Media consumers' behaviour is shifting due to increased digital activity, the ubiquity of converged digital technologies, and the rise of on-demand platforms. This convergence democratises content production, allowing individuals and communities outside mainstream media to create and share their own narratives, transforming how we consume and interact with digital content. This technological evolution interacts dynamically with aesthetic progressions and viewer expectations. In digital video production, applying multimedia aesthetics involves analysing elements such as light, colour, space, time, motion, sound, and visual narratives. Understanding this triadic interplay helps producers tailor content to emerging audiences, including digitally native generations like Millennials and Generation Z, who are becoming "possessive viewers" with control over their viewing experience and heightened expectations for emotionally captivating and visually engaging content. Researchers have explored the relationship among digital convergence, narrative structures, aesthetic components, and frameworks for analysing these elements within digital narratives, especially in South African contexts. However, the specific influence of digitally convergent tools on the application of visual design in documentary media remains an area that requires further exploration.

This conceptual study adopts a constructivist interpretive approach, informed by a critical literature review and guided by selected evaluative criteria across media platforms. Drawing on academic literature, online content, and South African documentaries, it proposes a framework for analysing how digital convergence influences the visual design of documentary media productions. The aim is to support media educators in adapting to the evolving media landscape and to prepare students for future content creation. Additionally, it equips media producers with insights into crafting content that resonates with interactive, digital-native audiences. Integrating emerging technologies and aesthetic strategies into the curriculum prepares students for content creation in the evolving digital media landscape. The conceptual model lays the groundwork for future empirical research, particularly in audience-centred testing within a posthumanist context.