7–10Visual and Motion Design 7–10 Syllabus (2025)

In the Designing and making focus areas, students create their own design artworks to represent ideas and meaning. They use the roles and relationships in Artworld concepts to generate ideas and make choices for their design artworks. Using Viewpoints, students explore the ways they can represent ideas and adopt different approaches in their own designing and making. Students shape their designing and making through knowledge and understanding of design practices and develop the skills to make intentional design artworks. For some students, designing and making may include the use of assistive technology.

Students extend their knowledge and understanding of the Artworld concepts, applying Viewpoints to support their intentions, choices and actions as visual and motion designers. They research bodies of work created by a range of design practitioners to inform their design practice and use the Design diary to refine their ideas. Students develop a design body of work as a collection of provisional, refined and resolved design artworks over the course of Stage 5, demonstrating their understanding of design practice in increasingly complex and independent ways.

Students may use a portfolio to display a collection of their design artworks and may include one or more design artworks that are related to themes, ideas and genres. Students may use an experimental approach to design forms, materials and techniques.

In the Critical and historical studies focus areas, students examine and develop explanations of design artworks and the world in a variety of written, oral and multimodal forms. The relationships set out in Artworld concepts are used to interpret the meaning and significance of a range of historical and contemporary design practices. Using Viewpoints, students construct different interpretations of design artworks. Through Critical and historical studies, they develop their understanding of the practices of design practitioners to enable them to represent their point of view about design artworks. Some students may require the use of assistive technology to access Critical and historical studies.

Students extend their knowledge and understanding of the Artworld concepts, applying Viewpoints to support their intentions, choices and actions as designers, critics and historians. They interpret visual and motion design artworks across different places, times, cultures and contexts and investigate the practices of a range of design practitioners. Students can develop sustained arguments, explanations, reviews, curatorial statements or expositions in written, oral and multimodal texts to demonstrate their understanding of the value and meaning of design artworks.

The Artworld concepts of Designer, Design artworks, World and Audience identify the function and intention of the relationships within the world. These concepts are distinct and interrelated ways of understanding design. Students develop knowledge, understanding and skills by engaging with and applying these Artworld concepts in both Designing and making and Critical and historical studies.

Each of these concepts exists within a network of intentional relationships and functions which are performed relative to each other.

In Designing and making, these concepts provide ways for students to:

• develop their own design practice
• understand their role as designers
• develop intentions and meanings.

In Critical and historical studies, these concepts provide ways for students to:

• interpret and explain the history and significance of particular designers, design artworks, audience responses and representations of the world during specific periods and over time
• explain and apply the interrelationships between the Artworld concepts to understand the design world.

Making connections between the Artworld concepts and the Viewpoints supports students to shape and interpret design practice.

Designer

The concept of the designer includes:

• a person who makes design artworks individually, collaboratively (as an agency, company, a group, school, movement) or enlists others to produce their work
• design practitioners, such as branding and identity designers, graphic designers, illustrators, typographers, architects, automotive and industrial designers, exhibition designers, interior designers, packaging and product designers, set designers, textile designers, motion graphic animators, title sequence designers, digital media designers, interaction designers and immersive/AR/VR designers.

The role of the designer is flexible and shaped by the value systems and Viewpoints used to interpret and respond to design challenges, audiences and contexts.

Designers can adopt different roles in which they:

• communicate intention and meaning using systems of formal elements, aesthetic conventions, forms, signs or symbols
• express or connect with individual feelings, emotions, imagination and experiences
• use ethical practices, considering ideologies, beliefs and needs of social groups and cultures
• challenge, adapt, innovate, invent and reimagine design conventions, consumers needs and sustainable solutions.

The intentions and characteristics that visual and motion designers develop within these complex networks of relationships contribute to and shape their design practice.

Design artworks

The concept of the design artwork includes:

• graphic and topographical design, 3D design and the built environment, animation and kinetic design and emerging design
• exhibitions, screenings, interactive installations, immersive experiences, user-driven environments and design spaces
• physical, material, virtual, temporary design artworks, including individual, collaborative, series and bodies of work
• hybrid, interactive, multisensory, interdisciplinary, new and emerging technologies and forms.

Design artworks represent ideas through the relationship between form and function, reflecting symbolic interpretations, personal responses, cultural perspectives and critical reinterpretations of other ideas. The interplay between form and function shapes how audiences engage with and interpret the work.

Choices in materials, techniques, structural forms, layout, sequencing, placement and presentation significantly influence how the design artwork is perceived.

World

The concept of the world includes:

• a source of interests, inspiration, challenges and conditions represented by designers in design artworks to communicate ideas and solve problems
• the array of subject matter, technologies and experiences used as inspiration when creating design artworks
• the events, interests, materials, needs, environmental and digital contexts that shape how an audience interprets, interacts with and responds to design.

The world is understood as dynamic and evolving and these contexts informs design making and interactive practice. Designers use their understanding of the world to create purposeful, relevant and meaningful outcomes that connect with audiences through multisensory language.

World in the Artworld concepts is distinct from the Cultural viewpoint which relates to identity influenced by the economic, the social and the political factors.

Audience

The concept of the audience includes:

• users, clients and participants, including members of the public, students and teachers
• design practitioners, such as professional agencies, marketers, researchers, curators, entrepreneurs and design institutions
• collaborators and interdisciplinary teams involved in the design cycle and workflow
• individuals and groups who interpret and interact with, experience, shape, discuss, influence the reception of and ascribe meaning to design artworks and design practices.

Audiences for design artworks change over time and bring different intentions, beliefs, values and interpretations of the world. They play a role in constructing meaning, shaping interaction and influencing how design artworks are received and understood in relation to the Viewpoints.

Viewpoints represents the different perspectives, values and beliefs about design artworks. Viewpoints are Structural, Subjective, Cultural and Contemporary and they function as the means for generating alternative interpretations of the world.

In Designing and making, students use different Viewpoints to help shape their intentions and guide decisions in their design artworks. Viewpoints can orient choices and strategies when selecting design forms, materials, techniques and contexts, enabling them to shape meaning, communicate intent and respond to different audiences, needs and situations in design practice.

In Critical and historical studies, students use Viewpoints to orient their investigations of design practices using the Artworld concepts and their relationships. They enable students to consider different meanings in design artworks and provide ways of framing their own points of view in their written, oral and multimodal explanations.

Structural

The Structural viewpoint is a creative and interpretative tool that guides students when designing or interpreting design artworks as forms of multisensory language.

Through the Structural viewpoint, design artworks may be thought of as:

• systematic representations by designers using a system of coded relationships between signs and symbols, which can be multisensory
• symbols and elements that may be visual, auditory or tactile, and represent an idea, object or relationship
• symbolic objects within the conventions of multisensory language, including forms and motifs that represent ideas and communicate meaning
• the representation of ideas, lived experiences and functional needs through the interplay of form, function and established design conventions
• a mode of communication between designers, users, clients and audiences.

In Designing and making, students learn to construct visual and motion design artworks that communicate their ideas and interests about the world through the organisation of codes, symbols, signs, conventions and multisensory languages. This may involve students exploring conventions within design practice, such as aesthetics, colour and compositional devices in graphic design, spatial relationships in architecture and the use of significant cultural symbols or motifs to represent meaning in an animation.

In Critical and historical studies, students learn about the formal organisation and the symbolic qualities of design forms and design artworks. They learn to interpret design artworks as structured forms of communication, decoding how material, digital, physical or virtual properties are used by designers to represent ideas. Students learn how design practices and conventions evolve over time, gaining insights into how they convey meaning. They learn how the symbolic language of design artworks can be read and understood during specific periods and over time, or in different cultures.

Subjective

The Subjective viewpoint is a creative and interpretative tool that guides students when designing or interpreting design artworks as expressions of, or connections to, deeply personal and emotive perspectives, experiences, associations and user needs.

Through the Subjective viewpoint, design artworks may be thought of as:

• being expressed by designers whose intentions are shaped by their imagination, personal or group experiences or an understanding of individual needs
• emotional, intuitive, nostalgic expressions that connect to personal memories, experiences or the subconscious
• representations of aspects of the world through storytelling, using feeling, emotion, imagination and sensory experience
• interpretations in relation to audience associations connecting sensory, imaginative, expressive, felt or perceived experiences.

In Designing and making, students learn to explore their own experiences and responses to the world around them. They explore ways to represent and communicate ideas, designing objects, spaces or narrative experiences that evoke emotional responses and address personal needs or desires.

In Critical and historical studies, students investigate how history, traditions and contemporary design practices reflect the personal and emotional connections of designers and audiences. They examine how designers across time use narrative, materials, forms and experiences to express personal meanings and create design artworks that resonate with audience memories, feelings and needs.

Cultural

The Cultural viewpoint is a creative and interpretative tool that guides students when designing or interpreting how design artworks reflect and respond to social ideologies, beliefs, values, conditions and shared understandings within specific communities or societies.

Through the Cultural viewpoint, design artworks may be thought of as:

• created by designers who are influenced by social, economic, political and technological conditions, contributing to meaningful, ethically responsible and sustainable change through their design artworks
• reflections and representations of social, community and cultural interests that promote understanding, inclusion, shared values and ethical practices
• interpreted and valued as tools for fostering community connection, cultural appreciation, innovation and positive social and environmental impacts for audiences.

In Designing and making, students learn to investigate ideas of social, cultural, technological and environmental significance. This may involve designing artworks that represent and communicate ideas related to identity, ethnicity, cultural heritage and diversity in an inclusive, sustainable and ethical way. 

In Critical and historical studies, students learn how notions of cultural identity, human interaction, technological advancements and sustainability inform ethical design practice, authorship and audience response.

Students may study differing cultural attitudes about design artworks and the effects of scientific and technological innovation, politics and economics in particular places during specific periods and over time.

Contemporary

The Contemporary viewpoint is a creative and interpretative tool that encompasses current and emerging design artworks, design theories, techniques, processes and innovative practices to shape design practice.

Through the Contemporary viewpoint, design artworks may be thought of as:

• created by designers, companies or facilitators who interrogate existing conventions, explore ambiguities and reassess assumptions about design practice
• an evaluation and reconstruction of relationships between designers and users, and traditional assumptions about form and function, exploring how interdisciplinary practices and emerging forms influence the production and reception of design
• using design artworks as texts that draw on and reinterpret existing design artworks, styles and design conventions, to challenge traditional ideas, explore innovative solutions and integrate practices that respond to user needs, meet audience expectations and redefine the roles of designers, producers and audiences
• a way to reimagine accepted ideas and assumptions by exploring the possibilities of emerging practices, emerging technologies and interdisciplinary techniques and processes, creating design artworks that address future challenges, support sustainable development and enhance the wellbeing of individuals, communities and the environment
• interpreted and experienced through active participation in physical, hybrid, interactive, immersive or virtual environments. 

In a world constantly redefined by shifts in culture, technology and ideology, designers use current and emerging theories to challenge conventions, develop inclusive and ethical practices, and create purposeful, adaptive design artworks that respond to audience needs and experiences.

In Designing and making, students learn to modify, reimagine and adapt ideas from various sources, including historical practices and popular culture, to create design solutions. They may collaborate to create design artworks in which the audience is an active participant in the creation of meaning. They investigate traditional, interdisciplinary, emerging and inclusive techniques and processes, focusing on user engagement and interaction.

In Critical and historical studies, students examine how traditional roles, materials, techniques, processes, interactions and contexts are questioned and redefined through innovative design practices. Using theories from the Contemporary viewpoint, and by exploring emerging technologies and sustainable solutions, students consider how designers create design artworks that respond to evolving societal needs, shaping a more inclusive and adaptive world.

Practice describes the artistic activity, agency and role of designers in producing design artworks. Design practice is about what visual and motion design practitioners know and do. Design practice involves well-informed and strategic intentions, choices and actions to represent ideas in Designing and making and Critical and historical studies. Design practice also considers ethical responsibility, sustainability and the impact of design choices on audiences, communities and the environment.

In Designing and making, students investigate and use various forms, such as graphic and typographical design, 3D design and the built environment, animation and kinetic design and emerging design. They use a Design diary to document and reflect on their design practice.

In Critical and historical studies, students investigate and interpret the design artworks of a diverse range of design practitioners, including designers, companies or studios, curators, consumers, users and producers. They examine how design processes and practices are influenced by historical, social, technological and cultural contexts, and how these factors shape communication, audience engagement and the purpose of design.

The concept of Design practice refers to:

• design practitioners, such as visual and motion designers, companies, design houses and curators, critics and historians as well as their roles, intentions, choices and action
• the diverse ways design practitioners work, including individually, collaboratively and across multidisciplinary and multimodal contexts
• the views, value systems and beliefs of those involved in design practices and how these affect intentions, choices, actions, judgements and meaning.

The nature of Design practice involves:

• design practitioners and their intentional, ethical and informed activities, including processes and decision-making in response to design challenges and/or design artworks
• the representation of beliefs, motivations, ideas and design solutions through forms, materials and technologies over time
• recognition that the field of design and design practice are shaped by historical, cultural, social and technological contexts and changing audience expectations and user needs
• the continuous transformation through innovation, new knowledge, equipment, technologies and roles
• recognition that it evolves with advancements in tools, technologies and roles, while also drawing on the re-emergence and reinterpretation of traditional design conventions.

Body of work – Designing and making

In Stage 5, students are provided with opportunities to make design artworks in a range of forms in a sustained way and to work towards the development of a body of work.

The body of work provides opportunities for students to establish their intentions as designers and to develop their design practice. Teachers may conceive of the body of work in a variety of ways. Through structured learning opportunities, students create a body of work over time and are encouraged to use a range of design forms, techniques and various investigations of the world.

The body of work is developed and monitored as a combination of a student’s evolving practice, rather than an end product. Some design artworks may be more provisional and experimental, while others are more refined or resolved.

Design diary

The Design diary is used as a tool in teaching and learning and for the exchange of ideas between the teacher and the student.

Key points during the conception of ideas, experimentation and the development of design artworks may be reassessed and resolved in the diary. The Design diary can trace the development of student judgement and their design workflow. Changes in design artworks can be negotiated, discussed, evaluated and worked through, and alternative views, multiple ideas, experiments and problem-solving can be documented in the Design diary. Teacher feedback assists students with the development of their design practice and body of work.

The Design diary can take various forms, including:

• a sketchbook, folder or container for 3D design forms and materials
• design prints, documented and multimodal forms
• hybrid combinations or other suitable forms, including verbal.