Course Syllabus

DGMD E-50
Introduction to Visual Communication Design
Fall 2016

Course Description

This course introduces students to a practice-based, hands-on approach to visual communication design. Students will learn the about vector and raster graphics, how to design with specific audiences in mind, and edit images using some of the most commonly used photo editing software in the visual design industry. Topics also include the elements and principles of design, color theory, visual perception theories, typography, symbols, brand identity, logos, and information design. Connections to current and historical context of the graphic arts are woven throughout the course. Students will also share their work and learn to take part in design critiques and discussions, as both designers and peers. Readings and viewings of relevant films are a required component of the course.

Course Prerequisite

None. However, you are expected to find your way around a computer.

Course Staff:

Athir Mahmud, PhD
Instructor
Email: Athir.Mahmud@gmail.com
Twitter: @AthirMahmud

Seulki Song
Grader
seulkisong@alumni.harvard.edu

Contacting the Instructor

Please email the instructor with any personal issues that are affecting your class experience or with any information you do not wish to share with the rest of the class. Example: death in the family, severe illness, grading issues, etc.

During the semester, I strive to answer all e-mail messages within 24 hours of receipt during the week, Monday through Friday. If you send me an e-mail on the weekend (Saturday or Sunday), the earliest you should expect a reply is Monday, though you may receive a reply earlier if I happen to be online during the weekend.

Please do NOT email the instructor with questions about the course material. It is better to ask these questions in the forum for the class, where others can benefit from the answer as well. (See “How Class Works” below.)

Required Materials

1. Access to a computer (Operating system does not matter, but higher RAM, 8GB or more, will help)
2. Adobe products are an industry standard and they can be rather expensive, but powerful. Therefore, I recommend a student subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud. We will mainly focus on Photoshop so the Photography plan should work just fine ($9.99 per month). If you want to learn more of the applications, you are welcome to get the complete set, but it costs more. Unfortunately, they only offer annual plans under Students and Teachers, so if you really want the applications for a short time only, you would have to pay the price listed for individuals. In the end, you pay the same amount ($119.88) but it is extended over an entire year for students. The decision is yours to make.
3. Access to a scanner and printer
4. A sketchbook (or unlined paper) and a variety of drawing pens and pencils

Course Objectives

• Use industry-standard software to design graphical images
• Understand the difference between different graphics and image file formats
• Apply the concepts found within elements and principles of design
• Incorporate theories and concepts when discussing visual communication
• Use theory when considering different mediums in visual communication
• Create a brand identity such as business cards, packaging, and advertising
• Design logos, especially as related to brand identity
• Understand differences between visual UX, UI, graphic, and web design
• Create simple information visualizations
• Learn to provide constructive criticism, known as “critiques,” when evaluating the design work of peers
• Construct an artist’s statement

Required On-Campus Weekend

This class is a combination of lecture videos and a required intensive weekend residency.

The mandatory on campus session meets on:

• Saturday, November 5, 2016 – 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
• Sunday, November 6, 2016 – 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Attendance is required at the entire weekend in order to earn credit and pass the course. You cannot arrive late or leave early. If you are traveling from afar, please plan accordingly giving yourself plenty of time to arrive by the start of class. No exceptions can be granted. This is a Harvard University policy.

How Class Works

1. This class is mainly online, expect for the intensive weekend, November 5-6, 2016. You must attend the face-to-face sessions in order to receive credit for the course.
2. New video lectures will be posted each Tuesday, sometime during the day. These will vary in length, based on the material being presented. Expect videos lasting between 30-60 minutes.
3. When the new class is posted, you will find an entry describing exactly what you should do and what you need to turn in. If you have questions on what you should be doing, what the assignment is, when things are due, ask!
4. You may do the assignments whenever you wish, as long as they are submitted by the due date. Please do not wait until the last minute to get your work done! With technology, things go wrong all the time, so anticipate this and aim to have your assignments complete a day early.
5. Work is broken into weekly chunks because it is expected that it will take you a week to complete the videos and readings. You cannot cram it all into the 2 days before the Project is due.
6. For reference, you may use Boston as the city for calculating time and date. The time zone here is US Eastern time. Please refer to http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock for your local time and date for when assignments are due. All dates and times posted in class refer to Eastern time, and you should adjust your time and date accordingly.
7. We have students from around the world in class. We try to make lectures as clear as possible, but sometimes we are not clear to those who are outside the United States. Please ask questions if the lectures or assignments are not clear.
8. There will be a discussion forum posted every week where you can ask questions about the week's assignment, interact with other classmates, and answer each other's questions. 
9. Please email me if you have personal issues that will prevent you from completing assignments, questions related to your grade, or contain other personal information you do not wish to share with the class. 
10. Be warned: each lecture builds on the last one. If you are late submitting a Project, catch up as fast as you can. If you do not understand something, be sure to ask in the forum. DO NOT FALL BEHIND. Complete the weekly readings, videos, and assignments, and you should have no trouble keeping up.

Grading

94-100             A
93-90               A-
89-87               B+
86-84               B
83-80               B-
79-77               C+
76-74               C
73-70               C-
69-67               D+
66-64               D
63-60               D-
Below 60         Failing

Graded Assignments

There will be a variety of different assignments in this course. The most important of these are the 5 Design Projects, each of which accounts 15% of your grade. Each Design Project will be very different from the previous, so you will receive detailed directions as to what is expected or required.

A detailed description of each project will be distributed at least 2 weeks before the project is due. Each of the 5 Design Project accounts for

5 Design Projects                    75%
5 Film Reflections                   10%
4 Critiques and
1 Artist Statement                   15%

Film Reflections

You will be required to write 5 reflections based on documentary films related to different types of visual design. Even though they are worth fewer points toward your grade, it is strongly recommended you complete the reflections.

Critiques and Artist Statement

The first 4 Design Projects will also require you to take part in critiques. Since this is an online class, you will be critiquing the work of your classmates in Canvas forums. In order to prevent a few designs from getting all the critiques, you will be assigned to a student’s work. This will change for every design project.

The Artist Statement is a one-time assignment. Details regarding this will be posted in the weeks prior to its due date.

Grading Policy and Procedures

Projects are due on the dates specified in the course outline by 11:59 PM Eastern time that day. It is expected that you will submit the assignment on time.

You may submit up to 1 Project late. This includes Design Projects 1, 2, 3, or 4. Design Project 5 cannot be late as it is the end of the term.

"Late" means that you can submit it late up to 3 days after the due date. All assignments are due on Sundays, so the "late" date would be the immediately following Wednesday at 11:59 PM. 

Late Projects are indicated in Canvas. There is no penalty for your grade for this late assignment. However, you may only turn in one assignment late. If another assignment is late, it will receive a zero.

Submitting Assignments

Design Projects will be in the form of a visual design. Detailed instructions will be provided for your first project.

Academic Honesty

You are responsible for understanding Harvard Extension School policies on academic integrity (www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/student-conduct/academic-integrity) and how to use sources responsibly. Not knowing the rules, misunderstanding the rules, running out of time, submitting "the wrong draft", or being overwhelmed with multiple demands are not acceptable excuses. There are no excuses for failure to uphold academic integrity. To support your learning about academic citation rules, please visit the Harvard Extension School Tips to Avoid Plagiarism (www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/resources/tips-avoid-plagiarism), where you'll find links to the Harvard Guide to Using Sources and two, free, online 15-minute tutorials to test your knowledge of academic citation policy. The tutorials are anonymous open-learning tools.

Copying the files of other students and submitting them as your own work is not only a violation of school academic policies but a real shortchange to your ability to learn what you need to learn. With this being a course on visual design, the use of images that are not your own as if they are your own is also considered plagiarism. We ask that you help keep us out of situations where we might need to take action regarding plagiarism, cheating and other acts of poor academic integrity. 

Accessibility

The Extension School is committed to providing an accessible academic community. The Disability Services Office offers a variety of accommodations and services to students with documented disabilities. Please visit www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/resources/disability-services-accessibility for more information.

Textbooks & Training Videos

There is no required textbook for the class. Instead, you will be supplied with a variety of academic articles, online resources, book chapters or sections, and other sources. All videos provided will be required to watch, and required readings are a part of the course.

I may recommend other books and resources as we continue throughout the semester. None of the books are required, but you may find them helpful for reference and additional help.

You will also be given a subscription to Lynda.com for the duration of this course. These online training videos are also there to supplement the lecture material. You will need a HUID and Harvard PIN to access the Lynda.com resources.

Additionally, you will be required to watch 5 documentary films, for which you will write reflections. All videos are either online or they can be purchased or rented through Amazon. Feel free to use any medium, if you know of a cheaper or free way to view the films.

Course Outline (subject to change) 

Week/Date	Topics and Activities
1 – 8/30	INTRODUCTION TO COURSE Defining visual communication design Graphic design vs art Design thinking Visual design tools Image files
DUE: 9/2/2016	Ice-Breaker in Discussion in Canvas
------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Labor Day Holiday – September 5, 2016 ***** -------------------------------------------------------------
2 – 9/6	ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN Color, shape, texture, space, form Unity/harmony, balance, hierarchy, scale/proportion, emphasis, similarity, contrast
DUE: 9/9/2016	Reflection 1 – Objectified
3 – 9/13	DESIGN THEORY Gestalt Principles Visual perception
DUE: 9/18/2016	Design Project 1
4 – 9/20	COLOR Primary, secondary, and tertiary colors Hue, value, intensity, and saturation Achromatic vs monochromatic Analogous, complementary, triadic Gradients, temperatures Emotional response to color Color symbolism, meaning, cultural variations
DUE: 9/25/2016	Critique 1 (Project 1)
5 – 9/27	TYPOGRAPHY AND TYPOGRAPHIC ELEMENTS Historical evolution Serif vs sans-serif fonts Legibility vs readability Use in ads, signs, movie posters, etc
DUE: 10/2/2016	Reflection 2 – Helvetica
6 – 10/4	COMPOSITION Focus Leading lines Scale/hierarchy Contrast Repetition White space Rule of thirds
DUE: 10/9/2016	Design Project 2
------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Columbus Day Holiday – October 10, 2016 ***** -------------------------------------------------------------
7 – 10/11	CREATIVITY, ARTISTRY, AESTHETICS, AND THE DESIGN PROCESS Creativity vs Innovation Aesthetics and their evolution Creative/Design Process Flow
DUE: 10/16/2016	Critique 2 (Project 2)
8 – 10/18	SYMBOLISM Symbols and signs Psychoanalytical symbols Metaphor in visual design Evolution of symbols and metaphor
DUE: 10/23/2016	Reflection 3 – Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight
9 – 10/25	COLLAGE Collage Photomontage Assemblage Digital collage/e-Collage Influence of movements: Dada, Surrealism, Expressionism
DUE: 10/30/2016	Reflection 4 - Design Is One
10 – 11/1	VISUAL IDENTITY AND BRANDING Visual branding Visual identity Logo Design
***** REQUIRED INTENSIVE WEEKEND ***** Saturday, November 5, 2016 - 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Sunday, November 6, 2016 - 9:00 am – 1:00 pm DUE 11/6/2016: Design Project 3 and Critique 3
11 – 11/8	Watch Design and Thinking
DUE: 11/13/2016	Reflection 5 – Design and Thinking
12 – 11/15	UI, UX, AND DESIGN FOR THE WEB
DUE: 11/20/2016	Design Project 4
13 – 11/22	Break For the Week
DUE:	Rest and relaxation
------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Thanksgiving Break – November 23-27, 2016 ***** -------------------------------------------------------------
14 – 11/29	INFORMATION VISUALIZATION
DUE: 12/4/2016	Critique 4 (Project 4)
15 – 12/6	ADVERTISING, BROCHURES, PRINT, POSTERS
DUE: 12/11/2016	Design Project 5 and Artist's Statement