AY24/25 CNM Courses Review - Skillsets Cluster (Part 2)

Disclaimer: The following reviews are submitted by CNM students who have taken the courses in the specified semesters of AY23/24. Please use this information at your own discretion, as course syllabus may have changed over time.

Aside from cosmetic changes, CNM Society has not made any alterations to the content of these reviews.

Also, do note that this list is not exhaustive. For a complete list of CNM courses, please visit NUSMods. These are the courses and the corresponding number of reviews that this post contains:

Interactive Media Design Cluster:

• NM3243 (8 reviews)

• NM4259 (2 reviews)

• NM4260 (1 review)

Policy and Governance:

• NM2223 (1 review)

  
  

Creative Industries:

• NM3205 (1 review)

• NM3245 (1 review)

  
  

PR and Organisations:

• NM4257 (1 review)

  
  

NM3243 - User Experience Design

Workload Rating: 4.5/5

Difficulty Rating: 3.75/5

Review: Very challenging course, but very fulfilling as well. The course is well-structured and Dennis' lectures were well-conducted though they were sometimes quite content heavy. Assessment breakdown: participation (10%), 2 individual papers (10% each), midterm quiz (20%), group project (30%) and final quiz (20%). The quizzes include both MCQs and short-answer questions, and were honestly quite tough to complete well in-time. Even though it's open-book, you probably don't have time to refer to it and thus have to know your design concepts very well. The group project was the toughest part of all, despite it being worth only 30%. Pray that you get a really really good, committed group so that you can make the weekly milestone submissions. A tip for future students is to not fall behind in lectures! It is really difficult to catch up. Also, always refer back to the concepts and have strong, iron-clad rationales to defend your design choices. (Taken in AY23/24 Semester 2)

Review: NM3243 is an integral course to understanding the fundamentals of UIUX. While I had little to no challenge on the subject matter, this course shifted my perspectives on the importance of designing interfaces to best cater to the needs of your target audience profile. I am very glad to have taken this course as it has since strengthened my interest in UIUX. As this course serves as an introduction to UIUX, I do encourage those who have since gained expertise in this area to explore other courses, particularly those that focus on designing of interfaces as we mainly used Miro to design lo-fi prototypes. While I thoroughly enjoyed this course, I do believe that the workload of it is something to be wary of. As I did not overload in the semester that I read this course, I was able to better manage my time and pace myself in completing the deliverables, particularly the weekly group presentations. One tip would be to read the textbook as the mid and final tests, while open book, are heavy on application questions. Thus, being well-versed in the theories and concepts discussed in the textbook is important. I got an A- for the course. (Taken in AY23/24 Semester 2)

Review: you learn a lot but the assessments are super back to back and require way more effort and time than they are worth (4-6hrs or more for a weekly 2.5% presentation) (Taken in AY23/24 Semester 2)

Review: Workload although can build up in terms of improvements needed to be made from one iteration to another, it is manageable and towards the end of the course there's an appreciation for having been put through the process of designing although only for a short duration of the course. (Taken in AY23/24 Semester 2)

Review: Challenging course. Very high workload, with weekly group projs and presentations. Tests/quizzes were also difficult and the grading was very strict. Learning-wise, I felt like I did learn from it, but the workload was simply too heavy. (Taken in AY23/24 Semester 2)

Review: This was definitely a workload heavy module with weekly presentations on top of other assignments. Majority of the work is done in a group so if you get a good group it is definitely a lot more manageable. You learn useful concepts but with the heavy workload the module gets draining to get through at times. I'd recommend taking it if you aren't taking other workload heavy courses in the same semester. (Taken in AY23/24 Semester 2)

Review: One of the most interesting modules I have taken in CNM so far and highly recommended for anyone, even if you are not planning to go into UX industry. The course teaches the fundamental theories of UX design process and Human Computer Interaction with highlights (for me) including Emotional Interaction, Cognitive Frameworks and the entire cycle of UX Design Process. While I find the theories covered to be extremely interesting, this heavy coverage of theories might also be of hindrance to some who want a more hands-on, technical skill module with tools such as Figma. This is because the module's project only covers till the lofi-design stage of UX design, which is done on Miro. If you are looking to use the project from this module for your UX internship, the lofi designs created in this module might not be sufficient to land you the internship so I would say that to me might be the con of this mod. However, that being said, if you are taking IMD minor, this course is extremely important and highly recommended to take before CS3240 where it is more work heavy and less theoretical. In terms of workload, it is quite ok since the Profs eased us into a gradual process with weekly presentations during tutorial, but this also means that you have to be consistent throughout the semester and my group pretty much had weekly meetings before the tutorial to prepare the slides with finding together. In terms of the teaching support of the module, Prof Dennis is very helpful throughout the entire module and he gave very critical questions and feedbacks for weekly improvement, which I really appreciated. Overall, I highly recommend this module (or course now oops) for anyone looking to go into UX / Product design field and I would even recommend it to anyone who is just looking for a 3K CNM mod, because the theories covered are very much relevant to other fields of communications too. (Taken in AY23/24 Semester 1)

Review: Some benefits of taking the course is that it allows you to have some basic knowledge in user experience (UX) design, which might be useful in the future. You also get to work with an assigned group. It has no final exam, but is has 2 open-book online tests and 2 essay assignments throughout the semester, alongside the group project. One such reading is the Interaction Design textbook given a the beginning of the semester. However, some of the material needed for the project and essays may be hard to obtain, and the tests can be rather challenging. Some tips for future students include to prepare consistently for the tests, collaborate effectively with your group mates, and have fun! (Taken in AY23/24 Semester 1)

NM4259 - Mobile Interaction Design

Workload Rating: 4.5/5

Difficulty Rating: 3.5/5

Review: This course goes beyond NM3243 (User Experience Design) and goes into the details of design principles and designing for mobile (both the phone and the status of 'movement'). Extremely insightful course that teaches you not only how to design, but why certain design principles came about and when it's appropriate to deviate from the norm. Prof Dennis is an extremely passionate and well-versed teacher who is open to discussion and extremely knowledgeable, which comes in useful for the final assignment. The workload for this course is extremely heavy, but is very rewarding at the end. At mid term, you submit a mid-fi prototype as a group project, and at end-term you submit a high-fi prototype as an individual work. If you are interested in design I highly recommend this class; be ready to work at the projects consistently as there is too much to choing at the last minute. (Taken in AY23/24 Semester 1)

Review: Prof Dennis is a great prof, and also a no-nonsense prof. His classes are always engaging and he breaks things down as easy for us to understand as possible. Beware that this is not a design a mobile app class but rather a focus on designing around mobility (how to design considering the every-changing [mobile] context). Mobile does not refer to phone! You've been warned! This course really opens your eyes to a different approach to design that you may have already been unconciously doing. But being concious of designing for a mobile context really opens up more avenues for helping users. The course is broken down to a group project for the first half and an individual project in the second half. The most daunting part of this course is probably the openess and freedom of the topics we can choose for our projects. This means proposing to Prof Dennis early and getting it approved is necessary (its not compulsory but I'll highly recommend it!) Pray you get a good group and everything will workout. Prof Dennis style is usually weekly milestones so as long as you keep up with that, you are unlikely to crash close to submission. Prof Dennis also teaches how to use Figma (very detailed with practices during class time) - you can see how much effort he puts into this course here - so there isn't a need to worry if you're new to the app. I could do it on the iPad but I wouldn't recommend it because it was tough even though I have been using Figma for 2 years. The individual project will be as vigorous, if not more, than the group project. I would recommend you to share your ideas, proposals and prototypes with your friends as you progress. Other than that, the sense of fulfilment of completing one of Prof Dennis's modules is always incredibly high because you takeaway new ideas and a portfolio piece as well. I highly recommend this course to students who are interested in designing and prototyping! (Taken in AY23/24 Semester 1)

NM4260 - Game Design

Workload Rating: 5/5

Difficulty Rating: 4/5

Review: Topic wise, this is an extremely interesting course that discusses popular games and the game design principles evident in them; the theoretical part of the class is not dry at all and a lot of fun. The workload is the killer. At mid-sem, you submit a board game as part of a group using provided game pieces, but it's up to the group to come up with the rules and mechanics. At end-sem, you submit a video game designed in Gamemaker that you and your group make entirely from scratch. The classes usually start with a theoretical lecture section, then end with a cross-group playtesting where you get to play and test other group's games. It's very very fun! The video game is where things get difficult, as the group is split into roles: QA tester, game designer, artist, and game developer. As developer, you are the main coder of the game, in-charge of bringing the designs and mechanics of the group to life. While Gamemaker is a drop-and-click interface and not as difficult as traditional coding, it still uses coding knowledge. Extremely beneficial if you already have some coding background, otherwise there's a lot of hitting your head against a wall when bugs show up. Extremely rewarding when you finally get things to work, but be ready to struggle with the workload. For context, I am a CNM major who has a pretty strong coding foundation (not CS kid levels, but survivable), and from week 8 to 11 I was spending around 3 hours daily on Gamemaker. If you're ready for it, I highly recommend this class. (Taken in AY23/24 Semester 1)

NM2223 - Media Law and Policy

Workload Rating: 2/5

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Review: super chill workload but a lot of content (finals is open book, the rest are take home assignments) super small cohort so prof does his best to let everyone speak in class. content might be niche but super interesting! there are law students in class but idt it affected the bell curve too much (or at all) due to the size. (Taken in AY23/24 Semester 1)

NM3205 - Digital Media Cultures

Workload Rating: 2/5

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Review: very chill, has a bunch of essays where you can pick your own topic & even make up your own question! each week was a diff topic so some weeks were more dry & harder to grasp but some was exactly my niche/interest (eg. fandom culture online) ta was rly rly helpful & prof shobha was a fun lecturer. very theoretical (essay heavy). (Taken in AY23/24 Semester 1)

NM3245 - Managing Arts and Cultural Events

Workload Rating: 4/5

Difficulty Rating: 4/5

Review: This course really takes you through the process of planning for an event (in general), but of course goes in depth in terms of arts events. Content focused on the 5Ws 1H of an event + basic marketing strategies, budgeting, sponsorship/partnerships, etc. We only had seminars once every week, weekly readings and a few field trips that you're definitely looking forward to. We had the opportunity to explore backstage of the auditorium at UCC, including the area with the lights and spotlights which was really cool. We also had guest speakers (eg. Esplanade) to walk us through their experience and it was really insightful. For us, we spent most of the time planning with our own groups because we had to pitch an event related to the 4 categories (electronic music, busking, dance, art exhibition) proposed by NUS CFA. In terms of assessment, we had to write proposals and prepare the group pitch, reflect and write essay on the guest speakers' content, and write another essay to propose a solution to a problem presented in a case study (we only had 1 week for this, around week 11). Tips: be fully immersed in this course, really take the time to refresh yourself with the content every week/day. (Taken in AY23/24 Semester 2)

NM4257 - Multiplatform Advertising Strategies

Workload Rating: 3/5

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Review: Prof Sean is a great and caring prof! He is always willing to answer our questions and goes beyond to keep us engaged during the seminar. The course will let you experience interacting and catering to an actual client that you find on your own. It seems very daunting but is an important experience for the workforce as you tackle researching for a client, reaching out to them, liasing with them and then actually working with them. On this note, I would reccomend being thankful for the clients giving us their time and help with the project by buying/doing something in return for them (aside the promotional materials you're making). For the assessment, there is a midterm exam, finals and the video and static ad for the clients. There is no need to worry so much about the midterms and finals because prof will thoroughly prepare us during the seminars (i.e. if you participate in class and are able to answer his questions, you're set). The heavy part is the videography - some randomly assigned groups may have students all without experience which would then add to the stress of this course. Though the quality of the video is not graded, it is understandable that stress will come from the need to produce a certain level of quality for the clients. Nevertheless, since these clients chosen by students usually are small businesses with little social media presence, it makes the videography much more entry level. The presentation for these video and static ads is less academic style as well. One would have to imagine they are pitching to actual clients which means less definitions and stats and more "tug on heartstrings" kind of vibes. Many students made the mistake of treating it very academic like and defining terms, however, they should focus on appealing the pitch to the class and approaching from a more emotional standpoint. Overall, the class was a blast and you get many insights you otherwise would've missed from other design/essay intensive courses. (Taken in AY23/24 Semester 1)