Duration
2 years (6 trimesters) accelerated
Locations
Sydney, Melbourne
Fees
Intake Dates

February, June, September

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International

CRICOS 085009K

JMC welcomes students from all over the world.
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Technology is moving fast and society is changing with it. If you’re passionate about all things visual and the impact design has on people and culture, this course is for you.

The Design (Visual Communication) Bachelor degree allows you to immerse yourself in the design world, develop strong visual communication skills and understand the tools you need to make it in the industry. It will give you the opportunity to build a professional portfolio of your own work, while investigating a process-based design approach and engaging with mentors from the industry on real world projects.

Learning takes place in a studio environment where small classes encourage students to come together to collaborate on projects. From initial concept through to design and delivery, you will explore different design tools and methods to graduate fully equipped to enter the industry.

Why Study Design at JMC?

Intern and work on brand projects at leading design agencies including Protein, Tobias and Sha8peshifters
Be futureproof, with our hands-on and adaptable learning approach and flexible studio-based learning style
Cover everything from creativity and innovation to artistic development, software and technical skills for optimal employability

Technology & Facilities

At JMC, design is our passion. Our Design (Visual Communication) classrooms are equipped with cutting-edge technology, always in sync with the latest industry standards and software advancements. From your very first day, you'll experience classes in studio-like settings, complete with an array of tools at your disposal. This includes Wacom or XP Pen graphics tablets, HTC Vive VR technology, 3D printers, and DSLR cameras, providing ample opportunities for creative experimentation and design. Additionally, we offer a complimentary Adobe Creative Cloud license for your personal computer, granting full access to Adobe's suite of applications and software, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects.

Duration

Our standard Design (Visual Communication) program is structured for an accelerated pace, enabling you to earn an accredited Bachelor's degree in just 2 years. This allows you to enter the industry earlier gaining a potential 1-2 year advantage in earning potential and experience than your peers undertaking a traditional 3-4 year program. Additionally, we offer the flexibility of part-time study options for domestic students. International students can choose a 2-year track instead of the 2-year accelerated course, providing greater flexibility.

The Dutch Exchange

Take your passion for Design (Visual Communication) to Europe and spend an entire trimester at Fontys Academy for Creative Industries in the Netherlands. Collaborate with creative students from all over the world and build your international contacts along the way.

Japan Study Tour

Spend 12 days immersed in anime and manga creation classes at the Tokyo Design Technology Center and Osaka Animation College, and explore the pop culture of Japan. This selective unit includes visits to the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum and the Kyoto International Manga Museum.

Connect with us

CURRICULUM

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 1

Students will have the opportunity to investigate widely used design processes, including the UK Design Council’s “Double Diamond”and human-centred design practices. This unit explores foundational theory related to universal design (‘design for all’) and assistive technology (‘design for need’) principles. The unit investigates the relational aspects of inclusive design with a view to addressing human needs and desires, including culturally and linguistically diverse communities, the aged, children/youth, and people with disability sectors. This is the first of two units that take students through the full life span of a creative project, from brief to implementation. This unit addresses the principles and practices of the ‘first diamond’, from challenging the brief and discovery, to conducting research, and developing insights – right through to identifying opportunity areas. Students will be required to apply the methodology learned to a design project, focussing on challenging their position (beliefs, values) in relation to the process and the brief.

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 2

Design Process 2 provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the design process. Building upon the knowledge acquired in Design Process 1, this unit focuses on introducing students to various design processes, including Design Thinking, to supplement their understanding of the double diamond model. Students will explore theories, concepts and principles that deepen their understanding of the design process and enhance their ability to apply iterative design methods effectively. Through engaging in user research, usability testing, ideation, and concept development, students will refine their design skills, equipping them with the necessary tools to develop robust hypotheses and test their assumptions. This unit aims to prepare students for practical applications of design, providing them with a solid foundation for future design endeavours.

Prerequisite: DVC200 (Design Processes 1)

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 1

This unit explores the foundations of good visual design. Students will learn the different elements and principles of visual communication including Gestalt, colour theory, layout and typography. They will explore how to bring these components together to create strong visual messages.

Prerequisite: DVC203 (Storytelling Fundamentals)

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 2

Creative industry sub-sectors like design, UX, experience design, games, film, animation, sequential arts, illustration, use storytelling frameworks and methods to create collaborative, emotionally resonant visual communication outputs and interactive media. This storytelling unit aims to introduce students to narrative art to ignite imagination and explore universal cultural truths and aspirations. Students will employ collaborative methods and techniques for authorship that builds familiarity and trust, encourages storytelling of our own experiences, and affirms teamwork.

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 1

In this unit, students will be required to reflect upon the fundamental rules of typographic design so they can meaningfully experiment with making and breaking the grid. They will be given the opportunity to develop their understanding of the role of text in visual communication and critically analyse its use in design. They will investigate layout and composition and will explore how to arrange design elements across different media, both digital and print, while acquiring the skills to use the appropriate software to help them bring their designs to life.

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 2

This unit allows students to understand the design process in context with Branding and identity. They will study the reasons behind certain brands' success in comparison to others that struggle. Students will explore how to bring together visual communication principles and the design process – skills learned in corresponding units – to create strong brand strategies and messaging.

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 1

This unit explores the theoretical and practical foundations of visual thinking, building on and enhancing the ability to observe and interpret ideas using effective visualisation techniques. Students will use visual journaling (sketch-noting) to collect and record from direct observation. The unit involves excursions to various locations to support the learning. Students explore a range of media drawn from analogue and digital environments, working in a design studio situation. This is a process focussed unit. This means that the emphasis is on the generation of multiple ideas through iteration based on feedback from testing. Students will learn to embed the habits of recording, interpretation, and ideation, which are key tools for all visual communicators.

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 2

Interface design facilitates the interaction between people and software or machines, by focusing on the look and style of interfaces. In this unit, students will learn the concepts and processes behind creating intuitive and friendly user interfaces (UI). They will also learn the tools they need for wireframing and prototyping these interfaces.

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 3

Using design principles and visual hierarchy, students will engage in the creation of compelling stories that use the visual medium to convey effective messages and build emotional connection. This unit combines and builds on knowledge acquired in previous trimesters, specifically from Design Fundamentals and Storytelling Fundamentals. Students will explore the role of visual storytelling at different stages of the design process and its application in current fields like data visualisation, experience mapping and interactive media, as well as in classic mediums like video stories and posters.

Prerequisite: DVC203 (Storytelling Fundamentals)

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 4

This unit takes on a real-world approach to design projects, using relevant project management tools and the design process to answer an industry-standard brief. Students will have the chance to apply the skills and tools they have learned to define, develop and resolve a design problem as they would in a professional studio setting and when available, responding to a real client. Students will be required to collaborate in the application of relevant design methodologies to develop and produce strong and meaningful visual outcomes in response to the brief. At the conclusion of the unit, students will be expected to deliver an MVP that addresses the brief, incorporating feedback received during the design and development phases.

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 3

This unit introduces students to the creative processes, technical tools, animation principles and visual storytelling techniques used by designers working in the motion graphics domain. They will learn how to translate their existing visual design skills to include the 4th dimension – motion over time. The applications of these techniques include work such as title design, infographic animations, explainer videos, motion posters, and motion graphic visual effects elements for interactive media. This unit will give students practical experience in the standard creative development processes unique to creating moving image work, and a literacy in current real-world practices that is directly applicable to the creative marketplace. In addition to this, it will give students the opportunity to develop a final motion graphics work using industry standard digital tools.

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 4

This unit gives students the opportunity to learn about multidisciplinary design practices by exploring design for interactive experiences including exhibitions, pop-up spaces, and awareness campaigns. It involves research and communication of information with a view to providing an ‘experience’ for the participant, audience member(s) or users. Experiential design offers an integrated way of communicating narratives that have an emotional and educative impact on the viewer. It may involve multidisciplinary collaboration. Special focus is placed on experience design that provides new ways for audiences to interact with content formed from convergent design and technology skills.

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 3

This unit explores the foundations of human centred interaction design. Students will learn the different elements and principles of interaction design, including user centred design, usability heuristics, concept development, information architecture, usability testing, designing for accessibility, and dark patterns. Students will explore and uncover the dialogue between a person and the products they use, whether they be digital or non-digital forms. Students will have the opportunity to understand user needs, the context, and the limitations between humans and products. Students will explore how to bring these components together to create usable and useful interactions in a practical project.

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 5

Tech Lab is a space for students to push the limits of experience design through virtual storytelling, and experiment with emerging tech and innovation. Extended Reality (XR) represents a new frontier in the relationship between UX design and immersive technologies. The unit aims to define, identify and implement tools for prototyping and designing XR user interactions. Students will learn methods of designing for experiential states and spatial cognition, using established VR creation frameworks. The unit also provides opportunity to collaborate with students from other disciplines like Animation, Games and Film, on a creative project.

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 3

At this point in their study, students will have developed an iterative design approach to problem solving and product/service/experience development. In a co-design environment that simulates real-world studio practice, students will be required to work individually or in teams to produce a range of different low and high-fidelity prototypes depending on the design context set by the lecturer. A prototype is a product or process that demonstrates its fundamental function to address an idea, plan, assumption or problem. Often, a prototype will be referred to as the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) – the minimum functioning version of a product that a user could interact with. Prototypes typically explore the tangible qualities of a design solution. However, they can also be used to test and explore the intangible qualities of a design, such as experience prototyping. Exploring a range of prototyping processes will provide students with the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills of design and testing methodologies.

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 3

This unit is delivered as a series of lectures and workshops that cover a range of topics that are essential to shaping a designer's mindset and approach and informing their work. It includes topic areas covering ethics, wicked problems, philosophy, behavioural psychology, histories, emerging technologies and futurology. This unit aims to foster curiosity & lifelong learning by expanding students' knowledge about history, local and global design culture & society and environment issues in contexts aligned with visual communication models and strategy. The purpose of this unit is to engage students in a critical review, discussion and analysis of a range of topics especially in relation to their practice and to visual communication practices and principles more generally.

Credit Points: 6
Trimester 5

This unit is designed to help students prepare for a career in design and visual communication. Students have opportunities to develop their knowledge of key business skills, compile and organise their portfolios, develop their visual identity, understand industry standards and expectations, and identify and respond to employment opportunities. Key to this unit is working with students to develop their identity as professional visual communicators and maintaining their creative practice over the longer term as well as providing an opportunity to develop a method of showcasing their work to an external audience. 

Trimester 5

  • Coding for Creatives - DVC406
  • User Research and Experience - DVC407
  • Production Design - DVC409
  • Design X - DVC415
  • Lab II - AGA304 
  • International Study Tour
  • Internship

Credit Points: 12
Trimester 5

This unit represents the first stage of students' major work. In effect it is a capstone unit that provides students with the opportunity to focus their attention on a design project that reflects their career aspirations, reflects their beliefs, and speaks to their strengths as problem solvers and visual communicators. It is an open, self-initiated brief, with team or individual options. It gives students the opportunity to delve deeper into a specific area of design that they want to learn more about, and to work on a project that aligns with their own interests and vision.

Supported by their lecturer as mentor, students will develop and refine a brief for their project. They will be required to follow a recognised design methodology in a process that encompasses research, ideation, and concept definition. It is expected that the project will address a contemporary issue where the student—as designer—can make a significant contribution to the discussion. Importantly, students will be expected to set and meet deadlines, and work autonomously to lead their project to a state of readiness for realisation in DES413 Major Project 2.

Specialist design facilities are provided to students to enable their completion of this unit. These include a physical collaboration and ideation space with an ideation wall, markers, post-it notes, butcher’s paper and printing facilities, as well as access to computers and digital software (for example: Adobe Creative Cloud). To encourage innovation and creative experimentation in their unit of study, students also have access to 3D printing facilities as well as virtual and augmented reality technology.

Credit Points: 12
Trimester 6

This unit is the second part of the students' major work. Building on the concept they pitched in the first part, they will design, prototype, test and deliver a fully completed project or a working minimum viable product (MVP.) Through this process, students will combine their learnings from their whole course of study and demonstrate their ability to develop and deliver a design project from idea to implementation according to industry standards. This project aims to become their main portfolio piece that they can use as evidence to their capabilities as designers and to facilitate their entry into employment in the industry upon graduation.

Prerequisite: DVC412 (Major Project 1)

Trimester 6

  • Coding for Creatives - DVC406
  • User Research and Experience - DVC407
  • Production Design - DVC409
  • Design X - DVC415
  • Production Studio II - AGA304 
  • International Study Tour - COL400
  • Internship - COL401
  • E-Portfolio - COL402

Creative coding is increasingly more common in advertising, marketing and the wiCreative coding is increasingly more common in advertising, marketing and the wider design industry. This unit provides an opportunity for students to use software, code and computational processes to be expressive in the creation of generative design and art experiences. The aim of the unit is to understand how programmed algorithms can be used as a creative tool. Simple programming language will be used in conjunction with GAI inputs to make interactive digital experiments that explore the possibilities of design elements such as colour, form, typography, and images. The outcome may include scalability in terms of commercial aspects, projection opportunities, print or digital asset production, murals, time-based storytelling and more. The experimental approach is directed towards the creation of experiences that delight and excite audiences as well as the makers.

In the context of Human Centred Design, User Research is a methodical study of the impact design can have on the target user, in terms of human behaviour and quality of life. Experience designers work across products, journeys, services, events, and environments to deliver seamless user experiences. In this unit, students will deploy various methods and principles to expose problems and find design opportunities that can be used as crucial information and insights in their design process. Students are required to develop a research plan to converge their scope, and apply their understanding of different data collection strategies and methodologies.

Correspondingly, students will review and analyse concepts related to user experience, including time, context, triggers, and touch points. Students will explore user experiences from a visual communication perspective; employing data collection methods to create visual artefacts such as empathy maps, user stories and journey maps.

Designing for the third dimension offers greater opportunities to build on knowledge and skill constructed through a classic two-dimensional design practice. Creating for the third dimension augments the designer’s toolkit allowing for entry into creative industries such as object or product design, special effects, information and data visualisation, game design and 3D printing.

3D Design is a subject that focuses on the creative potential of the third dimension for design students that are used to working in classic 2D design areas. The 3D space in this subject is utilised to create and visualise ideas and concepts and produce a series of 3-dimensional assets and a final, more extensive project that will use 3D space to communicate the objectives of the current working brief. The addition of time and motion adds an additional dimension allowing graphics to become 4D.

3D Design provides students with practical experience in the standard creative development processes unique to creating work in 3D spaces. The unit expands design literacy in current real-world practices that is directly applicable to the creative marketplace

In Production Studio II students develop and execute a small group project utilizing the key skills they are focusing on in their streams, or alternatively, act as a crew-member on a project being undertaken by more senior students in Production Studio III and IV. Individuals and teams are required to log required hours in the lab environment, and to meet weekly with an assigned project supervisor who will act as a mentor and support person. A range of creative briefs will be provided for those originating their own project, covering potential projects in areas such as art and design, modelling, animation, game development, or hybrids of these. In addition to the creative work, students will be guided through planning, documenting, reporting, and reflecting on their work. Additional workshops may be provided where required to extend technical knowledge. Finished projects will form the basis of a portfolio to be built upon in successive trimesters. 

Prerequisite: DVC315 (Experiential Design)

Credit Points: 6

This is a work-integrated learning subject where students participate in a work placement relevant to their design field for a specified amount of time. Within the experience, students work on industry projects from brief to implementation and get the chance to interact with clients and develop interpersonal and communication skills needed in this industry. The internship relies on the application of knowledge and skills you have gained throughout your Bachelor Course in a ‘real-world’ situation. When you are enrolled in the subject, you will meet with your project supervisor regularly while working in industry. Upon completion of the subject, it is expected that you will have enhanced your skills in pitching, project management and dealing with clients, as part of your individual professional development.

Credit Points 6

*by application only

This subject is a special project based on research, experiences and learning undertaken in conjunction with the overseas academic partners and JMC Academy.  Students will be immersed in two weeks of educational experiences prior to JMC Academy trimester start, hosted by the overseas academic partners. They will cover a range of topics, skills and knowledge taught by industry experts and educators in the students’ area of study (Entertainment Business Management, Music, Design, Film and Television, Audio Engineering, Animation and Game Design). 

On completion of the two weeks of study, students will continue with a 12 week special project on campus at JMC Academy in Australia. 

Individual projects are based on a specific project topic of the student’s choice made in consultation with their term supervisor. That is then developed over the length of the subject. Students will be supervised and will work in conjunction with their supervisor to complete their project (Academic or Practical).

Context

At JMC Academy, students undertake a rigorous academic program of practice-based learning, into which is embedded a range of work-integrated learning activities. To complement their on-campus learning, students are also encouraged to generate their own creative work. This unit of study has been designed to formally recognise that work. Students will have access to an e-portfolio as a presentation mode for the assessable items. The unit is placed during the final study periods of the bachelor’s degree, enabling students to collect and display their best and most recent examples of their engagement with their discipline outside of their formal study.

 

How it works 

Students are introduced to this unit during Trimester 1 and then again in successive study periods. Students must be invited by their Head of Department to enrol in this unit; a student will only be enrolled in this unit if the Head of Department is confident that the student can meet all learning outcomes. The e-portfolio JMC students will be given access to an e-portfolio platform at no cost as part of the Microsoft365 subscription. The platform provides students with a place to curate and display their extra-curricular activities for assessment in this unit. It is not the professional portfolio students could use COL401 Internship aims to provide students with an internship opportunity that has sound educational value and provides students the chance to initiate and/or develop relationships with professionals in their discipline. COL401 allows students to prepare or consolidate their know-how to work as a professional and increase their technical and creative skills base. It also allows students to explore potential areas of employment.



Our Lecturers

Dr Melissa Silk

National Head of Design (Visual Communication)

With over thirty years of creative practice, Melissa collaborates with many thinkers and makers to design experiences that embed the Arts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEAM). Melissa is co-director of STEAMpop.zone while also engaged in research contributing to learning ecologies spanning creative intelligence and innovation, transdisciplinary education, and designing for preferred futures. Melissa enjoys being part of a bold community of multipotentialities intent on developing and sharing unique learning experiences for everybody.

Awards: Beth Southwell Award for Education Research 

Dr Melissa Silk

National Head of Design (Visual Communication)

With over thirty years of creative practice, Melissa collaborates with many thinkers and makers to design experiences that embed the Arts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEAM). Melissa is co-director of STEAMpop.zone while also engaged in research contributing to learning ecologies spanning creative intelligence and innovation, transdisciplinary education, and designing for preferred futures. Melissa enjoys being part of a bold community of multipotentialities intent on developing and sharing unique learning experiences for everybody.

Awards: Beth Southwell Award for Education Research 

Arielle Nguyen

Senior Design Lecturer (Melbourne)

Arielle is the senior lecturer for Design in Melbourne, who specialises in Branding, Typography, and Illustration.

Arielle Nguyen

Senior Design Lecturer (Melbourne)

Arielle is the senior lecturer for Design in Melbourne, who specialises in Branding, Typography, and Illustration.

Andrew Barnum

Design Lecturer

Andrew Barnum is a Designer, Educator and Artist and continues to work on projects and in contexts that synthesise his experience and inspiration as a creative practitioner. In Design he is the chief creative officer of Social Design Action consultancy Peopleness, which is human-centered design focused. In education he is a PhD candidate at UTS researching the potential dislocation between Australian song, cultural identity and place in the digital age, and is course author and lecturer in the Bachelor of Design (Digital Design) at JMC Academy in Sydney.

As an artist his passion is songwriting and painting with independent releases on iTunes and Spotify as Andrew Barnum and Vitabeats, with a new project under the moniker of Memory Collective. His most recent paintings are a series of colour field investigations in Australian ‘colours in common.’

Andrew Barnum

Design Lecturer

Andrew Barnum is a Designer, Educator and Artist and continues to work on projects and in contexts that synthesise his experience and inspiration as a creative practitioner. In Design he is the chief creative officer of Social Design Action consultancy Peopleness, which is human-centered design focused. In education he is a PhD candidate at UTS researching the potential dislocation between Australian song, cultural identity and place in the digital age, and is course author and lecturer in the Bachelor of Design (Digital Design) at JMC Academy in Sydney.

As an artist his passion is songwriting and painting with independent releases on iTunes and Spotify as Andrew Barnum and Vitabeats, with a new project under the moniker of Memory Collective. His most recent paintings are a series of colour field investigations in Australian ‘colours in common.’

Clint Harvey

Senior Design Lecturer

Clint is a design addict, a compulsive gatherer and a very curious, creative, sharing 20+ years of design education, collecting letterpress artefacts, importing classic cars, and creating visual communication solutions are his primary passions.

His creations are based on core design principles and 30 plus years of design  experience, supported by a collaborative team of colleagues. Clint explores, learns, and preserve traditional crafts and is a passionate advocate for integrated art and design approaches. Clint seeks old craftspeople to collaborate with, combine their skills and learn from them, for him its all about sharing the knowledge with the next generation of creatives in an attempt to produce effective and creative human interactions.

Clint Harvey

Senior Design Lecturer

Clint is a design addict, a compulsive gatherer and a very curious, creative, sharing 20+ years of design education, collecting letterpress artefacts, importing classic cars, and creating visual communication solutions are his primary passions.

His creations are based on core design principles and 30 plus years of design  experience, supported by a collaborative team of colleagues. Clint explores, learns, and preserve traditional crafts and is a passionate advocate for integrated art and design approaches. Clint seeks old craftspeople to collaborate with, combine their skills and learn from them, for him its all about sharing the knowledge with the next generation of creatives in an attempt to produce effective and creative human interactions.

Jane Cameron

Design Lecturer

Jane is currently undertaking a creative practice PhD, researching ‘life-centred design’ through the study of insects. Jane's work has garnered recognition, notably winning a design competition hosted by TEDI, The Engineering and Design Institute in London.

In their artistic and research endeavours, Jane delve into the significance of storytelling within interactive art, with a particular emphasis on conveying challenging themes like anthropogenic climate change. This focus is notably inspired by events such as Australia's Black Summer fires. The primary aim of their research is to identify the most impactful artistic strategies for fostering empathy and a sense of action in audiences through interactive narratives. This exploration is further enriched through a collaborative venture with the faculty at UNSW BEES (Faculty of Biological Environmental and Earth Sciences).

Before embarking on her current academic journey, Jane spent eight years in the higher education realm, contributing as a course coordinator and lecturer. Their areas of expertise span Digital Design, Traditional Animation, Visual Storytelling, Data Visualization, and Film and Design theory.

Jane continues to engage in their design practice through Fisheye Design. Jane's portfolio includes collaborations with esteemed entities like ABC Books, Allen & Unwin, The Really Useful Company, Pan Macmillan, The Federation Press, Writers UK, Pearsons Australia and New Zealand, and The Australian Museum.

Jane Cameron

Design Lecturer

Jane is currently undertaking a creative practice PhD, researching ‘life-centred design’ through the study of insects. Jane's work has garnered recognition, notably winning a design competition hosted by TEDI, The Engineering and Design Institute in London.

In their artistic and research endeavours, Jane delve into the significance of storytelling within interactive art, with a particular emphasis on conveying challenging themes like anthropogenic climate change. This focus is notably inspired by events such as Australia's Black Summer fires. The primary aim of their research is to identify the most impactful artistic strategies for fostering empathy and a sense of action in audiences through interactive narratives. This exploration is further enriched through a collaborative venture with the faculty at UNSW BEES (Faculty of Biological Environmental and Earth Sciences).

Before embarking on her current academic journey, Jane spent eight years in the higher education realm, contributing as a course coordinator and lecturer. Their areas of expertise span Digital Design, Traditional Animation, Visual Storytelling, Data Visualization, and Film and Design theory.

Jane continues to engage in their design practice through Fisheye Design. Jane's portfolio includes collaborations with esteemed entities like ABC Books, Allen & Unwin, The Really Useful Company, Pan Macmillan, The Federation Press, Writers UK, Pearsons Australia and New Zealand, and The Australian Museum.

Rizwan Nawaz

Design & Entertainment Business Lecturer

Growing up in Hong Kong and Australia, Rizwan Nawaz was always an avid learner and creative thinker. In high school he was Dux for 4 years and could have become anything he wanted to be; a finance professional, a doctor, a scientist or even a literary professional. However, his imagination and love for design would take him down a different path. Instead, he completed a Certificate II in Multimedia at TAFE plus a Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design at university.

He then began his career in uniforms and signage learning how to practically apply his designs. Soon he opened his own clothing store in a Sydney factory outlet, garnering that entrepreneurial spirit. All this by the age of 20. Soon after a university internship turned into a job at a B2B Publication house, where he worked on various industry magazines; including the finance, franchising, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing and media sectors. Rizwan then made his way up into a Creative Director role for a merchandising group. A few years later, he was poached to work as a Lead Pitch Designer in the commercial real estate sector.

All the while Rizwan dabbled in freelancing during this journey. He finally quit the corporate world to focus full-time on his creative agency, where he built a team of experts and followed a deep passion for learning, innovation and sharing his knowledge through teaching and lecturing. He is fascinated by history, mythology and philosophy; and how they can tie together a brand’s story, values and narrative. Championing diversity, equity and inclusion are also some of his life missions.

In his spare time, he loves photographing cityscapes and landscapes and is an accredited Master Photographer on Google Maps. He spends some of his year lecturing Design and Entertainment Business Management at JMC Academy.

Rizwan Nawaz

Design & Entertainment Business Lecturer

Growing up in Hong Kong and Australia, Rizwan Nawaz was always an avid learner and creative thinker. In high school he was Dux for 4 years and could have become anything he wanted to be; a finance professional, a doctor, a scientist or even a literary professional. However, his imagination and love for design would take him down a different path. Instead, he completed a Certificate II in Multimedia at TAFE plus a Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design at university.

He then began his career in uniforms and signage learning how to practically apply his designs. Soon he opened his own clothing store in a Sydney factory outlet, garnering that entrepreneurial spirit. All this by the age of 20. Soon after a university internship turned into a job at a B2B Publication house, where he worked on various industry magazines; including the finance, franchising, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing and media sectors. Rizwan then made his way up into a Creative Director role for a merchandising group. A few years later, he was poached to work as a Lead Pitch Designer in the commercial real estate sector.

All the while Rizwan dabbled in freelancing during this journey. He finally quit the corporate world to focus full-time on his creative agency, where he built a team of experts and followed a deep passion for learning, innovation and sharing his knowledge through teaching and lecturing. He is fascinated by history, mythology and philosophy; and how they can tie together a brand’s story, values and narrative. Championing diversity, equity and inclusion are also some of his life missions.

In his spare time, he loves photographing cityscapes and landscapes and is an accredited Master Photographer on Google Maps. He spends some of his year lecturing Design and Entertainment Business Management at JMC Academy.

I love the fact that we were not constrained and can show what we are really capable of. It made me want to push my own boundaries to learn new styles and techniques to incorporate into my work.
Anthony Abade - Founder & Creative Director at Get Noticed Media
Design Alumni
You end up becoming quite close with your lecturer because you work with them all the time as opposed to a distant authoritative figure. There’s still authority, but they are like your friend as well.
Darren Ho - Senior UI & UX Designer at Yoghurt Digital
Design Alumni
JMC provided me the chance to explore my inner creativity and develop problem-solving skills through ‘real world’ situations, leaving me well prepared to enter the industry.
Cody Waters - Senior Designer at Hello Social
Design Alumni

Are you ready to take the next step toward your career in Design?

FAQs

You will need to bring the following to your course:

  • Laptop: Macbook Pro or similarly powered or Windows laptop, running latest OS
  • Device: Smartphone or Tablet
  • Journal: A5 size Blank pages
  • Pen: Felt-tip 0.3-0.5
  • Pencils: HB-2B, rulers and eraser

JMC will supply you with your Adobe Creative Cloud subscription.

At application, we are most keen to learn about your passion and reasons for wanting to study design. In addition to that, we ask that you answer the following two questions prior to coming in for the interview:

1. Show us your best piece of work

What’s something you’ve created that you’re really proud of? It can be any of the following:

  • An image (a photography piece, an illustration or a painting)
  • A project (an idea, a story, a film critique, a blog, etc…)
  • A product (a website, an animation, a poster, presentation, etc…)

Write a small paragraph explaining your choices and rationale behind it. Show us your rigor and initiative. Give us an insight into your creative approach, your creativity and the resulting output.

2. Tell us your thoughts

  • Choose a brand that you like and think is successful; write a short paragraph reflecting on why you like it and the reasons behind its success.
  • Choose a brand that you dislike or has not been doing well; write a short paragraph reflecting on what the issues are and how they might improve.

Show us the way you see the world around you, your standard of what makes a design good or bad and insight into your thought process.

No. We equip you with digital tools that allow you to create high-functioning prototypes without coding. 

This course is very hands on and you will tackle real world creative projects. However, having a foundational understanding of design theory is still vitally important. There is approximately a 25% (theory) to 75% (practice) balance.

No. We assess your work as would happen in the workplace via proposal documents and reports, presentations and demonstrations.

As with any design you will need to communicate ideas via drawing and sketching. We believe anyone can learn how to think visually, and we teach sketching techniques right from the beginning. So, if you are open to making marks and learning how to do it well, that’s all you need to start! Learn more about what design means from alumni Serena Kassam

We are committed to strengthening our Design Industry connections by fostering both internships and industry based projects. You will also be mentored by industry practitioners on some of the projects throughout your course of study. In addition, we have industry guests come and talk on a range of topics in each trimester, so you get to build your network even before you graduate.

Yes. The JMC Academy is registered and regulated by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) which is Australia’s independent national regulator of the higher education sector, both public and private.

No, our courses are hands on and practical. Students are required to attend classes to receive ongoing mentorship, learn new skills and work with the equipment provided. We do encourage our students to use online study resources, however our courses would not be as immersive as they are without the practical component.

JMC Academy is broadly recognised and accredited:

  • Registered Higher Education Provider.
  • Accredited by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA)
  • Registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS).
  • Regulated by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).
  • Member of the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA).
  • Nationally recognised within the Australian Qualifications Framework.

Our strong industry links also ensure that JMC Academy qualifications are recognised within the creative industries.