Graphic Design Fundamentals

Graphic Design Fundamentals

In this class you will learn the fundamentals of graphic design while designing and producing several real-world projects. This intensive class will meet for six sessions. You will be expected to work on design projects outside of class.

Objectives

1. Broaden your understanding of graphic design concepts and processes, both formal and conceptual
2. Enhance your skill as a designer
3. Understand the elements of design
4. Learn how to speak about your work and how to incorporate and evaluate critiques
5. Develop and expand your portfolio

Projects

1. Logo Design
2. Label Design for a Series
3. Invitation Redesign
4. Publication Design
5. Boxing Poster
6. Advertising Design

Assignments given in class will be critiqued during class both by the instructor and during group critiques. Students must incorporate these critiques into their work and either finish the assignment in class or as homework. At the end of the session it is expected that the students will have at least 6 finished assignments for their portfolio. The instructor is available throughout the 6 classes to give feedback and advice on all projects both during and outside class.
For this class students should have a solid working knowledge of InDesign. Throughout the course, the instructor will provide various handouts and reference materials. Source materials will be supplied by the instructor for in-class work.

About the Instructor

 formerly the Design Director of IridiumGroup, has more than 15 years of experience as a strategic designer at leading companies including Hearst Magazines, Segal Savad Design, M. Shanken Communications, Ziff Davis Media and SmartMoney Custom Solutions. After working for editorial, advertising, branding, corporate and generalist agencies in New York City and England he measures his time between teaching and professional practice. In 2012, he was a semifinalist for an  Design Achievement international award for Innovation in Education. Maurizio has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology and a Master of Arts in Graphic Design at Nottingham Trent University in England. As a self-titled reflective practitioner, he is constantly evaluating his conceptual and contextual process. He is also a former amateur boxer and an avid bread baker.

Section 1

What You'll Learn

Area 1

What is Graphic Design?

Themes

Concise slide show and talk

Visual scrounger scrapbook/individual exploration document

The Design Process

Themes

Conceptualizing

Customer joint effort

Refining your thoughts, joining studies

Displaying your work

Word Work

Themes

Pace plan with constrained source material!

Figure out how to function rapidly and inventively inside altered parameters.

Make numerous plans from one thought.

Outline Assignment: Logo Design

Points

Concise slide indicate on what makes a decent logo

Outline task 1: Logo overhaul

Outline task 2: Personal logo plan

Section 2

Section 2

Color Matters

Topics

• What do colors mean?
• How do designers use colors effectively
• Color palates: we will explore how to choose appropriate color palates for different assignments

Design Assignment: Label Design for a Series

Topics

• Using color and typography create a logo and an identity for a small company.
• Transfer these ideas to labels for coffee and olive oil.
• Each product will have three variations. Translate your design across all three versions. Maintain brand continuit

Section 3

Section 3

Information Hierarchy

Topics

• What goes first? Second? Last? And why?
• Are there rules? How can we be creative within these rules?
• We explore the who, what, where, when, and why of laying out information.

Design Assignment: Invitation Redesign

Topics

• We will design invitations for three different types of events: corporate gala; wedding; small, fun personal party

Section 4

Section 5

Section 5

Large Scale Poster Design

Topics

• Slide show and discussion on poster design and composition
• Techniques: how to use type graphically
• Composition of text and graphics on a single, large document
• Color and layering
• Coming up with your own graphics
• Working LARGE

Design Assignment: Boxing Posters

Topics

• Students will create an old fashioned boxing poster, stacking type, using words and letters graphically, filling the page with exciting images and words while also maintaining a sense of importance within the information being shown on the poster.

Section 6

Section 6

Advertising Design

Topics

• We will re-brand a famous company with a fresh new look and design strategy.
• Using all we have learned about color, composition, scale and identity we will create a series of ads that help take a previously languishing old brand into the present day to become relevant and exciting again.

Design Hero Slide Show

Topics

• The instructor will show a brief slide show of design heroes throughout history