multidisciplinary projects in accordance with industry-standard practices.
• Credits points: 10 In this unit, you will collaborate on interdisciplinary projects that blend creativity and technology across fields such as film, audio, music, gaming, design, and computer science. Through project-based learning, you'll explore how different disciplines contribute to innovative outcomes-like immersive installations or interactive experiences. The unit focuses on strengthening communication, problem-solving, and teamwork across creative and technical areas. You'll be challenged to apply your existing skills while embracing new perspectives and ways of working, developing a holistic understanding of contemporary media production and preparing you to deliver complex, boundary-pushing creative solutions.
• Credit points: 10 Designers use typography on screen and in print, for packaging and signage, in all kinds of communication, advertising and branding. In fact typography is an essential element of contemporary design practice. Using typographic knowledge, skills and principles professionally is one key to success. This unit focuses on type used in multi-page layouts, in title design and in packaging. You will explore design principles like hierarchy and contrast, compositional techniques and style, as well as the use of elements such as colour, shape and size. You'll also be introduced to some historical and social ideas. You will learn how to use professional terminology that will allow you to explain your design choices and the production of design solutions for your audiences and clients. Projects in this unit include, the design of a magazine and online blog, packaging and branding design. In these projects you will look at both print and digital media.
• Credit points: 10 This unit focuses on the Design Thinking process. Taking you through a series of steps from problem framing through to prototyping and pitching, you will produce and test design solutions that address rich and interesting social themes. Projects in this unit include experimentation with images and platforms for science communication. You will look at a new breed of young, diverse science communicators and imagine how as designers we can enhance this kind of work visually and conceptually. You will grapple with truth and representation, audience and ethics in the communication of scientific issues that range from amazing new discoveries in our oceans, through to the history of evolution and climate change. Another project in this unit applies the design thinking process to the concept, visual assets and pitch for a serious game. Your game will address a topic such as physical and mental health, education or conservation in an attempt to encourage behaviour change.
• Credit points: 10 This unit builds on your work in DDX171, Fundamentals of Image Making. You will develop your visual literacy and learn more skills in image production, processing and manipulation. These skills and the ability to talk about your design choices with clients will enhance the impact of your design work. You will experiment with both pixel and vector based images in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, looking at technical aspects of image production as well as the importance of driving concepts. Projects in this unit will cover basic photography composition as well as image creation, manipulation and processing in the production of a range of works.
• Credit points: 10 Creatives have always contributed to real-world problem solving, whether through innovative inventions, creative calls for action, public awareness building, or art and science collaborations. In this unit you will use your interdisciplinary collaboration skills to address a real-world problem. Using different theoretical frameworks within a 'hackathon' style studio environment you will produce a prototype that can be presented within SAE, as well as to external stakeholders.
• Credit points: 10 Working with the needs of other disciplines such as film, audio, music, games and animation you will work on projects about designing film props, title sequences, 2d animations and sonic branding.
• Credit points: 10 Using social media and digital content effectively is crucial for creative media professionals. In this unit you will develop an understanding of what constitutes social media, the activities that it consists of and how creators and audiences connect, collaborate, create, and share content. You will link this understanding with concepts of digital marketing, formulating strategies for social campaigns with a range of content across platforms. These skills will assist you to determine how social media can be utilised in your professional practice.
• Credit points: 10 In this unit, you will focus on branding and campaign strategy, working across various mediums to create impactful and engaging design solutions.