Learning in Design and Visual Communication provides meaningful contexts for developing Key Competencies from The New Zealand Curriculum. These Key Competencies are woven through, and embedded in, the Big Ideas and Significant Learning.

Ākonga will gain skills and knowledge that will be carried with them throughout their design practice and beyond the learning environment, by forming connections and relationships with clients and collaborators. They will be practising ideation and design thinking, managing their time and wellbeing, and applying the visual communication techniques necessary to promote their design ideas and outcomes.

Thinking

Students of Design and Visual Communication will:

• use design thinking to foster exploration, experimentation, and problem solving
• be encouraged to look at things from different perspectives that they may not have previously considered
• draw from a range of influences to develop an awareness of design, adopting different ideas from the voices of different cultures and the rich heritage of design
• be required to think for themselves and develop confidence in their abilities to generate ideas
• be strongly encouraged to use both divergent and convergent thinking:
  • Divergent thinking allows the learner to experiment and take risks in order to innovate and find new ways of achieving results
  • Convergent thinking allows them to draw from the knowledge and heritage of design to progress and resolve their design ideas.
• value their own unique voice and background in their design thinking
• use design thinking to foster self-reflection.

Using language, symbols, and text

Students of Design and Visual Communication will:

• develop visual communication skills in order to relate narratives through their design thinking and practice
• learn visual communication techniques and strengthen their visual literacy, by exploring, generating, critiquing, and resolving design ideas
• become aware of how design uses universal symbols and other forms of universal visual language that are internationally recognised in industry
• use visual communication systems, such as drawing conventions
• acquire a fluency in design language, including the principles of aesthetics and function, which inform their design thinking
• decide on which techniques best suit how they will approach making improvements and progressing their design ideas further.

Relating to others

Students of Design and Visual Communication will:

• learn visual communication techniques to develop skills and confidence in presenting ideas and opinions to their peers, community, whānau, and the potential users of their design outcomes
• develop connections with their audiences and users to resolve issues in ways that translate into valuable industry skills
• engage in critical inquiry in order to understand and empathise with the user to better meet their needs
• connect with place and the whakapapa of the people they are designing for
• practise collaboration and critique with each other within the learning environment
• consider the ideas of other students
• build from each other’s strengths and talents with respect and empathy
• engage with their community to form relationships with people and respectfully develop an understanding of the places they design for.

Managing self

Students of Design and Visual Communication will:

• develop skills in time management, use of resources, and adaptability when undertaking projects
• develop the confidence to reflect on and commit to their ideas
• know when to take risks and when to follow established procedure to achieve the best results
• take ownership of their own processes and ways of working, including the curation of their design portfolios
• engage with design contexts and other perspectives to refine their own design awareness and to recognise personal bias
• have to think on their feet to make decisions, sometimes under tight deadlines that require them to make do with what they have and work to their personal strengths
• include wellbeing and stress management practices as part of their design processes
• recognise that resilience and focus support the generation of design ideas and the communication of high-quality outcomes.

Participating and contributing

Students of Design and Visual Communication will:

• use their emerging visual communication skills to connect their ideas with people and place
• take an active role in developing solutions to meet the needs of others while remaining aware of the potential impacts their design decisions could make within social, cultural, and environmental contexts
• see design as a cumulative activity that builds upon previous work and requires constant engagement and active participation to bring ideas to fruition
• understand that collaboration and teamwork can inspire new ideas to be generated
• recognise that feedback and critique helps their peers strengthen their own knowledge and skill sets, creating a rich, supportive, and innovative learning environment
• recognise that the resilience and confidence built through developing, testing, and presenting design ideas allows them to reframe 'mistakes' as valuable learning opportunities in which they can reflect on and improve their ideas.

Key Competencies

This section of The New Zealand Curriculum Online offers specific guidance to school leaders and teachers on integrating the Key Competencies into the daily activities of the school and its Teaching and Learning Programmes.