Planners are required to interpret, analyse and communicate information across a breadth of different media. We need to understand the fundamental principles and language of design in order to read, interrogate and assess architects' plans and visualisations. We need to be able to distil complex information and communicate our findings, assessment and recommendations to a wide range of stakeholders, and, crucially, we need to know how to listen, to collaborate and to work in teams. This course provides students with core design and communication skills and competencies that will provide a platform for their studies throughout the degree. Through a series of workshops and classes, students will develop a 'toolkit' encompassing basic graphic representation, interpretation of scale and perspective, and ability to interpret, engage and work with architectural plans and drawing. Students will also develop techniques to improve a range of written and oral communication activities, and tactics for building confidence in their use of those skills. Group work activity leads to a series of multi-media class presentations.