Units you can study
Choose from the undergraduate or postgraduate options on offer across a range of disciplines. As long as you meet the prerequisites, you can choose subjects from any of our discipline areas to suit your interests.
Most units have a lecture and a tutorial each week. Lectures and tutorials for postgraduate units are usually held in the evenings.
Approved units
All students can study these units, regardless of your academic background. These units will be approved on your QUT study plan after you apply.
Design
DYB122 Design Visualisations
This unit Introduces you to design visualisation practice and how to employ a variety of techniques to visualise design ideas to assist you in design thinking, research, communication and presentation.
DYB123 Emerging Design Technology
The design industry is rapidly evolving with the introduction of new technologies. This unit introduces you to existing and emerging technology and how it applies to the design process and design outputs. Designers need to be familiar with technology to aid them in the design process as well as being able to create new products, services or experiences that take advantage of existing and emerging technologies.
DYB124 Design Consequences
Design Consequences is an introductory unit employing theoretical and applied methods to explore the ways in which design influences and is influenced by cultural traditions and practices, beliefs and biases. Working across frames of past, present and future, you will learn how to critically engage with and draw upon these cultural factors and influences to shape and define your design work and practice.The twenty-first century presents designers with a challenging context characterised by the increasingly dramatic effects of climate change, growing levels of inequality, and destabilised geopolitical conditions. This unit will introduce you to a range of ideas, methods, and approaches necessary to understand design not only as products, environments, services and experiences but also as a social, cultural, political, and economic agent.
KKB181 Creative Industry Foundations and Futures
This unit comprehensively explores the creative industries, providing a foundational understanding of their context, challenges, and opportunities. It delves into the multifaceted world of creative sectors, learning about key trends and dynamics. You will identify and align your personal values and interests within the creative industries, helping to shape your career aspirations. The unit will provide you with opportunities to gain insights into the diverse ways of working within these industries, from freelancing to corporate settings, and position yourself strategically. The unit also introduces desktop graphics content creation and printing/fabrication essentials, empowering you with practical skills using graphics software, providing technical literacy in a crucial aspect of creative industry work. This unit serves as an essential stepping stone for individuals seeking to embark on a successful and fulfilling journey in the creative industries.
KKB185 Creative Enterprise Studio 1
In Studio 1, students develop both enterprise skills and collaborative foundational design thinking skills to better understand the problem space for unique industry or community-based problems. As such, the unit responds to opportunity identification and value creation aligned to industry and/or community-based real world needs. Whilst the value of disciplinary expertise remains constant in this changing world, many problems facing organisations and societies naturally span disciplines. Collaboration and inquiry into these real world problems require a breadth of knowledge and skills in ways that demand and reward curiosity and innovation. Being the first of three Creative Enterprise Studio units, your ability to respond to complex and unique real world problems is strengthened by learning to think and act in diverse ways and draw upon perspectives, methods and insights garnered from the multiplicity of disciplines in your unit cohort.
Fashion
DFB104 Fashion Sustainability
This unit provides you with a foundational knowledge of environmental and social impacts of the fashion system. The unit examines the environmental and social impact of materials, production and consumption methods in order to develop the skills and mindset to apply more sustainable practices. It also introduces fashion systems as complex supply chains spanning raw fibre through to manufacturing, design, retailing and garment use, and disposal systems at end of life.
DFB208 Fashion Textiles
This unit covers applied textile design in the past, present and future. It will explore the cultural, social and industrial significance of textiles. The unit will provide opportunities to learn about the techniques involved with textile production. You will draw on this to experiment with and design textiles in line with industry trends and challenges, and explore avenues in speculative design into textile futures.
DFB216 Wearables
This unit introduces wearable product design for the purposes of enhancing the user experience within a given context. It provides knowledge and skills to design interactive wearable products. It focuses on demonstrating the use of emerging technologies and rapid prototyping techniques for the purposes of designing wearable products that enhance the user experience within a given context. This unit is designed as an intermediate experience of your course and as such it is desirable that you have completed design foundation units, tangible media or textiles and technology units prior to enrolling in this unit. This unit provides you with opportunities to build, develop and apply creative design proficiency in the context of wearable design and wearable technologies.
Interaction design
DXB111 Introduction to Web Design
This unit introduces concepts and skills underpinning the user-centred design of web sites using the web technologies such as HTML and CSS. It enables you to understand web technologies as a medium to explore design concepts and to build responsive, high-fidelity, mobile-first web sites. This includes translating conceptual designs into responsive websites while taking into account principles of interface and user experience design, layout, style and navigation. The unit enables you to formulate solutions to design problems, to produce high quality technical and aesthetic outcomes, and to understand the basic skills needed by web design professionals.
DXB205 Interactive Narrative Design
This unit serves as an introduction to creating immersive environments and building interactive worlds for player performance and dramatic agency. The role of the narrative designer is central to the success of any significant professional project in interactive media and game design. The unit addresses theoretical issues associated with immersive / non-linear story structures and interactive narrative forms through the analysis of game / play systems, the creation of original game concepts and the application of techniques of narrative design. It extends this understanding into practice through the application of relevant skills, which will scaffold you into the production of a portfolio work (suitable for interaction designers, visual communication designers, game designers, media designers, creative writers and performance studies).
Visual communication
DVB101 Visual Communication Design
This unit introduces the principles and conventions associated with the interpretation and production of meaning through visual representation. Visual Communication is based on the creation of meaning through image and text and this plays a critical role in our contemporary world which is visually and media driven. Visual communicators require a deep understanding of conceptual development, design process, typography and image making, and how image-based communication occurs. You will learn how to think and operate as a visual designer through studio-based learning and a series of industry-focused experiences.
DVB305 Design for Health Innovation
The contribution of design-led approaches and methods to innovations in eHealth and healthcare services and technologies is increasing. Challenges impacting Australian and international health sectors require skills and knowledge of consumer- and user-centric approaches. You will become familiar with theoretical frameworks for health and wellbeing and develop knowledge of contemporary design-led approaches to the development of health and wellbeing services, products and experiences. This unit addresses theories, approaches, methods and applications of design to the context of health and wellbeing. It takes into account multiple stakeholder perspectives: health professionals, patients and carers. You will deepen you design skills and knowledge of methods used in Design Thinking to conceptualise, develop and produce a design prototype.
Units requiring approval
Students need specific academic background knowledge to study these units, so we will assess your eligibility and determine if you’re able to take these units after you apply. We will let you know the outcome through the application portal as soon as possible.
Design
DYB102 Impact Lab: Society and Systems
This unit addresses methods of social impact design and the ways in which these approaches can contribute to transformational social and community focused change. In it, you experience how design approaches and tools can be applied to complex social and community-based challenges. In a context where design can foster inclusion and act as a disruptor and driver for positive change you as a designer, alongside your design peers, have the collective potential to lead or make a better future. Framed around real world challenges; and in partnership with community, government and/or industry partners; you will engage with transdisciplinary design-led participatory entrepreneurial strategies to address key issues within one or more communities. This will develop skills valuable in designing for social impact. This impact lab focuses on people, to foreground the importance of keeping the human condition at the heart of design practice which enables solutions aimed at social change.
Fashion
DFB111 Fashion Design Studio 2
This unit provides introductory knowledge and skills for the theory and practice of fashion design, focusing on flat patternmaking and classic western design forms. This foundational unit provides knowledge and skills for the theory and practice of structured fashion design. It addresses fashion design principles, processes and contexts, including the development of effective skills to communicate digitally and realise design ideas in an integrated studio environment. The suite of six Fashion Design Studio units form the foundation of learning for understanding fashion design in the Bachelor of Design (Fashion) program. Embedded in this program is a focus on ethical and sustainable practices.
DFB204 Fashion Product Development
This unit further develops your knowledge, skills and application for professional fashion communication and product development in the fashion industry. It focuses on commercial fashion design and product styling. Developing consumer products in the fashion industry requires diverse skills and knowledge in trend analysis, range building, sourcing, finishing, specification sheets and marketing to ensure successful and sustainable outcomes. By developing a foundational knowledge in product development you will be prepared to work in commercial fashion or to create your own fashion brand.
DFB211 Fashion Design Studio 4
This unit provides knowledge of fashion design for public consumption. In this unit, you will develop and expand skills to conceptualise, communicate and realise design ideas for mass manufacture in an integrated studio environment. You will build on your previously acquired research, conceptual and fabrication skills as well as develop and apply sustainable fashion practice knowledge. You will synthesise your understanding of product development and retail readiness and will learn about the logistical and practical considerations of fashion design and production. The suite of Fashion Design Studio units form the foundation of learning for understanding fashion design in the Bachelor of Design (Fashion) program.
DFB305 Fashion Justice
This advanced level unit deepens your critical fashion engagement and consolidates your skills in fashion communication. It prepares you to play a leadership role in shaping the dialogues that are transforming fashion practices. The aim of this unit is to develop your critical, analytical and communication skills in the context of the global fashion industry and wider cultural debates. Embracing an interdisciplinary approach characteristic of current fashion scholarship, this final unit builds on the theoretical and practical knowledge developed in DFB206 Global Fashion Cultures and DFB209 Global Fashion History and provides you with the opportunity to develop sophisticated research and written communication skills, preparing you to contribute to shaping the dialogues and debates that are changing the contemporary fashion industry.
DFB311 Fashion Design Studio 6
This 24 credit point unit is one of two capstone Fashion Design Studio experiences and aims to provide you with the opportunity to synthesise your prior learning, within university and the workplace, through the production of a final year project that will be outward looking. Within this unit you will develop your confidence and ability to work with minimal supervision in preparation for graduation exploring your individual design aesthetic. During this unit you will complete an extended final year project and will have the opportunity to present your work to industry. The suite of Fashion Design Studio units form the foundation of learning for the Bachelor of Design (Fashion) program.
Industrial design
DNB111 ID Studio 2: Aesthetics and Visualisation
This introductory unit advances knowledge and skills with analogue and digital visualisation techniques to explore, elaborate and communicate your design ideas effectively. The most common and complex aspect of industrial design deals with creating aesthetically pleasing products imbued with meaning and value through form and function. Continuing the development of design process knowledge and skills established in DNB110 ID Studio 1: User Centred Design, this unit delves deeper into ideas of aesthetics and meaning in order to advance the quality of everyday products.
DNB212 ID Studio 5: Applied Technology
This unit provides the skills and knowledge required to design products for manufacture. It advances knowledge on commonly used materials allowing you to gain an understanding of how manufacturing constraints and opportunities affect the design process. Industrial Designers need to be able to design products that are viable for production. They also need to possess skills in translating these constraints and opportunities into viable product designs and to be able to efficiently communicate their design intent to allow that product to be manufactured according to industry standards and capabilities. The unit focuses on 3D parametric Computer Aided Design (CAD) and on how this is incorporated into the design process. Additionally, it provides skills in creating 3D CAD models and using them to communicate design intent. The unit builds on the DNB211 ID Studio 4: Manufacturing Technology unit as well as developing CAD and digital presentation skills.
DNB311 ID Studio 7: Capstone
This is the capstone unit for Industrial Design. It is built upon the earlier Industrial Design units and extends the application of research to the designing products and systems. This is an independent project reinforcing leadership and project management as well as strengthening your expertise. You will focus on research done through design, application of research findings for early and developmental design stages, and will learn to integrate research and design to support novel design ideas. The unit provides you with an opportunity to learn how to manage and lead large authentic projects.
DNB312 Advanced Manufacturing
The aim of this unit is to elevate your knowledge of manufacturing to a level where you can confidently produce products able to be manufactured. It further develops your knowledge of the relationship between manufacturing and design. In this you will gain a greater understanding of manufacturing materials and processes that are commonly used by designers. You will also gain experience applying that knowledge to a design project. For a design to progress from just an idea to becoming a real thing it needs to be able to be manufactured. For this, designers need an in-depth understanding of the ways that products are manufactured and what they can be manufactured from. This forms part of the core technical skills that designers require. This unit builds on previous manufacturing skills and allows for this knowledge to be incorporated into the final capstone unit.
Interaction design
DXB212 Tangible Interaction Design
This unit provides an in-depth exploration of tangible interaction design through the creation of an advanced prototyping project. It integrates theoretical frameworks with hands-on practice, focusing on the design of computational and interactive prototypes that engage users through tangible and embodied interaction. You will develop proficiency in rapid prototyping techniques, producing both low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes, using a variety of design and fabrication methods.
DXB311 Advanced Interaction Design Project
This capstone unit further develops your interaction design skills through the production of a signature project. It focuses on developing your own specialist Interaction Design work which will serve to assist you in defining your professional portfolio and future career pathways. The outcome will also become your major design work to be presented in the final year exhibition. Design for interaction continues to be a transformative and pivotal field of design for contemporary society, encompassing a range of practice from sustainability, usability, and collaboration to the evocative, playful and expressive. New design opportunities and career options continue to emerge and an understanding of future industry practices and an ability to actively engage in these is essential for career success. This subject provides you with the opportunity to explore emerging areas of interaction design through practice-based research, creative focus and a supportive community of learning.
Visual communication
DVB102 Image Design and Production
This unit provides skills and knowledge for image creation and production across different contexts, styles and media. It also deals with issues of originality, creativity and suitability of images used in professional visual design, while increasing your skills and creative approaches to areas of illustration, information design, photography, and photo media design. It advances knowledge on aesthetic and formal qualities of new areas of image design and a growing technical skill set which will be built upon in further Visual Communication Design specialisation subjects. In a world of easily reproduced digital imagery, the ability to create your own original illustrations, photos, textures and patterns can be highly competitive. Along with developing practical skills to generate original imagery for your design work, the unit further develops your capacity to critique and reflect upon practice.
DVB203 Theories and Methods of Visual Communication
This unit builds on your understanding of the principles of visual communication and its role in determining the values of our contemporary cultures and societies. Through exploring theoretical perspectives, discussions and class exercises you will critique and analyse images and visual communication designs occurring in multiple contexts. In doing so, you will develop further expertise in the production of contemporary communication design and the ethical, social and professional responsibilities of a designer. This unit directly builds upon the Visual Communication and Image Production units while providing opportunities to engage with critical analysis of images and experiences and evidence this through written expression and report writing.
Enrolment restrictions
Postgraduate students can't enrol in:
- first-year undergraduate core units
- postgraduate honours-level units, which change from year to year.
Enrolment in capstone units is generally not allowed, as these units require extended knowledge gained throughout the course of a full degree.
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