ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, GRAPHIC DESIGN, BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE
COURSES,
FALL 2001
COURSES,
SPRING 2002
PERSONAL WORK
Course Description
This course consists of two assignments—a poster depicting an historical period in the history of visual comunication, and a ‘block’ of four U.S. postage stamps. In both assignments, you will learn the various processes involved in making visual communication intended for print production. Form and content will be explored. Client expectations and intended audience will be discussed. Conceptual skills and technical/ production procedures will be covered. This course is structured to facilitate your understanding of and
participation in the process of making graphic design from initial choice of a topic through working stages to finished presentation.
Course Objectives
To develop a basic understanding of mechanical and digital reproduction techniques as they relate to the production of graphic visual communication, especially (but not limited to) print production.
To acquire basic technical skills required in preparing graphic visual communication.
To develop conceptual skills necessary for preparing graphic visual communication.
To develop verbal and visual communication skills instrumental to success in observing, gathering and processing information.
To participate in creative problem-solving.
To develop and strengthen awareness of our relationship to the world around us and to develop a sensitivity to this relationship with respect to the visual problem-solving skills of the graphic designer.
Method of Instruction
Lectures, slide presentations, two assignments, readings, quizzes, critiques, class discussions an end-of-semester take-home test.
Required Texts
Pocket Pal, 17th Edition. Published by International Paper Company.
Encyclopedia of Graphic Design and Designers, Alan and Isabella Livingston, 1992.
Materials
*drawing pencils, 3H or 4H
*layout bond sketch pad (Bienfang Designer Series, Graphics 360)
*tracing paper
burnisher
*kneaded eraser
non-photo blue (non-repro blue) pencil
x-acto knife, #11 x-acto blades
pica rule/metal straightedge, 18"
proportion wheel
clear plastic tape (‘magic’ tape)
rapidograph pen or Micron pen (size to produce a 1-point rule)
*type specing gauge
size 12" x 18" self-healing cutting board
ring binder and plastic sheet protectors (Dorrs sells plastic sheet protectors)
paper for your project
two zip disks (*one is supplied)
Evaluation and Grading
The poster assignment consists of four graded projects. A critique will be held, and a grade will be given, for each project (two of the critiques will be held with the class; two one-on-one with the professor). The first three of these project grades will have equal weight, the fourth project—the finished poster—will be double-weighted.
The stamp assignment consists of three graded projects. A critique will be held, and a grade will be given, for each project (one of the critiques will be held with the class; two are one-on-one with the professor). The first two of these project grades will have equal weight, the third project—the finished stamp—will be double-weighted.
A take-home test will be given towards the end of the semester; the test grade is equal to one project grade. There will be four quizzes, the average of which will be weighted equal to one project grade.
A subjective grade equal to one project grade is made up of my evaluation of your use of class time; attendance; attitude; promptness/preparedness for class; participation; ability to present your ideas and your work visually and orally; technical, creative and conceptual content of projects; understanding of the nature of visual communication, relevant commentary that you share with the class and timely submission of your work (process and finished work are considered).
Each grade consists of a number grade and a corresponding letter grade. The average of the twelve grades constitutes your final grade for the course.
Emphasis is upon understanding concepts and terms, mastering technical skills, technical experimentation, conceptual exploration, design sensibility and cognitive depth of your work.
An incomplete grade is given only in an extreme circumstance. If you foresee the necessity for an incomplete grade, see me as soon as possible.
Attendance
Attendance is taken within the first five minutes of each class. Arrive promptly; we cover a lot of material! If you will be absent, it is your responsibility to notify me beforehand and to see me at the next scheduled class to be apprised of the material that you missed (this includes notes, assigments, handouts, etc…). It is your responsibility to make up any work that you missed during an absence. If you are absent for a quiz or a critiaue without personally giving me prior notification and a valid reason for your absence, you will receive a 0% grade for that quiz/critique.
Scholastic Honesty
All finished work must be your own. If you use any reference material, the source must be credited in writing. Please refer to the Bridgewater State College Student Handbook for specifics.
If you have a disability…
In compliance with Bridgewater State College policy and equal access legislation, I am available to discuss appropriate accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Requests for academic accommodations should be made during the add/drop period, unless there are unusual circumstances,
so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Students are encouraged to register with the Disability Resources Office in Boyden Hall for disability verification and determination of reasonable academic accommodations.
Course Outline
NB All readings, unless stated otherwise, are in Pocket Pal and are expected to be completed by the first class period after which they are assigned. All projects are due at the beginning of class on the specified due dates unless otherwise stated. You will receive a handout—with specifications—for each project. Please refer frequently to the guidelines on these—and all other—handouts that you receive in class. Bring all handouts and all supplies to each class.
6 September Introduction, description, overview, grading philosophy, office hours, etc….
--Handout: Course Outline
-- Visual Literacy/Visual Messages
11 September Review of Elements of Art, Principles of Design
-- Application of the Elements and Principles to the design of visual communication: advertising design, book/publication design, package design, exhibit design, screen-based design
-- Read: History, pp 8–22
--Handouts: Poster Assignment; Project #1: Proposal, Thumbnail Sketches, and Written Assignment
13 September Historical Precedents
--Brief overview of 20th Century Art and Design
--18 September The use of ratio/proportion in graphic design
-- Handouts: layout, ratio/proportion: ‘Page and Text Area Dimensions…’
-- Looking at Tschichold’s ‘Golden Canon’ on the internet
20 September Work in class
-- Project #1: Proposal, due
25 September, 27 September Basic Typography and Layout
-- basic typeface classifications
-- historical methods: handset type/cast type, linotype, phototypesetting, digital typography
--text and display type
-- traditional copyfitting, comping type
-- digital typography
-- proofreading symbols
-- using a proportion wheel
-- using a type specifying gauge and measuring in picas
-- designing with type: considerations for print and for screen-based design
27 September
-- Quiz One
-- Project #1 Thumbnail Sketches, due
-- Handouts: Project #2 Rough Sketches and Template
2 October Preparation of Art for Print Production
--Graphic Arts Terms and Definitions: pp 202–238
-- Read: pp 55–62 (read through Subtractive Primaries),and pp 79–90
-- Handout:Steps in preparing art for print
-- Handout: Process color (CMYK)
-- Line art
-- Continuous tone art
-- Halftones
-- Special effects: tints/screens, duotones, silhouettes, surprints, dropouts
-- Spot color, process color (CMYK)
-- Read: pp 77 and 172–179 (through Die-Cutting)
4 October Handouts: Folding, Imposition and Binding
-- Read: pp 36–48 (through Digital Type)
9 October
-- Quiz Two
9 October, 11 October Digital Production Methods
-- computer hardware and software: CPU; input, output, storage devices; memory; file formats
--the computer desktop, menu windows, icons, folders, opening a software application, creating and saving a document, creating a folder, and saving a document in a folder
-- using a flatbed scanner
--using a digital camera
-- Handout: Vector/Raster/Page Layout Software
electronic page layout using page layout software (used to assemble text and graphic elements on a page), assembling a page which includes graphics produced with vector-based software (used to produce line art) and graphics produced with raster-based software (used to produce halftones, duotones, tints, special effects).
16 October
-- Project #1, Written Assignment, due
-- Project #2, Rough Sketches and Template, due
--Handout: Project #3, Dummy Poster with Supporting Files
18 October Work in class
23 October Traditional Production Methods
-- ruling, cutting, measuring, paste-up, with examples
25 October
-- Quiz Three
-- Paper and Ink
-- Handout: Paper and ink
30 October
--Project #3, Dummy Poster with Supporting Files, due
-- Handout: Project #4, Finished Poster
1 November Work in class
6 November Work in class
8 November Work in class
-- Handout: Printing Processes: letterpress, offset lithography (sheet-fed and web-fed), gravure,
screen printing, die-cutting
-- Read: pp 132 (Printing Presses)—135 (Web Offset)
13 November
n Project #4, Finished Poster, due
15 November Printing—and Related—Processes
n Handouts: Stamp Design Assignment; Project #5, Sketches for Stamps
20 November
-- Adobe Illustrator Demonstration
-- End-of-Semester Cumulative Test (take-home)
22 November GIve Thanks, Enjoy your Holiday!
27 November Work in class
-- Project #5, Sketches for Stamps, due
-- Handouts: Project #6, Icons for Stamps and Project #7, Completed Stamps
29 November Work in class
4 December Work in class
6 December Work in class
-- End-of-Semester Cumulative Test (take-home) due at beginning of class
11 December Work in class
--Project #6, Icons for Stamps, due
13 December Work in class
16 Exam Day Project #7, Finished Stamp due
-- Quiz Four
-- Project #7, Finished Stamps, due
Project One---A Poster
1 Topic
Design Movements/design philosophies from the following list*:
Futurist Typography
Dada Typography
Suprematism (as it pertains to graphic design)
Constructivist Poster Design
De Stijl Publication Design
Publication Design, or Typographic Design, or both, at the Bauhaus
The International Typographic Style (sometimes called Swiss Design)
Jan Tschichold (Die Neu Typographie and later works: classical book design)
Corporate Identity 1940s–1950s
Visual Identity Systems and Signage in the 1960s and 1970s
1960s Magazine Design
Advertising Design—1930s to the Present
Deconstruction (as it pertains to graphic design in the 1980s
Digital Design and Typography during the 1980s
Experimental Typographic Design during the 1980s
Experimental Typography during the 1990s
Appropriation in Graphic Design: the Borrowed Idea/Image
*OR your choice of topic, relevant to the design of visual communication. Present your topic as a proposal of one or two paragraphs (also see #3 below). If you are going to choose a topic independent from the list above, I must approve your proposal prior to your beginning the project. The book, Encyclopedia of Graphic Design and Designers may provide ideas from which to choose a topic.
2 The completed poster must include text and image(s).
3 Text must include:
Historical time period
Relevant political, social and cultural information
Key people and their influence upon your topic
Country (countries) which were most affected
4 The completed poster must include at least one, but no more than three scanned photographic images which must be printed after your having used one of the following Photoshop processes: halftone, duotone, process color.
5 The completed poster must include computer-generated type chosen from the list on the typeface handout. Please note: no more than two typeface families may be used.
6 The completed poster must show evidence of your knowledge of paper and imposition.
7 The completed poster must utilize documented proportional relationships (ratios) for overall dimensions and image area dimensions as discussed in class, and must conform to dimensional specifications provided in class on the handouts from The Elements of Typographic Style (Second Edition), by Robert Bringhurst, and The Form of the Book, by Jan Tschichold.
8 The completed poster must utilize documented proportional relationships in type sizes and leading.
9 The completed poster must reflect your understanding of the principles of design as discussed in class.
10 The completed poster must be impeccably crafted, and must, when printed, not exceed the paper size 11" x 17". NOTE: there are a number of things you must consider when determining the size of your poster so that the printed poster fits this paper size; these we will go over in class!
11 The completed poster must include references and production notes, such as footnotes if applicable, and a bibliography from at least five sources (no more than two of these may be from the internet). This information should be printed on ‘side two’ of your poster, unless there is reason to place it in the context of ‘side one.’
You will receive a handout with specs for each of the projects that make up this assignment.
Please refer to the handouts when working on each project. Bring all handouts to each class.
They will prove invaluable as you progress through the semester. Use only the black-and-white printer for proof prints of your poster.