multimedia photography & design

Graphics 217 Syllabus newhouse iii 251 | lecture: tu & thu 11 am – 12:20 pm | fall 2014 | section 2 | 3 credit hours | page 1 of 7

Introduction to Graphic Design Design is everywhere­—and it is powerful. It is the interface that defines not only what we see, but the way we react to those ideas and information. Bombarded daily by type, color, form, images and layers upon layers of hidden meaning, we see messages and ideas even if we don’t fully process them. From poster campaigns to corporate logos, magazines to annual reports, business cards to Web pages, all are crafted to convey a specific—and persuasive—message and experience, and all require thoughtful, informed and intentional decision-making.

Course goals I want you to walk away from this course with a solid understanding of how and why design works and the skills to create effective, meaningful visual communication. Here’s the plan: Make you aware of the way you perceive the visual messages around you and the principles and tools that shape those messages. Give you a basic understanding of design terminology and the vocabulary you need to speak intelligently about graphic design. (You might not aspire to be a designer, but you are likely to encounter one or two, and knowing the language will make you more effective.) Teach you to use type, color, words, visuals and space to present information and ideas while creating clean and elegant design. Develop your ability to critically analyze visual messages and recognize effective visual communication. Acquaint you with the software used by graphic design professionals. We also will peek into the world beyond the practicality of method and technique at designers themselves, their ideals, motivations, quandaries and aspirations. And we will explore the ethical and social responsibilities and implications inherent in design.

Course outcomes By the time we’re through, you should: Have a deeper appreciation for the power of design. Be significantly more aware of the design around you and what it’s telling you. Understand and be able to articulate how and why a design works or doesn’t. Feel comfortable speaking the language of graphic design. Be able to create clean, effective and compelling graphic designs. Realize there are social and ethical implications involved in making design choices.

The structure Lectures, discussion, critiques, blog, social media & projects: Most material will be delivered in lecture format, but most classes also will involve discussion. Sometimes we will reflect on new concepts, other times we will critique examples I have found. I also believe strongly in having work reviewed publicly, so expect in-class critiques on each of the projects. We also will engage with design and one another on the course blog and via social media. Labs: Taught by graduate students, labs are designed to familiarize you with the sophisticated software packages used in this course and by design professionals. You’ll learn the basics of Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop, and you will use these new skills for class work. Labs are required and your attendance there factors into your overall grade.

Professor Claudia Strong room

218 newhouse i

e - mail ccstrong @ syr . edu

5 th floor newhouse i The best way to reach me is via e-mail using your SU account. SU policy requires me to use it. office hours tu 12:30–1:45 pm w 9–10:30 am via google hangout (username: strongclaudia) th 9–10:30 am You must sign up for all visits at claudiastrong.youcanbook.me mailbox

Instructional assistant Cori Pavlicko room

119 newhouse i

e - mail cnpavlic@ syr . edu phone

315-443-6185

office hours m w

1–2 pm 2–4 pm

Course blog & file server 217.claudiastrong.com Course documents will be available on the blog. nhstorm

Upload your assignments here. See course blog for detailed instructions. • username: gra2172 • password: lower

Books & materials required

• thinking with type | ellen lupton • a sketchpad with removable pages • jump drive or portable hard drive • 10x13 envelopes to submit work (i have a stack of these to recycle. stop by if you want some.) if you ’re so inclined ... • lynda.com ($25 a month) • graphic design basics | amy arntson

multimedia photography & design

Graphics 217 Syllabus newhouse iii 251 | lecture: tu & thu 11 am – 12:20 pm | fall 2014 | section 2 | 3 credit hours | page 2 of 7 Workload: The workload for this course is substantial. And because most of you are using design software for the first time, projects will take longer than you expect. Be prepared. Don’t wait until the last minute to do the work. Getting an early start usually results in better grades because you have more time to revise and polish and proofread your work. And don’t forget to factor in brain time. As a general rule, good designs are about 75% thinking and 25% execution. Really. It’s easy to undervalue conceptualization, but the concept is practically everything, and no amount of software prowess can rescue a bad one. So, think carefully about your projects before you hit the computer—it will save you time in the long run.

Attendance You are expected to attend all classes. Cori will take attendance at the beginning of class; anyone arriving after I begin will be marked late. Absences and tardiness can affect your engagement grade, and each absence beyond two can further reduce your overall grade for the semester by up to half a grade per absence.

Earning your grades Engagement: I define this as visible interest and effort—in discussions, the blog, social media, labs, office hours—and it can be aversely affected by unacceptable attendance. I expect you to be prepared and to participate in a professional manner, to engage with the material and have opinions, to weigh in, explain your thinking, ask questions, critique examples and otherwise contribute. Expressing your thoughts effectively is essential in the workplace—here too. If by the end of the semester I haven’t heard a peep from you, and I don’t have a sense of you who you are or how you think, that’s probably not good news for your engagement grade. Your overall course engagement (class and labs) count for 10% of your final grade. Don’t take this opportunity for granted. This is an easy way to offset lower design grades. Course blog and social media: To maximize on what you’re learning in class, your internal dialogue about design should not end when you leave the room. I want you to really pay attention to visual messages. Make note of what works and what doesn’t. Ask yourself, how did they come up with that concept? Why use that format? How does this affect my perception of the subject? Is there a better approach? You’ll also keep an eye on industry trends and new ideas. As part of this journey, you will post thoughts and examples on the course blog, Instagram and Twitter as assigned in class. Your blog posts count for 5% of your final grade—the difference between a B- and an B+. The rest of your final grade (85%) will be determined by your four design projects. To fully understand the challenges of design, you must do it. I will assign four projects during the semester, and assignment sheets will detail expectations and assessment criteria. Resume project: You will design your own wordmark/logo and resume. (10%) Poster project: You will design a poster with original artwork. (15%) Website project: You will create a website mockup. (30%) Tablet magazine project: You will design pages for an iPad magazine you invent. (30%) A few other notes on earning your grades: Time: Starting early is critical. Finished designs might look simple and easy to execute, but they are the end result of a significant amount of thinking and work. Guidance: The difference between a B and an A often is refinement and polish applied to the same basic idea. It is hard to do this without help. Come to me for direction before you finish for specific advice on how to improve your work. Sketches & drafts: You will be required to submit sketches and drafts for each project. You also might be asked to bring them to class before the final deadline. Rationales: You must submit thoughtfully written rationales with each design project to let me know why you made the design decisions you made. More information about rationales will be provided on assignment sheets.

The rules of engagement Discussion: For class discussions to work best, you must all feel free to share your ideas, opinions and disagreements openly. It is important to be honest, but keep your listeners in mind. Voice your opinions with respect and be gentle with others’ feelings. Mean-spirited remarks will not be tolerated. Critiques: This only works if you give classmates honest evaluations of their work in a courteous and professional manner—and if you hear their critiques with equal grace and detachment. Remember that the critique is not about you, but the work. It is easy to fall into the trap of converting comments into personal failures, but resist the urge. Even if you fail repeatedly, it is NOT a measure of your inherent worth as a person. : ) Phones, texting, MP3 players: Not during class. It is rude and unprofessional. If you choose to ignore this rule, be prepared to be called out or asked to leave. Infractions also will be reflected in your engagement grade. Laptop use: You may use laptops for note-taking only. Anyone unduly distracted by what’s happening on their screen also will be asked to leave at the expense of their grade. Personal needs: Please take care of personal needs before class so as not to disrupt our time together. I don’t mind if you bring food or a drink to class (Starbucks, anyone?) as long as you properly dispose of trash afterward.

multimedia photography & design

Graphics 217 Syllabus newhouse iii 251 | lecture: tu & thu 11 am – 12:20 pm | fall 2014 | section 2 | 3 credit hours | page 3 of 7 Submission requirements: In addition to submitting full-size printed versions of your work as required, you must put all relevant electronic files on the Newhouse server. More instructions will be provided.

Assignment values

Revisions: Becoming adept at something means learning from your mistakes. For that reason, you may try to earn a higher project grade on the first three projects by revising your work. But it’s better to be thorough the first time around because revisions take up more of your time and are graded more strictly. Just making changes does not guarantee a higher grade. Late projects may not be redone.

résumé / wordmark

Revisions must be accompanied by 1) a new rationale explaining only what you changed and why and 2) all new digital project files clearly labeled and organized. Revisions are due one week (to the hour) from when I email your grade.

Losing points Errors in grammar, spelling, usage, punctuation and fact will cost you points. These types of errors undermine the power and integrity of information and its source. The more egregious or numerous the errors, the greater the point deduction. Other deductions: Unmet requirements and missing elements can result in failure and loss of redo. Missing or weak rationales also can result in the significant lowering of your grade. Missing deadline: See below.

Deadlines All assignments are due at the start of class. Missing a deadline out in the industry can cost you, and so in this course. Your digital files must be on the server by the start of class—I’ll refer to the time stamp for verification—and your hard copies are due as you walk into class. Please hand all materials to Cori. If you are late, your work is late. Plan for punctuality. Late assignments may not be redone, and missing deadline also will be reflected in the project grade. The later it is, the greater the penalty. Slipping a project under my office door or putting it in my mailbox is not acceptable. If you expect to be late or absent the day a project is due, you may send it with a classmate or turn it in early to me or Cori. If extenuating circumstances make a late project inevitable, contact me before it’s due.

Labs, computers & files—oh my! Every semester I warn students to back up their work, and every semester I see students lose hours and hours of work because they didn’t. Things go wrong in the computer labs and on your laptop. Count on it. Be paranoid. Save your work often. And back it up. Twice. Losing all your work to corrupted files or server crashes is not an acceptable reason to miss deadline. Here’s what I recommend: When you go to work on an existing file, leave the latest version intact but duplicate it and add a version number to the end of the new name, so you end up with an series like this: COVER.indd —> COVERv2.indd —> COVERv3.indd —> COVERv4.indd —> etc. Yes, by the end of your project you might have scores of versions, but that’s certainly much better than none. And you can always delete obsolete versions if you’re tight on space. While that covers the loss of individual files, it does not help in case of an entire computer or hard drive malfunction. For that, I recommend that you backup your files on a separate storage system—your thumb drive, a portable hard drive, via an online service or even disks. You also may keep copies of your work on NHStorm>Course_Folders>GRA_217.2>Work. Note: Files in this folder are accessible by all students in the class. Lab managers are available during scheduled lab times to answer equipment and software questions. They are not design tutors, however, nor are most other students you meet in the lab, or even your lab instructor. You are welcome to seek input—especially gut reactions—but you’d be wise to remember that their design guidance might not be in line with what I consider acceptable. I encourage you to use my office hours and see me for individual art direction.

engagement (class /lab)

10 pts 5 pts 10 pts 15 pts 30 pts 30 pts

blog poster website magazine

Grading standards Assessments are based on professional standards, modified a bit for student levels. And inasmuch as effort is crucial to success, it is, lamentably, not enough. Trying hard must be accompanied by effective design. Graduating from Newhouse means something in the industry, and if you earned an A here, it is expected that you would have excelled in that course. So, merely meeting project requirements does not earn an A, nor is “trying hard” enough to excel. While effort is crucial to success, it must be accompanied by effective and impressive work. My general grading guideline is: A = Excellent concept and perfect or nearly perfect execution B = Good concept and/or some problems in clarity/execution C = OK/average concept and/or significant problems in clarity and execution D = Weak concept and/or significant problems in clarity and execution F = Concept wrong and/or fatally flawed execution or requirements unmet

Grading scale (excellent) (really good) b+ (very good) b (good) b - (kind of good) c+ (bit better than ok ) c (ok ) c- (bit worse than ok ) d (weak ) f (fatally flawed) a

a-

100–93 92.99–90 89.99–87 86.99–83 82.99–80 79.99–77 76.99–73 72.99–70 69.99–65 below 65

multimedia photography & design

Graphics 217 Syllabus newhouse iii 251 | lecture: tu & thu 11 am – 12:20 pm | fall 2014 | section 2 | 3 credit hours | page 4 of 7 Remember that labs have strictly enforced hours of operation, including several days-long closures. Plan accordingly. I have listed the times as I know them at right for your convenience. Doublecheck these against more up-to-date postings in labs for changes and specifics.

Office hours My office hours are specifically for YOU, not for me to get my work done, so don’t be shy—come see me. : ) You also can visit Cori. Stop by if you have questions about lectures, software or your work. A few notes on my hours: Sign up: Go to claudiastrong.youcanbook.me to sign up for a 20-minute meeting. There’s also a link on the blog in the sidebar.

Regular lab hours* monday tuesday



wednesday thursday friday







saturday sunday





8 am –12 am 8 am –12 am 8 am –12 am 8 am –12 am 8 am –12 am 10 pm –10 pm 10 pm –10 pm

*check lab postings for special hours

Video Chat: I’m also available via Google Hangout on Wednesdays from 9 to 10:30 a.m. My username is strongclaudia. The cool thing here is that I can share your screen and manipulate your files, so you don’t lose out on that aspect of a face-to-face meeting.

Labs will be closed labor day aug . 30– sept. 1 thanksgiving nov. 22– nov. 30

Come prepared: Whether in person or in pixels, have your digital files with you because it’s much easier to explore possibilities that way. Know, however, that we will not save any of the work done during these visits.

Printing & proofing

Online resources These sites might be of help or interest to you during the semester and are worth poking around in. Clearly, this is an abbreviated list, so if you find a site worth noting, please post it on the blog. Some of these links are available on the blog in the sidebar on the home page. aiga.org: Site of the professional association for design. Peruse its design archives for inspiration; read design articles in Voice; see what life is like for a designer in Journey. designobserver.com: Writings on design and culture by the world’s preeminent commercial designers and design critics. Very insightful stuff. creativecommons.org: A non-profit that helps you find images in the public domain or whose authors have given permission for their use in certain cases. Warning: Do not assume that the results displayed in this search portal are under a CC license. You should always verify that the work is actually under a CC license by following the link. www.sxc.hu: Free CC-licensed stock photos at fairly high resolution. http://www.flickr.com/groups/creative_commons-_free_pictures/: Free CClicensed photos at fairly high resolution. istockphoto.com: Great for inspiration and buying good images cheap. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/: Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. Usage rights vary per image.

Extra credit I do offer a couple of extra credit opportunities, but they’re not gimmes and do involve actual work. See me if you’re interested, but don’t wait till the last week or two of class as I’ll be less sympathetic, and if I allow it, you’ll have less time to make a real go of it. I also encourage you to attend lectures, presentations and exhibits relevant to our course topic. It is of extreme value and in your best interest as students of public communication to learn about the ideas and experiences of those who do it well. But because I consider such events inherently worth the effort, I do not give additional credit for attending.

Ch-ch-changes I reserve the right to revise the syllabus or class schedule as necessary. You’ll be notified in class or via email of any changes.

Your e-mail SU requires me to use your SU account. If you’d like email forwarded to another account, see https://selfserv.syr.edu/accounts/.

When you use lab printers for this class, please be thoughtful about paper consumption. All final copies must be printed in color unless the design is black and white. Feel free to use your own printer. If prints are subpar, I’ll let you know.

Instructional labs There are two GRA217 help labs beyond the one for which you’re registered: Open help lab starting 9/6: Sundays from 4 to 6 p.m. in 206B. No formal instruction; drop by for help. Runs all semester; no attendance credit. Permanent make-up lab, starting 9/2: Tuesdays from 8 to 9:20 p.m. in 206B. This permanent make-up lab is for students who missed the previous week’s lab; make-up credit is given for attending. This lab is to be used only for emergencies and not as a permanent lab session. (There is no make-up lab for Week 1, however. See below.) Labor Day make-up labs: Tuesday Sept. 2 from 12:30–2:50 p.m. in 206D; Wednesday Sept. 3 from 2:15–3:35 p.m. in 206F; Thursday Sept. 4 from 12:30– 1:50 in 206D. These are only for students who have Monday labs. If you cannot make any of these, this week only you may attend any lab with open seats. A list of labs is on MySlice.

multimedia photography & design

Graphics 217 Syllabus newhouse iii 251 | lecture: tu & thu 11 am – 12:20 pm | fall 2014 | section 2 | 3 credit hours | page 5 of 7 Use of student work

A few additional thoughts

I will use academic work you complete this semester for educational purposes in this course during this semester. Your registration and continued enrollment constitute your permission.

1. I know you’re smart. And if you’re a typical Newhouse student, you’re used to getting A’s, maybe without even putting too much effort into them. I’d be very surprised if you all get an A in this course, and those of you who do will work hard to earn it. This class is going to push you, and you might feel slightly out of control academically, maybe for the first time; you’ll probably even stumble here and there. I know you want good grades, but don’t let that get in the way of learning, exploring and stretching. Growing is the point. And no matter what you’ve been told, your grades don’t define you. You’re valuable regardless.

I might use academic work you complete this semester in subsequent semesters for educational purposes. Before using your work for that purpose, I am required to either get your written permission or render the work anonymous by removing all your personal identification.

Disabilities If you believe you need accommodations for a disability, please contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS)—804 University Avenue, Room 309, (315) 443-4498, disabilityservices.syr. edu, [email protected].—for an appointment to discuss your needs and the process for requesting accommodations. ODS is responsible for coordinating disability-related accommodations and will issue students with documented disabilities “Accommodation Authorization Letters,” as appropriate. Since accommodations may require early planning and generally are not provided retroactively, please contact ODS as soon as possible. Our community values diversity and seeks to promote meaningful access to educational opportunities for all students. Syracuse University and the Newhouse faculty are committed to your success and to supporting Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990). This means that in general no individual who is otherwise qualified shall be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity, solely by reason of having a disability. You are also welcome to contact me privately to discuss your academic needs, but faculty cannot arrange for disability-related accommodations.

Religious observances SU’s religious observances policy recognizes the diversity of faiths represented among the campus community and protects the rights of students, faculty and staff to observe religious holy days according to their tradition. Under the policy, students are provided an opportunity to make up any exam, study, or work requirements missed because of a religious observance provided they notify their instructors before the end of the second week of classes. Students who plan to observe a religious holiday this term must use the online notification process on MySlice, available only during the first two weeks of classes.

Academic integrity Syracuse University’s Academic Integrity Policy holds students accountable for the integrity of the work they submit. Students should be familiar with the policy and know that it is their responsibility to learn about course-specific expectations, as well as about university policy. The university policy governs appropriate citation and use of sources, the integrity of work submitted in exams and assignments, and the veracity of signatures on attendance sheets and other verification of participation in class activities. The policy also prohibits students from submitting the same written work in more than one class without receiving written authorization in advance from both instructors. The presumptive penalty for a first offense by an undergraduate student is course failure, accompanied by a transcript notation indicating that the failure resulted from a violation of Academic Integrity Policy. The standard sanction for a first offense by a graduate student is suspension or expulsion. For more information and the complete policy, see http://academicintegrity.syr.edu. Design projects: Unless specifically cited in the Sources & Influences area of your project rationales, all elements of your final designs are presumed to be your own individual work. You are free to look at other work for inspiration, but you may under no circumstances copy or recreate another person’s work and present it as your own. If you’ve been inspired by specific designs, list them explicitly and briefly in the rationale’s Sources & Influences section and include digital copies with your final submission, clearly marked “reference.” Full AI policy: http://academicintegrity.syr.edu/academic-integrity-policy/ Q&A about the AI policy: http://academicintegrity.syr.edu/faculty-resources/ What does AI mean? http://academicintegrity.syr.edu/what-does-academic-integrity-mean/

2. One of the rewards of teaching is meeting you all and sharing this moment in time. Please don’t hesitate to come chat anytime, even if it’s not design related. 3. Your life—including your work­­—has a purpose bigger than yourself. My hope is that you’re at SU because you want to make a difference. No doubt you’ve already learned many ways to get your point across, but do not take them lightly. Think carefully about what’s worth saying.

multimedia photography & design

Graphics 217 Syllabus newhouse iii 251 | lecture: tu & thu 11 am – 12:20 pm | fall 2014 | section 2 | 3 credit hours | page 6 of 7

Class schedule

*

week

topic

reading assigned

Introductions | What is graphic design? | Perception |

Syllabus | Arntson 2 & 4

th 8/28

Gestalt Theory | Hierarchy & Organization | Résumés

Arntson 3 & 5

02

Logos & Wordmarks | Process & Sketching

Arntson 11



01

day date tu

8/26

tu

9/2

assignments

• Résumé assigned

th 9/4 Type Anatomy, Categories & Styles | Working with Type Lupton “Letter” & “Text” Arntson 6 03

tu

9/9

“Helvetica”

th 9/11

Résumé Critique & Discussion

04

Communication Theory | Semiotics

tu

9/16



• Résumé drafts to class

th 9/18 Posters & Advertising Design | Display Type | Grids

Lupton “Grid” Arntson 10

05

tu

9/23

Illustrations | Getting Creative

Arntson pgs. 151-164



th

9/25

Color Theory & Working with Color

Arntson 8

06

tu

9/30

“To Inform & Delight”

th 10/2

Critiques & Discussion

07

Working with Photography, Part 1

tu

10/7



• Résumé due • Poster assigned

• Poster drafts to class





th 10/9 Website Design: Roles, Process & Architecture

• Poster due • Website assigned

08



tu

10/14

Website Design: Anatomy & Usability

Arntson 12

th 10/16

Working with Photography, Part 2

Arntson pgs. 164-170

09

10/21

Critiques & Discussion • Website drafts to class

th 10/23

Critiques & Discussion • Website drafts to class



10

tu

tu

10/28 “Objectified”

th 10/30 Publication Basics | What is Tablet Design? Arntson 7 • Website due • Tablet mag. assigned

11

tu

11/4

Magazine Anatomy & Covers

th 11/6

Working with Words & Images | In-class exercise



12

tu

11/11

Critiques & Discussion



th

11/13

Alternative Story Forms | Motion Graphics | More critiques if time allows



tu

11/18

Clienthood and the Studio with Greg Breeding

13

th 11/20

Critiques & Discussion • Remaining drafts to class



14 11/23–11/30 Thanksgiving break. Labs are closed.



15

tu

12/2

th 12/4

• iPad cover drafts to class

Troubleshooting & Critiques Design Jeopardy! • iPad magazine due * Schedule is tentative and subject to change.