DECO2200 Information Visualisation
Design Critique
Weighting x 1 (DECO2200)
Due Dates & Times
To ensure timely and actionable feedback, peer critiques should be posted in the lead-up to and
directly following the Just the Facts bi-weekly submissions (deadlines below):
• Week 3: Tuesday 7 March
• Week 5: Tuesday 21 March
• Week 7: Tuesday 4 April
• Week 8: Tuesday 18 April
Final electronic submission via Blackboard due Exam Week 1 Friday 9 June 3:00pm
Project Aims & Objectives
• To develop the design language required to provide meaningful and constructive critique
• To practice critical analysis of design work - peer and own
• To reflect on development and impact of critique in peer and own work
• To develop technical skills in the use of Adobe InDesign
Project Description 
This project is designed to promote the critical analysis and review of design work that is necessary
to develop design skills and understanding. The review of others work provides not only
constructive feedback for the person under review, but further develops your own language
around design theory, design principles and their application to the visual communication of data.
Over the course of this project, you will provide critiques to your peers in a timely manner that
support their iteration of the work. Your critiques should be grounded in the aims of the project,
supported with references to design principles and approaches and should be constructive. A
guide to critiquing is provided to support your efforts.
It is expected that your design language evolves over the semester as you are exposed to more
design work, course content and to other peoples’ critiques.
At the end of the semester, you will reflect on the critiques that you have given to others and the
critiques that you received. In reflecting, you should evaluate how your approach to critique has
developed over the semester; how your response to and integration of feedback has developed
over the semester; and what you have learnt through this process about both giving and receiving
critique.
Using Adobe InDesign you will create a multi-page designed document to present your critiques
and your reflections for final grading.
Semester 1, 2023 Page of 1 5 Lorna Macdonald
DECO2200 Information Visualisation
Process for providing Critiques
• Each fortnight, you will critique a minimum of 2 responses. You are welcome to do more.
• Responses critiqued should be from different students.
• Avoid critiquing works that already have feedback provided by other students.
• Your critique should aim to be a paragraph or two.
• Critiques are to be posted as a reply to a work on EdDiscussion - Assessment > Just the
Facts.
• Prompts to consider when viewing the work:
• Can you understand the data?
• Does the work communicate the fact well, is it easy to understand? Why/why not?
• Could you relate the fact to another person just by viewing that work?
• How does the visual treatment of the fact effect your interpretation/understanding
of it?
• Has the visual treatment influenced your emotional interpretation of the message?
• Is the creator implying a particular emotive interpretation?
• Why & what contributes to that?
• How do the design elements in the work (type/colour/line/shape/space/layout)
contribute to your understanding & interpretation of the work?
• What could the creator do to improve the work?
• Generally, you can consider/comment on:
• Use of Typography (typefaces & treatment of text) - how does the choice of
typeface effect the representation of the fact & you interpret it?
• Use of colour - how does the choice of colour effect the representation of the fact
& you interpret it?
• Use of line & shape (not images) - how does the line & shape used effect the
representation of the fact & you interpret it?
• Use of space & layout - how does the layout & use of space effect the
representation of the fact & you interpret it?
• Overall impression of the work - Does it communicate the fact well? How does the
visual treatment of the fact effect your interpretation of it?
• Avoid using personal and subjective phrases such as "I like your design", instead use
design theory to state what you see. For example, "The contrast between the typeface used
for the heading, and the typeface used for the subheading makes the order of reading very
clear."
• At the end of the project, you should have a minimum total of 8 critiques. If you have more,
submit those.
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DECO2200 Information Visualisation
Reflection on Critiques
As you read other critiques, on your own work and on peers’ work, take note of your responses to
what is said. This will help you in writing a short reflection on how you have encountered the
critiques given to you, and how you have adapted your critiquing approach as a result. Prompts to
consider in your reflection:
• How has your feedback has changed as the project progressed?
• Looking back to your very early critiques what you might do differently? Why?
• What impact did reading critiques on your own work have on you or your work? Why?
• How did you adapt your approaches based on other critiques you read?
• Do you think the feedback you gave was constructive and why?
• Do you think the feedback you received was constructive and why?
Your reflection should be between 300 and 500 words; and should reference specific examples
from the critiques you gave, received and read. The reflection should look holistically at the
critiques across the Just the Facts assessment, rather than reflecting on individual critiques. You are
welcome to include critiques encountered through the Infographic project in this discussion, where
they had a clear impact on you and/or your work.
Designed Document
You will present your critiques and reflection as a designed, multi-page document. You will
produce your document using Adobe InDesign.
Your InDesign file must:
◦ Have multiple pages - it is up to you how you split your content across those pages.
◦ Page size and orientation is up to you.
◦ Use visual examples to support your discussion
◦ Use Master pages to control the layout and design of sections of the document.
◦ Be designed for consumption on digital devices, rather than print. Consider the
interactive nature of digital viewing in your design.
◦ Include each of the critiques you gave, with a hyperlink to find it on EdDiscussion.
◦ Include references for the responses you critiqued and any third party assets used in
the creation of your document.
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DECO2200 Information Visualisation
Submission Requirements
Bi-weekly Online to EdDiscussion (Week 3, 5, 7, 8)
◦ Critiques should be posted as replies to the chosen response on EdDiscussion.
◦ Avoid critiquing responses that already have feedback from your peers.
◦ Critiques should be posted in a timely manner, to enable integration of feedback
into work.
Final Submission - Friday of Exam Week 1
In a .zip file, named as [P3_FirstName_Lastname.zip], submit the following:
• 1 x high quality PDFs (.pdf) of your Design Critique document.
• Export PDFs using File > Save As - format PDF - in the PDF dialog box that appears,
change the preset to. Do not use the Print dialog to print the file to PDF.
• 1 x authoring InDesign file (.ind) with externally linked files embedded.
• A folder containing any external assets that cannot be embedded into your document -
fonts, brushes, images, vector art etc. References for these should be incorporated into
your documents.
• You must reference: 1) responses you critiqued 2) typefaces used 3) vector art /
patterns / brushes used not of your own creation 4) ANYTHING you did not create
yourself. Failure to do so will result in misconduct proceedings.
Grading Criteria
Your final submission will be graded according to the following criteria:
Attention to Detail
• Demonstrates high level of attention to detail in all aspects of the composition & execution
of work (including spelling and grammar).
• All submission requirements are met - PDF and InDesign file are included, non-embeddable
assets are included, all third party assets are references.
Document Composition
• Demonstrates technical skill in the design and layout of a multi-page document using
InDesign; including use of key InDesign features such as styles and master pages to control
appearance.
• Produces a creative and legible document that clearly demonstrates understanding of
design principles and elements through the design and layout of a document intended for
digital consumption.
Critiques
• Individual critiques are provided in a timely manner to enable recipient to incorporate
feedback given.
• Provides constructive and critical feedback identifying areas of strength & weakness in the
work; well-related to project aims, response content and design theory.
• Provides specific and actionable suggestions for improvements that are clearly related to
project aims, design intent and design theory.
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DECO2200 Information Visualisation
Reflection
• Reflection provides a holistic, reasoned and critical consideration of the critique process as
experienced through the project.
• Reflection clearly articulates insights gained in relation to the critique process; well-related
to individual experience, considering roles as both a provider and recipient of feedback.
• Demonstrates growth in development of design language and critique skills, as visible
across the project and as discussed in the reflection.
A Message about Academic Integrity
• In design practice, it is common to reuse and adapt small components of other work to
create an overall original composition. It is important when doing this to ensure that third
party works are being according to their usage license; and that those works are clearly
acknowledged.
• It is very important that when grading your work, we know what is and isn’t your
original contribution.
• It is important that the majority of the design and composition is your own original work.
Downloadable templates are NOT permitted (such as those supplied in apps like Canva).
Using pre-defined templates does not allow you to develop the skills or design ability
expected of this course.
• If you need to incorporate third party assets, you should use works that are in the public
domain, are royalty-free, or are released under an appropriate Creative Commons license. If
you wish to use paid assets, you must be able to provide evidence of having purchased that
asset for use.
• In this course, you are expected to acknowledge ALL third party assets that you might
use in the composition of your works, even if they are licensed for your use. This includes
but is not limited to, the use of:
• Non-system fonts - these are fonts that are not pre-packaged in the software you use.
• Vector-art used in part, or in entirety - such as icons, shapes or small illustrations.
• Outcomes of tutorial exercises that show you how to create specific artefacts
• Inspirations that have heavily influenced your design style.
• Illustrator brushes or patterns.
• Datasets
• Text-based content - supporting articles, quotes, etc.
• A referencing guide can be found in Blackboard.
Semester 1, 2023 Page of 5 5 Lorna Macdonald