VCE Visual communication is a subject that will take up a lot of time and effort, resulting in late countless late nights and endless hours putting the finishing touches in place. Your teacher will provide you with all the key criteria required to fulfill the requirements of the course and I know from experience that the moment you start doing extra, time is against you.

My advice is that you gain a clear understanding of what the vcaa requires and that you do not waste precious time doing irrelevant extra stuff (eg. excess pretty borders or environmental weather pattern charts etc.) as this will eat away into the time available for other subjects and you will not achieve your best.

As much as a practical course it is, there are the theoretical components that can mean the difference between you getting in the 30′s or achieving a score well into the 40′s. Before the exam and/or any written Sac’s, it is strongly advised that you KNOW THE CONTENT and how to answer the questions in precise detail using key terms and correct definitions.

There is no point writing a page of drib drab when you are only required to write 4 or 5 lines (at most!). Look at how much each question is worth and adjust the time you spend on it accordingly. Remember, being able to draw is only half of the course, you must also know how to express your own designs and interpret various designs and communications.

Your folio will become your pride and joy. Take care of your work and please keep it ordered so that it follows a logical pattern of progression, such as following the “design process” so that it is easy for the assessors to give you a good mark because they can see at a glance that all the necessary work has been done and is there in your folio.

Take pride of your work and keep your folio in a safe place because the vcaa will not care if it has been misplaced or lost, you will need to start over. Include any work in your folio that you have done relating to your design no matter how irrelevant it may seem because the more of the thought process the assessors witness, the more likely it will be for then to understand your ideas/concepts.

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Naish Chapman completed his VCE in 2006. He is now studying industrial design at Swinburne University, Prahran and is also working as a qualified swim instructor.