DFB305 Design Policy and Social Justice
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | DFB305 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | 48 credit points of completed study. |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
Unit Outline: Semester 2 2027, Kelvin Grove, Internal
| Unit code: | DFB305 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | Completion of 48 credit points of study |
| Coordinator: | Kathleen Horton | kathleen.horton@qut.edu.au |
Overview
This unit develops your ability to engage critically with the social, cultural, and political dimensions of design. You will explore how design intersects with policy, regulation, advocacy, and activism, and how it can be used to challenge injustice and inequity. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from critical design, public policy, ethics, and social innovation, the unit equips you to examine how design can both reinforce and disrupt dominant systems and power structures. You will engage with topics such as climate justice, inclusive and ethical governance, human rights, decolonial design, social licence, and corporate responsibility. Through research, writing, and reflective practice, you will learn to evaluate the role of policy in shaping design outcomes and how design and advocacy can influence policy and systemic change.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Critically reflect on global issues to formulate professional positions as strategic designers.
- Discuss diverse positions on design system justice issues with peers.
- Plan and collaborate in teams to produce reports about strategic design and justice issues.
- Source and synthesise research and policy on design justice issues.
- Critique design justice and policy issues to inform recommendations for change in strategic design contexts
Content
This unit will cover:
- critical debates in design studies
- First Peoples’ design
- injustices in design system
- methods in design research
- critical approaches to intercultural and design practices and politics
- report writing in the design industries.
Learning Approaches
In this unit, you will learn by engaging in the following:
- tutorials
- online and in-class discussions
- online learning materials and readings
You will be encouraged to apply a team-based learning approach to the research of critical issues in design justice and the formulation of sophisticated responses. Through the tutorials, written communication is refined through a rigorous process of drafting and re-drafting.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback in this unit is provided in the following ways:
- through formative in-class exercises, with oral feedback from your teaching staff
- via written comments and suggestions on your assessments
- peer to peer feedback over the semester.
Assessment
Overview
This unit has three summative assessment tasks.
1. Design Dialogue Participation - This task requires you to contribute to online discussions with your peers. These discussions will inform your in-class discussions and Assessment 2.
2. Design Dialogues - This task connects in-class discussions with your understanding of the range of positions on key design issues and policies through reflection on the discussion activities.
3.Design Critique - This task is a report that requires you to work with your peers to further interrogate the key issues in design justice covered in this unit.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Design Dialogue Participation
You will engage with stimulus material and respond with comments in an online space.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
Assessment: Design Dialogues
You will participate in weekly class discussions informed by the unit learning materials. Based on the class discussions you will write a critical reflection that identifies how positions were minimised and amplified.
The use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is prohibited during this assessment.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Design Critique
Your group will take on the role of a group of community educators in a non-government organisation (NGO) and you have been asked to write a report on an emerging design system justice issue to be shared with policy makers and other interested parties.
Individually, you will need to research extant literature that informs the report and is presented as an annotated bibliography.
As a group you will synthesise the research to write a report with recommendations that can be implemented to bring about change that addresses the issue. Your report will need to include supporting images.
Your group will submit a team plan and evidence of how it evolved through the report creation process.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
There are no set texts for this unit. Links to a range of resources will be provided in the online Canvas site.
Risk Assessment Statement
All students and staff are required to complete Tier 1 of CIESJ Student HSE Inductions for access to campus buildings and facilities. This must be completed online.
Tier 1 Visit and review all sections of the health, safety and environment
Where substantial computer-based work is required, you are recommended to take regular rest breaks when engaging in prolonged computer-based work, and ensure that your workstation is set up for optimal comfort to prevent strain or injury.
Further information can be found on the unit Canvas.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.BA01 Bachelor of Arts
- Critically analyse, evaluate and synthesise information and evidence to inform decision-making, problem solving and argumentation.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, ULO5, Design Dialogue Participation, Design Dialogues, Design Critique - Independently formulate questions, and apply foundational research methods and analysis to investigate relationships between society, culture and technology.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO4, Design Dialogues, Design Critique - Work productively as a reflective learner, team member and collaborator to achieve goals and to build personal and professional networks and develop entrepreneurial thinking in community and workplace contexts.
Relates to: ULO3, Design Critique
DE43 Bachelor of Design
- Recognise the consequences of design and its impact on the world, with respect to open, ethical and inclusive core design values acknowledging global, cultural and / or indigenous contexts.
Relates to: Design Dialogue Participation, Design Dialogues - Evaluate and translate conceptual and critical design methodologies and tools and transfer to new and complex challenges.
Relates to: ULO1 - Communicate coherently, independently and/or collaboratively using a range of media to convey and share design knowledge and ideas to diverse audiences in a range of contexts.
Relates to: ULO2, Design Dialogues - Exercise self reflection, resilience, adaptability and self-direction and leverage failure in order to unlock new ideas, approaches, and ways of doing and knowing.
Relates to: ULO3, Design Critique - Identify and challenge biases and demonstrate respect for personal and professional integrity, and cultural and social differences.
Relates to: ULO4, Design Critique - Independently demonstrate an ethical, sustainable and holistic approach to design, that critically considers impact.
Relates to: ULO5, Design Critique
DE45 Bachelor of Design - International
- Recognise the consequences of design and its impact on the world, with respect to open, ethical and inclusive core design values acknowledging global, cultural and / or indigenous contexts.
Relates to: Design Dialogue Participation, Design Dialogues - Evaluate and translate conceptual and critical design methodologies and tools and transfer to new and complex challenges.
Relates to: ULO1 - Communicate coherently, independently and/or collaboratively using a range of media to convey and share design knowledge and ideas to diverse audiences in a range of contexts.
Relates to: ULO2, Design Dialogues - Exercise self reflection, resilience, adaptability and self-direction and leverage failure in order to unlock new ideas, approaches, and ways of doing and knowing.
Relates to: ULO3, Design Critique - Identify and challenge biases and demonstrate respect for personal and professional integrity, and cultural and social differences.
Relates to: ULO4, Design Critique - Independently demonstrate an ethical, sustainable and holistic approach to design, that critically considers impact.
Relates to: ULO5, Design Critique
DV99 Bachelor of Design
- Recognise the consequences of design and its impact on the world, with respect to open, ethical and inclusive core design values acknowledging global, cultural and / or indigenous contexts.
Relates to: Design Dialogue Participation, Design Dialogues - Evaluate and translate conceptual and critical design methodologies and tools and transfer to new and complex challenges.
Relates to: ULO1 - Communicate coherently, independently and/or collaboratively using a range of media to convey and share design knowledge and ideas to diverse audiences in a range of contexts.
Relates to: ULO2, Design Dialogues - Exercise self reflection, resilience, adaptability and self-direction and leverage failure in order to unlock new ideas, approaches, and ways of doing and knowing.
Relates to: ULO3, Design Critique - Identify and challenge biases and demonstrate respect for personal and professional integrity, and cultural and social differences.
Relates to: ULO4, Design Critique - Independently demonstrate an ethical, sustainable and holistic approach to design, that critically considers impact.
Relates to: ULO5, Design Critique
KK43 Bachelor of Creative Industries
- Demonstrate broad and coherent theoretical and practical knowledge required for creative enterprise, career development and interdisciplinary collaborations, supported by depth in at least one creative disciplinary area.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO4, Design Dialogues, Design Critique - Demonstrate well-developed cognitive and ideation skills to identify, analyse and evaluate opportunities to address authentic complex problems.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO4, ULO5, Design Dialogues, Design Critique - Demonstrate technical expertise to support skills and knowledge within the Creative Industries.
Relates to: ULO4, ULO5, Design Critique - Communicate effectively in a range of forms across multiple media modes, for sharing and disseminating knowledge, skills and ideas, and collaborative practice and navigation of social networks.
Relates to: ULO2, ULO3, ULO5, Design Dialogue Participation, Design Dialogues, Design Critique - Apply and adapt creative disciplinary knowledge and skills with agility in a range of industry, community and intercultural contexts.
Relates to: ULO2, ULO5, Design Dialogue Participation, Design Dialogues, Design Critique - Embody social and ethical responsibilities and exhibit well-developed judgement with resilience, integrity, curiosity and responsibility.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, ULO4, ULO5, Design Dialogue Participation, Design Dialogues, Design Critique - Practise self-management of career and learning with enterprise and an entrepreneurial outlook, including the building of personal and professional relationships and partnerships.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO3, ULO5, Design Dialogues, Design Critique
Unit Outline: Semester 2 2027, Online
| Unit code: | DFB305 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | Completion of 48 credit points of study |
Overview
This unit develops your ability to engage critically with the social, cultural, and political dimensions of design. You will explore how design intersects with policy, regulation, advocacy, and activism, and how it can be used to challenge injustice and inequity. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from critical design, public policy, ethics, and social innovation, the unit equips you to examine how design can both reinforce and disrupt dominant systems and power structures. You will engage with topics such as climate justice, inclusive and ethical governance, human rights, decolonial design, social licence, and corporate responsibility. Through research, writing, and reflective practice, you will learn to evaluate the role of policy in shaping design outcomes and how design and advocacy can influence policy and systemic change.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Critically reflect on global issues to formulate professional positions as strategic designers.
- Discuss diverse positions on design system justice issues with peers.
- Plan and collaborate in teams to produce reports about strategic design and justice issues.
- Source and synthesise research and policy on design justice issues.
- Critique design justice and policy issues to inform recommendations for change in strategic design contexts
Content
This unit will cover:
- critical debates in design studies
- First Peoples’ design
- injustices in design system
- methods in design research
- critical approaches to intercultural and design practices and politics
- report writing in the design industries.
Learning Approaches
In this unit, you will learn by engaging in the following:
- tutorials
- online and in-class discussions
- online learning materials and readings
You will be encouraged to apply a team-based learning approach to the research of critical issues in design justice and the formulation of sophisticated responses. Through the tutorials, written communication is refined through a rigorous process of drafting and re-drafting.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback in this unit is provided in the following ways:
- through formative in-class exercises, with oral feedback from your teaching staff
- via written comments and suggestions on your assessments
- peer to peer feedback over the semester.
Assessment
Overview
This unit has three summative assessment tasks.
1. Design Dialogue Participation - This task requires you to contribute to online discussions with your peers. These discussions will inform your in-class discussions and Assessment 2.
2. Design Dialogues - This task connects in-class discussions with your understanding of the range of positions on key design issues and policies through reflection on the discussion activities.
3.Design Critique - This task is a report that requires you to work with your peers to further interrogate the key issues in design justice covered in this unit.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Design Dialogue Participation
You will engage with stimulus material and respond with comments in an online space.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
Assessment: Design Dialogues
You will participate in weekly class discussions informed by the unit learning materials. Based on the class discussions you will write a critical reflection that identifies how positions were minimised and amplified.
The use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is prohibited during this assessment.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Design Critique
Your group will take on the role of a group of community educators in a non-government organisation (NGO) and you have been asked to write a report on an emerging design system justice issue to be shared with policy makers and other interested parties.
Individually, you will need to research extant literature that informs the report and is presented as an annotated bibliography.
As a group you will synthesise the research to write a report with recommendations that can be implemented to bring about change that addresses the issue. Your report will need to include supporting images.
Your group will submit a team plan and evidence of how it evolved through the report creation process.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
There are no set texts for this unit. Links to a range of resources will be provided in the online Canvas site.
Risk Assessment Statement
All students and staff are required to complete Tier 1 of CIESJ Student HSE Inductions for access to campus buildings and facilities. This must be completed online.
Tier 1 Visit and review all sections of the health, safety and environment
Where substantial computer-based work is required, you are recommended to take regular rest breaks when engaging in prolonged computer-based work, and ensure that your workstation is set up for optimal comfort to prevent strain or injury.
Further information can be found on the unit Canvas.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.BA01 Bachelor of Arts
- Critically analyse, evaluate and synthesise information and evidence to inform decision-making, problem solving and argumentation.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, ULO5, Design Dialogue Participation, Design Dialogues, Design Critique - Independently formulate questions, and apply foundational research methods and analysis to investigate relationships between society, culture and technology.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO4, Design Dialogues, Design Critique - Work productively as a reflective learner, team member and collaborator to achieve goals and to build personal and professional networks and develop entrepreneurial thinking in community and workplace contexts.
Relates to: ULO3, Design Critique
DE43 Bachelor of Design
- Recognise the consequences of design and its impact on the world, with respect to open, ethical and inclusive core design values acknowledging global, cultural and / or indigenous contexts.
Relates to: Design Dialogue Participation, Design Dialogues - Evaluate and translate conceptual and critical design methodologies and tools and transfer to new and complex challenges.
Relates to: ULO1 - Communicate coherently, independently and/or collaboratively using a range of media to convey and share design knowledge and ideas to diverse audiences in a range of contexts.
Relates to: ULO2, Design Dialogues - Exercise self reflection, resilience, adaptability and self-direction and leverage failure in order to unlock new ideas, approaches, and ways of doing and knowing.
Relates to: ULO3, Design Critique - Identify and challenge biases and demonstrate respect for personal and professional integrity, and cultural and social differences.
Relates to: ULO4, Design Critique - Independently demonstrate an ethical, sustainable and holistic approach to design, that critically considers impact.
Relates to: ULO5, Design Critique
DE45 Bachelor of Design - International
- Recognise the consequences of design and its impact on the world, with respect to open, ethical and inclusive core design values acknowledging global, cultural and / or indigenous contexts.
Relates to: Design Dialogue Participation, Design Dialogues - Evaluate and translate conceptual and critical design methodologies and tools and transfer to new and complex challenges.
Relates to: ULO1 - Communicate coherently, independently and/or collaboratively using a range of media to convey and share design knowledge and ideas to diverse audiences in a range of contexts.
Relates to: ULO2, Design Dialogues - Exercise self reflection, resilience, adaptability and self-direction and leverage failure in order to unlock new ideas, approaches, and ways of doing and knowing.
Relates to: ULO3, Design Critique - Identify and challenge biases and demonstrate respect for personal and professional integrity, and cultural and social differences.
Relates to: ULO4, Design Critique - Independently demonstrate an ethical, sustainable and holistic approach to design, that critically considers impact.
Relates to: ULO5, Design Critique
DV99 Bachelor of Design
- Recognise the consequences of design and its impact on the world, with respect to open, ethical and inclusive core design values acknowledging global, cultural and / or indigenous contexts.
Relates to: Design Dialogue Participation, Design Dialogues - Evaluate and translate conceptual and critical design methodologies and tools and transfer to new and complex challenges.
Relates to: ULO1 - Communicate coherently, independently and/or collaboratively using a range of media to convey and share design knowledge and ideas to diverse audiences in a range of contexts.
Relates to: ULO2, Design Dialogues - Exercise self reflection, resilience, adaptability and self-direction and leverage failure in order to unlock new ideas, approaches, and ways of doing and knowing.
Relates to: ULO3, Design Critique - Identify and challenge biases and demonstrate respect for personal and professional integrity, and cultural and social differences.
Relates to: ULO4, Design Critique - Independently demonstrate an ethical, sustainable and holistic approach to design, that critically considers impact.
Relates to: ULO5, Design Critique
KK43 Bachelor of Creative Industries
- Demonstrate broad and coherent theoretical and practical knowledge required for creative enterprise, career development and interdisciplinary collaborations, supported by depth in at least one creative disciplinary area.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO4, Design Dialogues, Design Critique - Demonstrate well-developed cognitive and ideation skills to identify, analyse and evaluate opportunities to address authentic complex problems.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO4, ULO5, Design Dialogues, Design Critique - Demonstrate technical expertise to support skills and knowledge within the Creative Industries.
Relates to: ULO4, ULO5, Design Critique - Communicate effectively in a range of forms across multiple media modes, for sharing and disseminating knowledge, skills and ideas, and collaborative practice and navigation of social networks.
Relates to: ULO2, ULO3, ULO5, Design Dialogue Participation, Design Dialogues, Design Critique - Apply and adapt creative disciplinary knowledge and skills with agility in a range of industry, community and intercultural contexts.
Relates to: ULO2, ULO5, Design Dialogue Participation, Design Dialogues, Design Critique - Embody social and ethical responsibilities and exhibit well-developed judgement with resilience, integrity, curiosity and responsibility.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, ULO4, ULO5, Design Dialogue Participation, Design Dialogues, Design Critique - Practise self-management of career and learning with enterprise and an entrepreneurial outlook, including the building of personal and professional relationships and partnerships.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO3, ULO5, Design Dialogues, Design Critique