Your responsibility includes everything here and in the General Class Policies. Read both, then sign the contract and return by the third class meeting if you intend to stay in the class. If you have questions, consult the syllabus then consult me. Ignorance will not save you points. General Class Policies Index: ETHICS || FEEDBACK || e-MAIL || WebCT || DEADLINES || ATTENDANCE || ELECTRONIC DEVICES || ACCOMMODATIONS Syllabus Index: DESCRIPTION || TEXTS || GRADING || OPPORTUNITIES || PORTFOLIO || SCHEDULE PREREQUISITES
Analysis of current design trends, utilization of desktop publishing software, creation of fliers, newspaper pages, magazine spreads, ads and information graphics, which will also be applied to the Web. Exposure to journalistic principles, style, ethics and law governing designers. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES Appreciation and understanding of how paginators approach their work and the tools they use, e.g. InDesign, Photoshop. Improving communication through analyzing, understanding and utilizing placement of text, photos, headlines, graphics, fonts and white space. Engaging in a dialogue on legal and ethical considerations facing paginators today.Developing basic skills, including:
Syllabus Index: DESCRIPTION || TEXTS || GRADING || OPPORTUNITIES || PORTFOLIO || SCHEDULE Required, i.e. Bring to class every day:
Recommended:
Useful Web sites:
Syllabus Index: DESCRIPTION || TEXTS || GRADING ||
OPPORTUNITIES || PORTFOLIO ||
SCHEDULE
As you know by now, I base grading on performance, not effort — it takes great effort to perform. Since skill mastery is the objective of this class, I do not grade on a curve. You are not competing with your classmates for a position at the top. I do not give grades; you earn them. Previous achievement will not guarantee any student a high grade on any project in this course.
While it's OK to err, I grade repeated mistakes harder. So go over your work
when you receive it to make sure you understand any criticisms.
Just as in art, design projects defy evaluation attempts on a
purely quantitative basis. Even though there will be some subjective evaluation,
I emphasize following instructions when grading work in this class, i.e.
attention to detail and pride of craft at the expense of creativity and
exertion. The visual design profession operates on the fundamental principles of
precise and consistent alignment, mounting and printing. Just as a poorly
cropped or out-of-focus photograph will cost you points in a photography course, so will alignment,
mounting and printing mistakes in design.
Just as you must learn the rules before you can break the rules in
writing, so too in design. After acquiring sufficient understanding,
practice or experience, you may want to focus on "being creative" or "breaking rules."
But first, you
must prove, over and over if need be, that you understand and respect the
rules of design before you can break those rules. In other words, you won't be
rewarded for "breaking rules" in this course. Future employers want to know
that you can precisely and consistently follow rules and instructions. They keep paginators who are precise and competent; they seldom hire paginators who are
more interested in "being creative" or "breaking rules."
Like writing, effective design requires editing and reworking. You
should expect to do the assignment many times, meaning you'll layout a page or
spread once and then redo it again. You'll find your best designs seldom if ever
occur on the first try. I
plan to use constructive criticism to develop and improve visual design skills,
to solidify your strengths and to, hopefully, improve your weaknesses.
You MUST work outside of the class to improve and remember, I will NOT
give you an extension because you failed to find time to complete the project. That being said, the change in percentage points for a grade reflects expectations in this
upper-level course.
The general range of each grade will adhere to these standards:
A — Publishable design that's exceptionally well organized,
thorough, visually attractive and essentially error-free. It uses appropriate,
appealing and effective visuals and text that allows a reader/viewer to quickly
understand the point of the communication. Copy corresponds with design and is
ready to publish.
B — Publishable design that's well done, but requires minimal revising
due to ineffective or unclear presentation, or a few grammar, style, spelling or
minor factual errors
C — Design might be adequate for publication, but only if
substantially revised
to fix the following needs:
D — Though it contains many necessary elements, major revisions
required to design to fix:
F — Cannot publish design due to serious defects including: Syllabus Index: DESCRIPTION || TEXTS || GRADING || OPPORTUNITIES || PORTFOLIO || SCHEDULE OPPORTUNITIESLab Quizzes (100 points) - The text reads like a magazine and shows many creative design ideas. I will quiz from the text and on knowledge of Photoshop and InDesign at the appropriate time. Same idea as other classes, i.e. take 12, drop two. Design File (100 points) - The old adage suggests "form follows function." Pretty or creative does not always equal effective. The best work combines both. To that end, you'll keep a design file that I will check four times during the semester. Learn from the professionals by observing printed and online publications outside of class. Focus on the layout and design elements that you could use in class. Find and critique a different kind of design (magazine page, advertisement, photos, infographic, etc.) each time you do this. Find a design you like dislike, then find a similar design that you like in the same medium. Write a single-spaced, one-page critique indicating comparing and contrasting the designs focusing on the four principles of good design discussed in class. Update your design file when you see interesting designs -- not just before deadline -- to receive the best grade. Group Project (200 points) - Examine publication stylebooks from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Pine Bluff Commercial and Arkansas Catholic. Prepare a publication stylebook detailing the design principles your publication will follow for front page, editorial page and departmental pages to ensure styles remain consistent. You will implement your design stylebook when you prepare your final exam. Other elements of the group project include:
Extra Credit - I will add 2 percentage points to your final grade if you have perfect attendance. You can earn an additional 50 points at semester's end by writing the bonus critique explained in the schedule. Syllabus Index: DESCRIPTION || TEXTS || GRADING || OPPORTUNITIES || PORTFOLIO || SCHEDULE EXAMSThe 100-point midterm consists of a traditional exam (true/false, multiple choice, matching and filling in the blanks) and photo manipulation.
The 300-point final consists of a major design project appealing to 16-24 year olds. You will prepare a
seven-page
prototype of your idea (NOTE: Magazines typically do not run news on the cover). Your client insists that the
prototype cover
contains at least three articles, and every article have at least three "points
of entry." You may choose the size, paper and use of color. Use the best articles written for The Voice or
other features for copy as the purpose of this course is learning proper design
techniques rather than writing.
Plan ahead as no extensions will be given. For the final project:
Content - Individual expectations include:
PORTFOLIO (100 points) At the end
of the semester, you will submit a portfolio of your class work with a short
description of what you learned from each exercise. In
the summary, explain:
If you don't understand something in this Web note, please e-mail Dr. Sitton.
©Ronald W. Sitton 2009 |
