FALL 2010 Class Assignment CECIL COLLEGE College Bus Graphics Design Choosing the right graphics for a job can be an overwhelming task. To begin the selection process, it is critical to ask two important questions: what do I want my audience to take away from the design, and what visual means can I use to help do this? Every graphic has a different personality some shout and others whisper. The challenge is to recognize their personality and make appropriate use of it in your design. We often use display fonts that convey visual impact for titles and graphics. These fonts would never be considered for body copy or where there s multiple lines of copy. PROJECT BRIEF: CECIL COLLEGE BUS GRAPHIC DESIGN Cecil College wants to make use of the college s public transportation system to promote Visual Communications Program. Your task is to create a colorful, stylized design to market the department for placement on the college s buses. You will need to use the bus template provided on the Student Server. To spur your ideas, think about the department name, think of a possible slogan, and any graphic elements that might tie it all together. There are no stylistic demands on you for this project, except that you must design something appropriate for this type of client and product. I would like to see you make use of some the various typographic features available. Don t cram them all into one design, but think about how a creative type treatment might call attention to the message. As you re learning the basics of vector art, you must to create your images entirely within Illustrator as vector art, no photographs or images created in Photoshop. For ideas and inspiration, visit the Web sites of local and national transit companies. Researching the company or product category is the first step in any design project. SIXTH CLASS OCTOBER 18 TH ASSIGNMENT DUE OCTOBER 25 TH 1. Finding and Using the Template Go to the Assignments area on the Student Server for our class to access the bus template. The bus template file contains three layers: the Bus frame layer (which contains a locked outline of the bus), the Clipping Layer and the layer for your artwork, Create Your Artwork On This Layer. You can see them in your Layers palette (Window> Layers). Read the steps below carefully so you understand how to use the clipping mask layer and avoid any unnecessary extra work. The bus clipping mask layer contains a light gray bus shape that represents the surface in which you will design. This layer should be hidden and locked when you open the file. If not, you can hide this layer as you create your artwork by clicking the eye icon next to the layer name (clicking it again will show the artwork). Once you finalize your design, you will use the gray bus clipping mask.
Figure 1: Any artwork that is outside the bus area will be hidden when the mask is applied at the end of this project. Be creative in this design project, but remember that you are designing a moving media and the concept must be understood by the viewer quickly. A clipping mask is a shape that can hold other shapes within its boundaries or outline, like a picture frame. Don t worry about fitting everything within the design area the excess will be hidden by the mask at the end of the project. 2. Brainstorming Your Bus Design Let s step aside from Illustrator for a moment to visualize the design. The department is called Visual Communications, so you might consider a literal approach, using drawings of eyes or mouths. These are made of circles and ovals, right? Oval tool! For something less literal (and more abstract), think about what colors and shapes remind you of VCP. Peppy, bright colors and stars representing all that creative energy? Soothing colors and wavy lines to connote more serious approach to design? Consider the tools and effects you could use to make these ideas come alive. Next, think about the typography you ll need to apply to the bus. What text should be the biggest? What font would be readable at a distance but indicative of the product? Consider whether you d like to apply the text to a special shape or path, or leave it straight, and where you would like to place it in relation to your graphic ideas. You may even want to do a few sketches on paper before you begin. 3. Creating the Bus Graphics Click the Create Your Artwork On This Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette to make it the active layer. Make sure your Create Your Artwork On This Layer and the Bus Frame layers are both visible and the Clipping Layer is hidden and locked. Now you can begin designing on Create Your Artwork On This Layer, which is the bottom most layer. The bus outline on the Bus Frame layer will help guide your placement of objects and text, but remember that you can let your art bleed beyond the bus since the excess will be cut off Click here make this the active layer and begin to create your design on this layer. Figure 2: Layers for bus project
later. Use your drawing tools to create the imagery you planned for your bus designs. You can be as detailed or abstract as you like, as long as it supports the goal of the advertisement. Keep these tips in mind as you work: Use Object> Arrange to modify the stacking order of your objects as needed. If you can t get the exact shape you want from a shape tool, try applying an effect from the Effect> Distort and Transform menu. Don t underestimate the power of freehand drawing with the Pencil tool you may surprise yourself. Use the Stroke palette to apply thick strokes, dashed lines, and other special outline features. Try an interesting look by purposely making a large shape bleed off the edge of the bus shape. Group (Object> Group) selected objects in your design so that you re able to move them or scale them as a single entity. Just ungroup them if you want to edit them separately again. 4. Adding the Typography Next up is the all-important task of setting type for the ad. Using the name of the department, Visual Communications Department, and the name of the college, set the typography on your design. If you d like to use type on a path or inside a shape you ve drawn, you ll need to draw that first. When your path or shape is ready, choose the appropriate special type tool (Type on a Path tool or Area Type tool), click the path or shape, and enter your text. You might be wondering how you can have type run along one of the graphics you ve created already (like the side of a face or along a mountain) without removing your graphic when you start typing. Here s what you ll want to do: Select the graphic and copy it, then use the Paste in Front command to put a copy right on top of your original. Then use the special type tool of your choice to input the type-the copy will disappear, but the original will stay underneath. With your type in place, consider adding fill and stroke colors that will help the text stand out from your design as well as integrate with it for a cohesive look. Remember to outlines (Create Outlines in the Type menu after selecting the text) on all of the text once you have done a spell check to ensure that the design can be opened on any computer. Click here to make this layer visible which will cover your design on the layer below. 5. Applying the Clipping Mask (Last Step) With your designs in place, it s time to put on the mask we talked about earlier and hide the excess space that surrounds the bus shape. First show the Clipping Layer by clicking on the eye icon next to the layer. At first, this will obscure your artwork below. This is only temporary; it will return to normal once we create the clipping mask. The next step is to select all the artwork and the clipping mask shape together. Do this by pressing the command+a key (select all) so that the artwork on both layers are selected. You should now have both Create Your Artwork On This Layer & Clipping Layer visible and unlocked with all items selected. The Clipping Layer must be the top object over everything else and the Bus Frame must be locked. At this stage the layers should look like Figure 4, a small red dot for the single item in the Clipping Layer and everything in the Create Your Artwork On Figure 3: Layers for bus project Figure 4: Layers after selecting all (Cmd+a)
This Layer is selected, make an outlined green box. The final step is to choose Object> Clipping Mask> Make. This will cause your artwork to be masked inside the bus shape or bus mask. Make sure the visibility is on for the Bus frame layer to see the total piece. You ll notice that any part of your design appearing over the windows shows up differently than on the rest of the bus. This is to simulate light showing through from the other side of the bus and gives the design a more real-world look. DETAILS & REQUIREMENTS: A copy of the original Illustrator file must be used. Think about how your design would look enlarged to the size of a bus. Also keep in mind that the bus will be moving and some of your viewers will be traveling in the opposite direction and will only have time to glace at your design. Remember to spell-check, misspelled words and poor grammar will count against the final grade. ASSIGNMENT DUE: You will need to do this as homework and place the file by the start of class, Monday, March 29 th, on Student Server in your folder allocated for assignments. Remember to use the image-naming protocol for files saved to the student server. Files must be saved in the student s folder named Final Assignments for Grading as 03_(your last name)_bus_design.pdf. For example: File >save as> vcp118-2>john_doe>final Assignments for Grading>03_Doe_Bus_Design.pdf. CECIL COLLEGE VISUAL COMMUNICATION PROGRAM Move forward. Figure 5: Sample student s work, Elizabeth Clark, VCP 118-2 Fall 2007
Bus Design Guidelines (or how to get an A on this assignment) Some students really have a difficult time with this project. It does require a little understanding of Adobe Illustrator and some of its workflow. The template file contains three layers which must be arranged in particular order, locked and unlocked, and have the visibility turned on and off at various times during the project. It s important to follow the steps for the project to be successful. Try to be creative with the design, look at some photos of bus graphics and how they are designed. Your limitation is to use only vector information, so photos are not allowed. This project allows for a lot of creativity, avoid making a design with a couple basic color elements and a line of text. Spend time on the design and be creative and unique. A rainbow of colors on the side of the bus isn t creative, but many students do that because it s quick and easy. It demonstrates little thought, and no knowledge of Illustrator s capabilities. With working knowledge of Kuler and all of the color schemes available, you should be able to design with a good use of color. Save the file on Student Server in your folder allocated for assignments. Remember to use the image-naming protocol for images saved to the student server. This is very important. The only place I ll check for finished assignments is in a folder called Final Assignments for Grading under a folder with your name. Each Monday evening I will download everything in those folders for review. If your file isn t there, you won t get credit for it being completed on time. Only put finished documents in the Final Assignments for Grading folder. If it s incomplete and in the Final Assignments for Grading folder, it will be graded as the finished piece. Here is what I ll be looking for in this assignment: The file is created correctly The design is creative The text looks designed and not whatever the computer defaults to Visual Communications Program is a prominent part of the design Cecil College is in the design Good use of color File named properly File located in correct folder on student server Submitted on time This assignment was based on the Graphic Design Portfolio-Builder Adobe Photoshop & Adobe Illustrator Projects by Sessions Online School of Design