Graphic Design Visual Communications

Graphic Design is a creative problem-solving that has the intention of influencing individual and group behavior, political policy, and society at large. It combines a variety of foundational art elements and principles with other mediums including typography, photography, and illustration. It is a vast technical and art genre that continually bombards our senses through everyday exposure including product packaging, public signage, websites, and tv and movie credits just to name a few.

In this semester-long course, we will begin studying graphic design from the basics of fundamental design to building more complex design systems. We will approach graphic design as a problem-solving endeavor that pushes creative thinking and approach. Throughout the course, we will explore what graphic design is, how it is used, and who are the leaders in the industry. Students will be exposed to a variety of graphic design examples throughout history.

Weeks 1-4: Introduction to graphic design. We will discuss the very basics of graphic design, how it is similar to traditional art and how it differs. We will learn what a graphic designer does and where graphic designers work. We will talk about the planning process of design including thumbnails, roughs, and comps. We will talk about the basic elements of design and each week we will use one of the basic elements of design to create (by hand) an abstract comprehensive design.

Weeks 5-8: We will continue our use of the basic elements of 2-dimensional design to create compositional strategies that define concepts into meaningful visual communication. We will use points, shapes, lines, and planes as well as color theory to solve problems. We will also study the Gestalt Theory.

Weeks 9-12: We will study Typography and how the use of fonts, size, and space plus font pairings can make or break a design. We will learn a brief history and the anatomy of typefaces. Simple image programs such as paint.net can be used for assignments in this portion of the course.

Weeks 13-16: We will finish up our graphic design semester by learning about the Design Process and working through the process as if we were professional graphic designers. We will talk about what makes effective design and how personal preference is not involved when solving client design problems. Students may use graphics software as they wish for assignments for this portion of the course.

Schedule of coursework: –

Monday: Weekly Lecture. The weekly assignments are discussed in great detail during class.
Wednesday: Weekly assignment #1 (thumbnails) is due to be posted in the Outschool classroom. Every student and I will participate in a group discussion and critique of each of the thumbnails. Each student will use the critique of their work to select the 3 most successful thumbnails to continue on to weekly assignment #2.
Friday: Weekly assignment #2 (roughs) is due to be posted in the Outschool Classroom. Every student and I will participate in a group discussion and critique of each of the roughs. Each student will use the critique of their work to select the 1 most successful rough to continue on to weekly assignment #3.
Sunday: Weekly assignment #3 (final comp) is due to be posted in the Outschool Classroom. Every student and I will participate in a group discussion and critique of each of the final composition. We will discuss the overall success or failure of the comp fulfilling the assignment.

LOOKING FOR HIGH SCHOOL ART CREDITS? The Art in the Park series is a great way to earn art credits for high school. I will provide a written assessment of student’s performance in class that is based on class participation, timeliness of submissions, and overall work. Please contact me in advance.