Hello. I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend last week.

Inclass – 09.24.12
Today (Monday) we will continue with the research phase of the ‘Get Out the Vote’ poster campaign. Remember the poster that you will be designing is meant to be nonpartisan – meaning “not partisan; free from party affiliation, bias, or designation.”

We will continue to use Photoshop to work on the moodboards. Moodboards – also known as your research board should be made in Photoshop – import images into the document from the web, the way I showed in class: see handout posted week2. By the end of class your moodboard should be complete and include images for each of the following four categories:

Here are  additional words we came up with last week:

1. Lab time to work
2. Sign-up for class presentation if you have not already done so last week.
3. Before class ends we will break into small groups to construct 4 questions or statements that capture the theme of your moodboard. This question or statement will become the basis for the tagline of your poster.

Lesson
Photoshop Review – Download class lesson files here: original-images
-> Setting up/ saving a document – resolution
-> Rulers, Layers, Menus, Palettes and Tools
-> Selections
-> Working with layers
-> Layer adjustments
-> Type tool
-> If time allows we will peek at Illustrator

Homework
1. Post 4 possible taglines to this blog.
2. From your tagline develop 3 pencil or ink sketches of a possible poster concept. Sketches MUST have a drawn border around them.
3. Moodboard – keep in mind your moodboard should show evidence of your research. Your moodboard should define what a democracy is. I expect to see historical references relating to voting, freedom, government, independence…

For next week I would like you to have a specific target audience in mind and you should be able to explain how your sketches address your target audience and encourage them to go out and vote.
For example your target audience could be based on age, economic background, geographic location, gender, etc…

Additional Design Strategies Develop a visual hierarchy of all the required visual elements. Create a few sketches to explore different possibilities for your layout. Think about using type as metaphor to visually communicate your analysis, or point(s) of view on the subject. Experiment with a variety of approaches. Don’t assume first ideas and solutions are the best. Take chances, you can always tighten things up later. Select a series of words from your phrases, edit the words down to a series of syllables, literal meanings have less significance here. Experiment with type and composition perhaps focus on the expression through the letterforms themselves, as well as through their arrangement on the page.

Sketches can be smaller than final poster dimensions but should be a vertical layout. I will review your interim compositions (sketches) next week and from there you will begin to develop one final solution of the poster.

Next week we will review the sketches.

Hello – welcome to week 2.

Lecture Topic
Design Team
1. Review words – organize into five categories
2. What it means to be a designer – visual communicator
3. Photoshop: Inspiration/Moodboard – see canvas dimensions here: ADV1162_InspirationBoard
More about moodboards: click here
-> Resolution 300 dpi vs 72 dpi ( Dots Per Inch = DPI  = Pixel = Raster)
-> Resampling
-> Layers
-> Copy & Paste
-> Selections
-> Scanning

4. Break off into teams for brainstorming secession – expand on each list by 10 words.

Websites that offer permission free and public domain images:
www.sxc.hu
www.richardharringtonblog.com/resources/freeimages/

As a side note – if you email me you should be using your City Tech email and you should always include a ‘signature’ – Title/ Contact info:
Your name
Communication Design Under-Grad
Advertising Design and Graphic Arts Dept.
New York City College of Technology
CUNY

Tell:(optional)
Cell: (optional)
Email: (optional)

Homework:
1. Continue to work Moodboards should be made in Photoshop – import images into the document from the web, the way I showed in class today. See above for canvas dimensions. (If you have any questions or problems email me)
2. In our next class I will ask you all to construct a question or brief statement that captures the theme of your mood board.

Welcome to the first class of the semester!

We will be working in close collaboration with Professor Devers who you have for English Composition 1, ENG 1101. Our classes are paired as part of a learning community and will allow us to explore relevant subject matter ideally creating a productive environment for exploring, learning, researching, and critical thinking.

Please see the handouts given in class today, as well as the lecture/ lesson topics, and the homework assignment due for next week.

ADV1162_HitchingsSyllabus
ADV1162_Project1Overview
ADV1162_Week1-Terms
ADV1162_StudentPresentations

Lecture Topic
Introduction to the semester

• Photoshop and Illustrator
• Vector vs. bitmap, print vs. web, resolution, saving, file formats, file management
• Workspace
• Role of a designer
• Introduction to Project 1 – poster design- we will be working on the poster design over the next several weeks. We will start by researching the subject matter and exploring different possible design solutions. The assignment will take us through several stages in the design process. You will be assessed on each stage of this process – so please do not rush ahead…)

Homework

• Chose a designer for in-class presentation (see handout above). Presentations start week5.
• Register for this blog to receive regular updates
• Send me a ‘professional’ email with your signature (contact information)
• Research: Voting themes, ‘democracy’- words associations. Post five words to this blog that you associate with the definition of a ‘democracy’.

Resources

• www.commarts.com
• www.aiga.com
• www.tdc.org
• www.adcglobal.org