Part A: Course Overview
Course Title: Sonic Materials
Credit Points: 12.00
Course Coordinator: Jordan Lacey
Course Coordinator Phone: Please email
Course Coordinator Email: jordan.lacey@rmit.edu.ua
Course Coordinator Location: School of Design, RMIT University, City Campus
Course Coordinator Availability: Please email
Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities
None.
Course Description
In this course, you will explore the concept of sound as a material and materials as sound.
You will be introduced to the ways in which sound and materials interact to produce meaning and experience within our urban environments. Through a practical exploration into the principles of sonic thinking, theory, fieldwork, and project work, this course provides you with a way of working with sound to analyse and inform design decisions. You will explore the sonic nature of materials and their forms by devising innovative approaches to products and interactions that affect people and the environments they inhabit.
This course is a component of a major and minor offered by the BH104P25 Bachelor of Industrial Design (Honours) program.
Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development
Program Learning Outcomes
This course contributes to the following BH104P25 Bachelor of Industrial Design (Honours) program learning outcomes:
PLO1: Apply analytical, critical, creative, and strategic thinking to industrial design problems and research across complex, place-based, and cultural contexts.
PLO2: Collaborate with communities, specialists, and key stakeholders to respond to design challenges in complex, diverse and multi-disciplinary settings.
PLO8: Demonstrate and continue to develop a working knowledge of the diverse, technological, environmental, and cultural systems that industrial design practice contributes to.
If you are taking this course as an option course or as part of a minor, this course will complement the learning outcomes you are developing in your program.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate critical awareness to place-based and cultural concerns through creative design decisions.
- Integrate sound-based design approaches to material and form development.
- Analyse the nature and implications of forms, materials, and interactions in the urban context through sonic thinking.
Overview of Learning Activities
You will be actively engaged in a range of learning activities such as workshops, field work, tutorials, project work, class discussion, individual and group activities.
Delivery may be face-to-face, online or a mix of both.
Overview of Learning Resources
RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems.
To effectively participate in coursework, either on, or away from campus, you are advised to obtain (as a minimum) the following:
- Drawing supplies including visual diaries, pens, pencils, markers and ancillary products and consumables.
- Personal Protective Equipment including protective eyewear, ear plugs, a dust jacket, and closed toe safety shoes.
- Prototyping supplies including a 150mm steel ruler, a high-quality craft knife and ancillary products, materials, and consumables.
- Design and documentation equipment including a personal computer of an appropriate specification, course specific software, a digital camera or mobile phone.
When on campus you will have access to and will utilise the School of Design workshop facilities, specialist computer labs and software, and 2D and 3D printing facilities.
Course specific resources such as readings, reference lists, access to specialist software, video demonstrations and class notes will be provided online.
There are services and resources available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services. For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the RMIT student website.
A Library Subject Guide for the discipline this course is aligned to can be found here: https://rmit.libguides.com/design-industrial
Overview of Assessment
You will be assessed on how well you meet the course learning outcomes and your development against the program learning outcomes.
Major/Minor course
Please note that this course is not numerically graded. That means you will receive either a Pass Grade (PX) or a Fail Grade (NN) on completion.
The assessment task percentage weightings give you an indication of the volume and significance of the work required relative to the whole course experience.
For assessment tasks due for submission during the relevant semester teaching period, if you receive a Fail Grade on work submitted you will have one week to address the specific feedback and resubmit for reassessment. For assessment tasks due after the conclusion of classes this option is not available.
To successfully complete this course, you need to have passed all assessment tasks.
Courses with a PX grade structure are automatically excised from the calculation of your Grade Point Average (GPA) and are not included in the calculation of Weighted Academic Mark (WAM) for embedded Bachelor Honours programs.
This approach to grading and assessment is aimed at ensuring each course is inclusive of student diversity and prior learning and capabilities can be developed as is appropriate to your discipline and interests.
Assessment Tasks
Task 1: Appreciation
Weighting 10%
This assessment task supports CLO 1
Task 2: Materials and Sound
Weighting 30%
This assessment task supports CLO 1, CLO 2
Task 3: Environments and Sound
Weighting 30%
This assessment task supports CLO 1, CLO 3
Task 4: Intervention
Weighting 30%
This assessment task supports CLO 1, CLO 2, CLO 3
Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks.
If you have a long-term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more.
Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures, and instructions.