COURSE NUMBER: ART 446 COURSE TITLE: Graphic Design CREDITS: 3:2:3 PREREQUISITES: ART 341 FOR WHOM PLANNED: ART 446 is open to advanced students. INSTRUCTOR: Christopher Cassidy Office: Gatewood 228 Office hours: Tue./Thurs 11:00AM-12:00PM Website: www.chrismcassidy.com Email: cmcassid@uncg.edu Digital Lab Director: Dickie Cox CATALOG DESCRIPTION: An advanced investigation into graphic design; typography, branding, and information architecture. Advanced execution of print, Web-based, and motion graphics. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon successful completion of this course a student will be able to: 1. develop and refine identities for businesses or institutions 2. specify a comprehensive design system that unifies a variety of print projects 3. create and present in-process work throughout the design development cycle 4. design and employ a variety of grid-based layouts for the delivery of text and images 5. collaborate in teams to produce complex print materials 6. critically analyze their own work, as well as examples from the larger media culture, with a particular focus on how formal organization drives viewer response to content. TEACHING METHODS AND ASSIGNMENTS: This course has been structured to mimic both the specific activities and brisk pace of a professional design firm. As such, students will be expected to start and complete individual projects within 2-3 week deadlines. To unify this frenetic activity, each student will be developing a visual identity for a single client throughout the semester. This client will be derived from your own understanding and interpretation of an important local issue. While we will review finals of each project during the semester, we will be placing special emphasis on the formal review of preliminary designs (variously called roughs, comps or layouts in the field.) I will insist that your work at this stage be complete and presented professionally (cleaned up, trimmed, mounted.)
This course does not emphasize new software applications, as most of the work can be completed with traditional media or in Illustrator and Photoshop, both of which should be familiar at this point. We will employ InDesign as well, which is quite similar to Illustrator in its interface and functions. As prospective professionals in digital media arts, you need to become proficient at teaching yourselves new software. Although I will demo more advanced application features, and am always willing to answer questions, you should avail yourselves of all available resources (online tutorials are often quite helpful, and we have workstations set up as Lynda.com kiosks in the lab) to aid in your understanding of the technical aspects of the course. Don t forget the application s own Help system as well. Both in process and at the completion of each assignment, all student works will be presented and critiqued. Here, students are encouraged to develop their analytical and verbal skills, as the class discusses the successful and unsuccessful elements within each work. The focus is strongly on constructive criticism, using the group s combined resources to suggest ways that the work might better fulfill the creator s intent. EVALUATION AND GRADING Each project grade is based on one or more of the following factors: How well does the completed assignment answer the posed problem or illustrate the design principle? Did you thoroughly explore a number of different solutions before deciding on this as the best one? Many assignments will require a specific number of sketches or alternate approaches. Keep these as a discussion aid during critique of your final project. Does the project fit within the visual identity you ve established for your client while still exploring new design possibilities? Do the execution and presentation of roughs and finals match professional standards? There are seven assignments, which contribute to your final grade as follows: Assignment 1 Logo 15% Assignment 2 Poster 15% Assignment 3 Brochure 15% Assignment 4 Site/App 15% Assignment 5 Magazine Design 15% Assignment 6 Class Magazine Spread 8% Assignment 7 Magazine Cover 10% Assignment 8 Style Guide 7% On days when roughs and finals are due, we will discuss each student's design in a class critique. This is an opportunity for students to get feedback from peers about how well a design works. Critiques are like exams, if you miss them without an approved excuse (see Attendance below) the grade for your assignment will be dropped by one full letter grade. This is true even if the project is in class, as we won't critique it without the designer
present. For each additional class period a project is late, a further letter grade deduction will apply (e.g. due on Thursday, turned in following Thursday, a B project receives a D.) There is no discrete grade given for classroom participation in discussions and critiques (although critique attendance is mandatory.) Rather, the goal of critiques is to hone your ability to talk and think about your own work, to begin to be able to analyze and judge your work as it develops. RECOMMENDED MATERIALS Tracing paper pad (9 x 12 or 11 x 14 ) Mat Board for mounting proposals (you should pick a client-appropriate color and stick to it. When in doubt, black always works.) Spraymount or double-sided tape Bristol board X-acto and mat knives (with plenty of new blades) Rulers and T-squares CDs RECOMMENDED TEXTS InDesign CC: Visual QuickStart Guide This title is available free and online through the UNCG library, at: https://libproxy.uncg.edu/login?url=http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/?uicode=uncg TOPICAL OUTLINE Assignment 1 Client selection/identity Document/Logos Part A: Select a local (within Guilford County) issue of importance to you to serve as your client for the duration of the semester. It s important that you select an issue or topic that is interesting and complex enough to fire your imagination for a full semester. What we want is a solid, real-world problem that will help to ground our efforts with the real concerns and issues of our immediate environment. You may pick an existing organization already working in the area, or you may invent one where you imagine a need. Part B: Through interviews with people involved with the issue (either experiencing the ramifications of it or working to correct it), as well as other research, compose an Identity Document that develops your client s mission, history, audience or market, regional or local environment, competitors and/or peers, personnel and infrastructure. This is a document that may be revised or added to throughout the semester. Part C: Using pencil and paper, develop 8 distinct concepts for a logo for your client. Clean them up and mount for a formal presentation. Make sure to identify each concept with a small number. The class will vote on their favored options for each student s proposal. Part D: Create B/W, 2/c and 4/c final versions of your top three vote-getters in Illustrator. Print and mount for formal presentation.
Assignment 2 Poster and Style Guide document Part A: Select your favorite of the final three logos from Assignment 2. Part B: Work from the information in your Identity Document to compose an 18 x 24 poster (dimensions may differ, but approx. this area) that communicates the mission of your client. Be sure to not only incorporate your logo, but to design a poster that graphically extends your client s visual identity. You may not use any copyrighted material in the project, so you will need to plan on creating any necessary artwork or photography. Create 3 different rough designs in any media at half size and mount for formal presentation. Part C: At the same time, and guided by your design decisions for the poster, begin developing a Style Guide for all materials connected to your client. At this stage, your guide should specify any potential logo treatment; palette in 2/c and 4/c collateral, font treatments, grid systems or other placement guidelines. Part D: In Illustrator, finalize one poster design and format the Style Guide as an 8.5 x 11 sheet, print both (the poster at full size) for formal presentation. Assignment 3 Brochure Part A: Collect, compose and edit the text (approx. 1500 words) for a brochure. Plan on obtaining original artwork and/or photos that relate to or illustrate the contents of the brochure. You may not use any copyrighted material in the project. Part B: At the same time, using greeked text and preliminary photos and art, develop 3 rough layouts for a brochure of 8-20 pages. The visuals should be in harmony with and extend your Style Guide. The brochure may be 1c, 2c or 4c, and may have any physical dimensions and format. Be adventurous in thinking about what a brochure can be. Part C: In Adobe InDesign, finalize the design of the brochure. Be sure to print full-scale B/W mockups before going to the final printing. When you are satisfied with all elements of the brochure, print a high quality color version and bind. Assignment 4 Website and App Prototypes Part A: Using any media, develop three rough designs for a webpage or app (IOS or Android) for your client. Think about what sort of digital communication format or tool would best suit the needs of your client. Be sure to consider the design standards set by your Style Guide. Mount all three designs for a formal proposal. Part B: Extend your best design to include at least two more screens worth of content (this may be greeked) for either website or app. Use Illustrator and/or Photoshop to refine and complete the webpage or app prototype. These will be reviewed on-screen.
Assignment 5 Magazine Part A: Collect, compose and edit a brief article about your client s mission or audience (approx. 500-750 words). Part B: At the same time, using greeked text and dummied art, develop a rough layout for a magazine (2-page spread and 1-page Table of Contents) about the local issues being explored by the class as a whole. Variables to explore in your design include palette, font treatment (body, subs, heads, captions, footers, page #s), grid structure, art style and placement, as well as finish size and binding (we ll refer to Lulu.com for options.) As this magazine design is to house all of the class client articles, you should not feel limited by your Style Guide for this assignment. Part C: In Adobe InDesign, finalize the design of the spread and ToC. Print and mount for formal proposal. The class will vote on their favored layout, which will serve as the template for everyone as we move forward to a final magazine. Part D: Gather or create photos, illustrations, charts and diagrams to fill out the article from Assignment 4, Part A. Part E: Working within a templated Master Document that I will provide, set the article text and accompanying art for inclusion in the magazine. I will work with the class to develop a cover design and make sure that all materials for the magazine are finalized before going out to Lulu for printing. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY Students are expected to abide by the UNCG Academic Integrity Policy for this class. (All out of class assignments are to be completed individually by the student unless otherwise directed by the instructor.) I expect all design work for this class to be original to the student. Borrowing designs or images from existing sources is equivalent to plagiarism and will not be tolerated. ATTENDANCE POLICY I take attendance at the start of each class. It helps me remember everyone's name. It also contributes to your grade. You will be permitted two unexcused absences for any reason (including religious holidays), after which your grade will be reduced one step (e.g. B- to C+) for each additional absence. Absences will be considered excused if accompanied by a note from a doctor or health service, or a note on school letterhead from a coach, professor or administrator. Keep in mind that a steady stream of unexcused or excused absences may affect the quality of your work, and so can have a negative impact on your final grade. Finally, three unexcused latenesses will equal one absence.
UNCG seeks to comply fully with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA.) Students requesting accommodations based on disability must be registered with the Office of Disability Service located at 208 Elliot University Center. 336-334-5440 v/tty. CLEAN-UP AND LAB CARE On the days when we are working in class, it is your responsibility to clean up your work area and leave the classroom as you found it. Remember that no food or drink will be allowed near the computer workstations. You will also have to keep your digital desktops neat, which means saving any working files to jump drive, CD-ROM or the server. You may want to invest in an external hard drive. LaCie and GeForce make excellent external drives in variety of sizes and prices. If you re purchasing a new drive, make sure it has a Firewire or Thunderbolt port (depending on the tech in your own machine) and at least a 7200rpm disk speed. An external drive can have the added advantage of greatly reducing file management headaches as you move from one machine to another a big deal in Final Cut and other video software. CALENDAR 1/14 Intro/Syllabus. Discussion of visual identity/brands/logos. Logo charette. For Thursday, read Paul Rand, Logos, Flags & Escutcheons 1/16 Intro of Assignment 1. Prepare logo proposals for Tuesday. 1/21 Review and vote on logo sketches. Final logo files from Charette due. Work on Assignment 1 in class. 1/23 Continue Assignment 1 in class. Finals due Tuesday 1/28 Review final logos. A brief history of poster design. Grid Part 1. Introduce Assignment 2. 1/29 Required talk: Paula Scher @ SECCA 750 Marguerite Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 7pm Design Talk with Paula Scher, Designer, Artist and Principal at Pentagram 1/30 Work on Assignment 2 in class. Prepare 3 roughs for presentation Tuesday. 2/4 Review poster roughs. 2/6 Brochure design discussion. Grid part 2. Begin Assignment 3, Part A. 2/11 Work on brochure concepts. 2/13 Work on Poster final & Brochure rough.
2/18 Review Poster finals. Work on Brochure rough. 2/20 Work on Brochure rough. 2/25 Review Brochure roughs. Continue Assignment 3 in class. 2/27 Continue Assignment 3. 3/4 Continue Assignment 3. 3/6 Continue Assignment 3. 3/11 & 3/13 Spring Break 3/18 Review final brochure designs. 3/20 Web and app interface design discussion. Begin Assignment 4. 3/25 Class Visitor: Kristi Griggs, GeForce Marketing 3/27 Work on Web/app roughs in class. 4/1 Review web/app roughs. Continue Assignment 4 in class. 4/3 Work on Assignment 4 in class. 4/8 Review web/app comps. 4/10 Work on Assignment 4 in class. 4/15 Review web/app finals. Discussion of magazine design. Begin Assignment 5, Part B. 4/17 Review Magazine roughs. 4/22 Review and vote on Magazine Designs 4/24 Work on Assignment 5, Parts D and E in class. 4/29 We will assemble all magazine layouts into a single InDesign file for Lulu printing. 5/7 7-10pm Final presentation.