What You'll Learn

Visual Design

This module offers a focused study of graphic concepts and practice of graphic design. Students will build upon basic graphic recognition and application through principles of design, art direction, typography, information graphics and imaging software. By the end of the module, students will explore and apply their knowledge gained through an integrated design project. This module also would provide students with opportunities to expand the various aspects of design and integrating them into other modules.

Research Methods

Having a deep understanding of who you are creating for is the first step in creating desirable content, campaigns, programmes, products, and services. This is a skill that all media and design students need. This module introduces students to the research tools needed to understand their stakeholders and test out their ideas. In this module, students will develop fluency in deriving insights to tackle the problems/issues at hand through research. They will practise teamwork and develop problem solving skills when analysing data.

Digital Product Design

This module introduces students to the framework for designing meaningful interactions between people and the digital products or services that they use. Students will learn to design products and services that are relevant to people’s needs and expectations in both tangible and intangible aspects. To support this, students will study methods from interaction design, with appropriate methods in ancillary domains such as aesthetics and psychology. The module will also explore various tools and techniques to prototype user experience and communicate user scenarios.

Photography & Imaging

This module exposes students to the theory and practice of digital photography within the framework of an integrative digital workflow in content creation, including the finer points of digital image enhancement, manipulation & compositing. Students will be taught product and portrait photography and learn the essentials of controlling and balancing artificial lights with natural lights to achieve impactful aesthetics for photography. Students will focus on studio and outdoor digital photography, and be equipped with the fundamentals of preparing digital images and intermediate techniques of image manipulation & compositing. By the end of the module, students would have created a portfolio of photographic fine prints and digital content for commercial applications.

Motion Graphics 1

This module is fundamentally designed to translate and apply the language of motion. Students will interpret and demonstrate the principles of animation as applied motion graphics. Students will be familiarized with industry tools and processes and will eventually be able to employ these principles and processes in motion design projects.

Data Fluency

This module exposes students to the theory and practice of digital photography within the framework of an integrative digital workflow in content creation, including the finer points of digital image enhancement, manipulation & compositing. Students will be taught product and portrait photography and learn the essentials of controlling and balancing artificial lights with natural lights to achieve impactful aesthetics for photography. Students will focus on studio and outdoor digital photography, and be equipped with the fundamentals of preparing digital images and intermediate techniques of image manipulation & compositing. By the end of the module, students would have created a portfolio of photographic fine prints and digital content for commercial applications.

Artificial Intelligence and Its Impact

This module aims to equip students with a very broad overview of Artificial Intelligence, and its societal and ethical impacts in modern society. Students will build a simple AI model with online tools and discuss how to promote good ethics in AI. Upon the completion of this module, students should demonstrate the competency of using AI to address their chosen UN SDG.

Problem Solving with Creative & Computational Thinking

Polywide Elective 1

3D Fundamentals

This class aims to provide the learner an understanding on what is 3D and how to apply 3D for content creation. Its provide a scaffolding for the learner to understand what can be achieved from 3D techniques.

Motion Graphics 2

In this module students will start to combine visual design with motion design. Students will be introduced to distinctions between static and moving design. The lessons will focus on communicating meaning through a combination of typography, intonation and movement. Students will be able to identify uses of dynamic and diegetic typography and apply them to creative storytelling.

Design Studio 1

This module provides a key overview of applied design within real world commercial context, focusing on brand experience that goes beyond the visual context to an integrated multi-sensorial immersion in communication design. Students will learn to infuse creative concepts with two to three-dimensional forms of design solutions such as, Publication and Packaging Design. Practical sessions on Desktop Publishing tools will equip students with the technical aspects of design visualisation. Pre-press skills, production knowledge, as well as introduction to various forms of paper and other materials will also be taught to ensure that students have a thorough understanding of the communication design ecosystem.

Sustainable Innovation Project

Work in multi-disciplinary groups to apply the design thinking method and tools backed by research and qualitative data, to tackle local issues mapped to the UN SDGs. You will also tap on what you have learnt in the CCC modules that come before this module to create sustainable and innovative prototype solutions for real-life issues faced by a local community in need. In the process, you will develop empathy for the community you have identified for your project and a better understanding of yourselves.

Polywide Elective 2

Creative Video Content Creation

Video content is booming, and it’s everywhere. Brand realise the value of video and its success can give the organisation a powerful lead over their competitors. This module exposes students to the theory and practice of digital video production for video content creation. Students will be taught the importance of video content creation through learning social media marketing. Students will learn the essential form of scriptwriting, story structure, film grammar, video camera techniques, audio capture techniques, set art direction, non-linear editing techniques and learn the essentials of controlling and balancing artificial lights with natural lights to achieve an impactful aesthetics for videography. Students will focus on pre-production, production and post-production and be equipped with the fundamentals to prepare a digital video in various formats for different platforms. By the end of the module, students will be expected to create a showreel of commercially viable work.

Advertising Design

This module will allow students to work with a variety of learning objectives tied to Advertising design. They will experiment with ideation sessions and technical skills such as digital imaging to deepen their understanding of the creative processes. The module will be taught using a combination of demonstration, tutorials, hands-on rendering, and critique sessions to familiarise them with creating outcomes relevant to the industry.

Compositing & Lighting & Texture

In this module students will be introduced concepts of CGI lighting and compositing. Students will be introduce to the theories such as qualities of lights, mood and product lighting. Digital compositing techniques such as AOV rebuilt, depth map and lighting separation will be applied as well. Compositing techniques that deals with filmed footage such as chroma keying, prep works and tracking will be introduced as well.

Design Studio 2

This module is an extension of Design Studio 1 and introduces moving design into the framework. Student are expected to engage clients and apply research methods to develop a desired future state. They are expected to gather feedback before ideating and will have the opportunity to propose a cross-platform design based on the requirement of the client.

Design & Comm Elective

Prototyping Fundamentals offered by XPD In this module, students will learn different strategies and techniques in prototyping and be able to design and make simple prototypes for their concept. Students will also develop understanding of simple machine operation and sensitivity towards common materials and their properties, and foster a hands-on experimental approach to design. Writing for News, Features & Branded Content offered by DMC Creating written content for journalism, marketing and promotions is an integral part of the media and communication industry. Our graduates would need to be proficient in the various types of writing such as news, features and branded content for traditional and new media platforms in order to be effective media and communication professionals. This module will equip students with the basic writing skills to handle the various forms of writing necessary in digital media and communication

MAD Studio Project

The MAD Studio Project aims to build on the interdisciplinary practices taught in PlayLab in order to further develop students’ ability to generate new ideas and contribute to innovations. Students will work in mixed groups and take on complex, real-world industry projects. They will draw on the domain knowledge and skills from their own tracks, as well as those of their peers from other tracks, in order to gain a deeper understanding of an issue, and transform them into new knowledge which confronts the challenges of the present world. This module is a facilitated time and space for students to explore across the disciplines of creative perspectives, which necessarily includes research and design, problem-solving and communication of ideas. The teaching facilitation will also embrace the design inquiry cycle that enables learners to mind shift and lead into a convergence of viewpoints.

Persuasive Communication with Data Storytelling

Final Year Project

In this module students will work in teams to take on a design brief, propose a solution and execute it under the supervision of a lecturer. Students are expected to exhibit a high standard of spoken and written communication regularly between their teammates and with their stakeholders. Students will not only be assessed on their competency and reliability, but also their effectiveness and impact within their team.

Creative Freelancing & Media Law

Turn your passion into profit: develop practical commercial skills, explore media law for the creatives and experience a taste of the gig economy. This module will show you how to hack it, negotiate it and close the deal. Recognise the legal rights you have as a media content creator, how to jump over the legal land-mines and navigate the real-life ethical dilemmas faced by media practitioners. Learners will engage in professional practices with real clients in areas such as self-promotion, acquiring leads, estimating costs of services proposal writing and invoicing.

Transdisciplinary Project

The Final-Year Project is an opportunity for students to integrate, apply and deepen the knowledge, skillsets and competencies (both technical and general) they have gained over the course of their study. Building on the skills taught in PlayLab and the MAD Studio Project, students will work in mixed groups to tackle complex real-world issues through industry projects. They will learn how to research and generate new, innovative solutions that go beyond a single domain, while considering other factors such as meeting a business-end, dealing with resource constraints, as well as taking advantage of social, cultural and economic trends. They will also learn how to communicate with their stakeholders and manage a project. By the end of this module, students will deepen their skills in acquiring and synthesising knowledge from across disciplines and develop resilience and an entrepreneurial spirit in tackling complex problems.

Polywide Elective 3

Internship Programme

Students are sent to intern at selected local and overseas organisations to further develop their functional and technical skills through working on real-life audio-related projects. Students contribute to the organisations by applying what they have learnt, while also learning and gaining experience from a real-life digital media working environment.

Personal Branding and Career Agility

Effective Writing for the Workplace