Course description
Good media design depends equally on two essential components: effective technological design, which provides an architecture which allows it to function optimally, and communication design (graphic design), which applies the principles of visual communication to creative concepts in order to transmit content effectively. This course will address only issues relating to communication design. We will discuss concept development and the principles of composition and layout (the organization of visual elements) in relation to both print and web design. The emphasis of this introductory course will be in the development of and application of skills through analysis and hands-on projects and exercises. Course content: (1) Brief presentations will introduce principles and concepts and their application.(2) Technical and conceptual skills will be developed through projects and exercises, which will be done both in class and as homework. The use of computers will be permitted only on projects and/or project components as specified; not all coursework will be digital. (3) Students will analyze and evaluate design work through group critiques and individual written and verbal deconstruction of designs. Instructor feedback will be given during group and/or individual. (4) Information regarding periodicals, trade publications and other resources will be presented so that students can continue their studies in this discipline.
Course goals
The goal of this course is to give students skills that will allow them to appropriately apply specific design principles to create effective communication materials, and to evaluate the intent and effectiveness of both their own and other people’s design work.
Graphics 1 began to introduce compositional and organizational principles in its overview of design practice and skills. This course examines these principles in more depth and provides students with an extended period of time in which to explore their application.
Presentations will introduce the design principles. Technical and conceptual skills will be developed through projects and exercises, which will be done both in class and as homework.
In projects, students will explore the creative development of a design concept through an iterative process; note that the initial stages of this process will NOT be digital. Students will also analyze and evaluate design work through group critiques and individual written and verbal deconstruction of design work. Instructor feedback will be given during group and/or individual critiques.
Additional resources will be provided for further reading and study.
Course learning outcomes / competencies
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Develop creative concepts that reinforce the communication of meaning.
- Apply principles of visual composition to reinforce communication of information and concept.
- Express meaning through compositional relationships.
- Create a symmetrically or asymmetrically balanced layout.
- Give a layout a clear focus.
- Create a visual hierarchy.
- Direct the viewer’s eye through the layout.
- Apply organizational principles to reinforce communication of content.
- Create a typographic hierarchy.
- Apply principles of alignment to organize visual elements.
- Use a grid to organize visual elements.
- Apply visual identity consistently across pages.
- Analyze layouts and define how they work in terms of compositional and organizational principles.