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ABP Study and Research Guide

This guide will help you with your studies in the Bachelor of Design, MSD and beyond.

Presentations

A confident presentation relies on your preparation, both in terms of producing the visual elements of your work and practicing the delivery. 

 

Visual elements

If your presentation is paired with a poster or panels, give yourself time to plan the production ahead and test print your work.

Being able to put your poster or panel on the wall and stand back and look at it will give you a better understanding of what needs improvement. 

In the design of your poster or panels, some common tips include:

  • Ensure that the layout makes it clear where viewers should look first. 
  • Use images and text in a hierarchy. 
  • Choose two or three complementing fonts, and use each of them for a specific purpose (e.g. headings, body text). 
  • Choose up to three key colours that complement each other in a colour palette. 

 

For fonts, try Google Fonts or Design Modo's best free fonts of 2018. 
For colour palettes, use Coolors, Adobe Color CC, Color Scheme Designer or Design Seeds. 
For visually appealing slide templates, try Canva or Piktochart. 

 

 

Speaking in public

When you are preparing what you will say, look for opportunities to link spoken and visual elements of your presentation and build your story and argument. 

Then, practice purposefully with a friend. You might also want to film yourself, to see how your body language could be used to enhance your presentation. 

Prepare prompts for yourself on small cue cards, rather than reading aloud directly from notes or keeping notes on your phone. 

When you need to deal with questions and feedback:

  • You may find it easier to receive feedback if you think of it as being about 'the work' rather than 'you'. Listen to the feedback with this in mind. 
  • It's ok to take a pause to regather yourself, or say you aren't sure about answering a question. 
 

Group work

The benefits of group work include being able to discuss ideas with others, sharing the workload across group members, and group members having different skills which complement each other.

To get the most out of working in groups:

  • take the time to get to know each other, to help you work cohesively
  • exchange contact details and determine a schedule for regular meetings
  • agree on expectations for behaviour, such as what to do if you can't attend a meeting or meet a group deadline
  • make sure that you all understand the task and what you will be assessed on
  • break down the task, allocate roles within the group and agree on deadlines
  • measure and share progress as your work takes shape

 

For more guidance about working in groups, including problem-solving strategies, refer to Working in groups.