CDS2512 is not in the 2027 Handbook - Monash may have renumbered or withdrawn it. This is what the 2025 Handbook published; check the 2027 Handbook or your faculty before planning next year.
Units / CDS2512
CDS2512 · Packaging design
2025 Handbook6 credit pointsLevel 2Department of Design
Overview
Packaging design is a unit specifically for those who wish to explore the application of communication design processes within the realm of 3-dimensional packaging design. Packaging continues to be a prominent component of our visual landscape and this unit will require you to critically assess its environmental impact, materiality and purpose through well-considered and appropriate design solutions. Different sector needs will be explored. For example, the specific and heavily legislated needs for medication packaging may be analysed alongside the needs of a simple grocery item. You will be required to rationalise the environmental impact of each of their project solutions, in terms of materiality, reusability and recyclability. You will also comprehend the value of packaging as both a necessity for some items (sterile medical products, for example), and a persuasive and portable brand vehicle for others (foodstuffs like tea and coffee, for example). Consumer needs including usability and ergonomics will also be an important consideration in this unit. Both form and surface graphics will be explored in detail. In addition you will be required to comprehend and apply the legal and production requirements of their packaging design outcomes.
Offerings
| Campus | Teaching period | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Caulfield | Second semester | Teaching activities are on-campus (ON-CAMPUS) |
| Caulfield | First semester | Teaching activities are on-campus (ON-CAMPUS) |
Assessment
The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.
| # | Assessment | Type | Weight | Hurdle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 - Project 1 | Project | 30% | — |
| 2 | 2 - Project 2 | Project | 30% | — |
| 3 | 3 - Project 3 | Project | 40% | — |
| 4 | 4 - Project 1 | Project | 25% | — |
| 5 | 5 - Project 2 | Project | 25% | — |
| 6 | 6 - Project 3 | Project | 50% | — |
100% in-semester assessment
Requisites
prerequisite
Learning outcomes
- Understand the place of packaging in a contemporary consumer culture;
- Create packaging solutions for products that are responsive to environmental issues and consumer needs;
- Create designs that reflect your understanding of packaging as a brand vehicle;
- Create designs that merge both form and surface graphics in one successful design outcome;
- Comprehend and apply the legal and production requirements of your packaging design solution(s);
- Critically assess the resolution of your packaging solutions, rationalising its environmental impact, materiality and purpose.
Workload
12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.
| Activity | Duration |
|---|---|
| Studio activities | 36 hours |
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