Syllabus
Visual CommunicationsA 12-Week Course Outline
By Katherine Dillon
ABSTRACT
We see information before we read it – and often we see instead of read. This class provides on overview of the many tools and techniques available to convey and manipulate messages and experiences. These tools include typography, layout, color, information design, branding, packaging, illustration, photography, and motion graphics. This course will provide an overview of visual communication tools and techniques and, through a series of practical exercises, help students to understand the how to use them effectively.
The goal of the course is to provide students with the practical knowledge and critical skills necessary to effectively consider visual design as an important and inevitable component of their work.
COURSE OUTLINE
The following is a 12-session outline:
WEEK 1 – PRINCIPLES OF VISUAL DESIGN
WEEK 2 – TYPOGRAPHY AND LAYOUT
WEEK 3 – LOGO AND BRAND DESIGN
WEEK 4 – COLOR THEORY
WEEK 5 – INFORMATION DESIGN
WEEK 6 – INTERACTION DESIGN AND DESIGN PROCESS
There will be a series of assignments that apply the principles presented in class. The assignments will be presented and critiqued in the following class. The final project will be the design of a portfolio website for the students to showcase their work.
1. Principles of Visual Communication
The principles of visual design including shape, color, visual hierarchy, word/image relationships, typography and branding will be introduced. The aim of the session is to develop a general understanding of the basic rules of visual design as well as the verbal and visual vocabulary to describe and evaluate it.
Assignment: Pick a favorite web site and analyze its success in terms of grid, colors, layout, typography, consistency and usability. If the site has a brand extension in other formats, bring examples of that as well.
2. The Communication that Surrounds Us
We will examine signage as one of the most basic and omnipresent examples of visual design.
Assignment: Photograph examples of unsuccessful signage or other visual communication. Come to class prepared to present and discuss your examples.
3. Typography
This session will concentrate on the fundamentals of typography, and particularly on how typographic form and visual arrangement create and support a message. The class lecture will include an introduction to basic letterforms and typefaces, typographic terminology, and a brief history and theoretical overview of type.
Assignment: Set your name in 6 typefaces. Create 2-3 expressive word forms.
4. Typography and Layout
The position of type and graphic elements on a page will be the focus of this session. We will explore the impact of manipulating layout and techniques for ensuring legibility and infusing meaning.
Assignment: Create a business card for yourself applying the principles of typography and layout that have been discussed in class. Be prepared to review the card in both digital and print form at actual size.
5. Logo Design
Logo and icon design will be discussed and explored with a look at many examples of logo design and an analysis of what makes them successful or not. A brief history of logo design will be presented including the presentation of some of the masters.
Assignment: Choose a logo designer and come to class prepared to discuss their work and a particular logo that you find successful.
6. Branding
In this session we will focus on the design, development, and integration of a brand identity as part of an overall media strategy. Examples of branding will be discussed including an analysis of the various elements that impact the brand’s image as well as its use across media.
Assignment: Develop a logo for you or your business and apply it to your business card.
7. Color Theory
Color theory will be introduced in this session. We will explore the color wheel and how to use it effectively in making color decisions. We will look at the digital tools for choosing and manipulating color and demonstrate the impact of hue, saturation and brightness. We will explore how color can evoke a spectrum of emotional response and reaction.
Assignment: Color hue test. Color examples
8. Color and Perception, cont’d
Color is one of a designer’s most powerful media tools. This session we will explore color perception and the influential work of Josef Albers. We will also look at RGB and CMYK color models, explore their differences between digital and printed color.
Assignment: Color compositions
Introduction of final assignment, a portfolio website
Motion Graphics
Animation and motion graphics will be presented and various techniques for mixing graphic and video elements will be discussed as well as the various applications of animation in design
Introduction of the final project – the design of a portfolio website for the student’s to showcase their work will be introduced and a broad range of portfolio site examples will also be presented
9. Information Design
Facts and data are often a critical component of a message. This session will explore techniques for displaying information. Students will be presented with an overview of data display typologies and discuss their appropriateness to various data problems. We will discuss the ways the format of presentation impacts the interpretation of the data.
Photography
We will explore some basic principles of photography including techniques for taking and editing photographs.
Assignment: Select a favorite photo and apply a background to it.
10. Information Design part 2
information graphics will be further explored through a review of student work in which they have applied information design principles to the graphing of an aspect of their lives. We will also look at advanced examples of information design that introduce interactivity and the revelation of data over time and discuss the opportunities for information display in a digital realm.
Assignment: Develop a graph based on some aspect of your life or interests or routine
11. Interaction Design and Package Design
In this session we will explore the principles of good interaction and interface design. We will look at a number of examples and analyze how the principles of visual communication are applied. We will discuss the components of experience design and discuss the importance of consistency and intuitiveness. The opportunities for improved interaction design in our physical world will also be discussed.
We will extend the lessons of interaction and interface design to a explore package and product design. Two case studies that we will explore in depth will be presented and discussed.
Assignment: finalize your portfolio website design
12. Design Process
In this session students will learn the steps involved in the design process and how to structure a project for the highest likelihood of success. A series of practical and tactical examples across media; web, print, product and animation will be presented. The discussion will include the presentation of resources for photography and illustration and techniques for making appropriate photo and illustration choices.
Final Project Review
The students will present the portfolio website design project that they have been working on and sharing with the class for feedback over the past 4 weeks.
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SUGGESTED READING
Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide to creating, Building, and maintaining Strong Brands by Alina Wheeler
Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug
Envision Information by Edward Tufte
Notes on Graphic Design and Visual Media by Gregg Berryman
Primer of Visual Literacy by Donis Dondis
Principles of Color Design by Wucius Wong
The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint by Edward Tufte
The Interaction of Color by Josef Albers
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte
Visual Explorations by Edward Tufte
Visual Intelligence: Perception, Image and Manipulation in Visual Media by Anne Marie Seward Barry
Visual Thinking by Rudolf Arnheim