Sophomore Graphic Design

The title of the course could be Form, Content, Influence. You can’t understand who you are as a designer without first understanding form making, the relationship of content and form and what you are influenced by. We, as designers, are makers and thinkers and problem solvers. We believe in the meaning of our work. We believe in content and in bringing form to that content. We believe in communicating our ideas and the ideas of others. We believe in leveraging our experiences and influences of our lives to act as a filter of perspective through which we view the world.

The goal of this course is to help you begin to develop a way of working, thinking and making, a process that yields successful solutions to problems and challenges. We will navigate issues such as form, rapid iteration, concept development, content and form relationships. We will immerse ourselves in influences and learn ways to best gather, collect and, as designers, be influenced by the artifacts and experiences surrounding us.

You will be evaluated over the course of the class and will be assessed according to the major learning objectives of a Graphic Design major: Process, Master Key Principles, Authorship, Design Agility, History and Context, and Professionalism. The full rubric is under Assessment.

Class Rules

1. This class is a lot of work,
2. so work hard.
3. and be respectful. Yes to me, but also to your peers.
4. Make sure you show up,
5. and show up on time.
6. Work harder.
7. Show your work, process, everything you have or be prepared to, daily. The more you are getting feedback from the class the better. It makes your work better and it helps you evolve as a designer.
8. Questions. Ask them. Often. Questions are ALWAYS beneficial to the entire class, not just the person asking.
9. Experiment. Sketch. Test. Sample. Prototype. Rinse. Repeat.
10. The project is never complete.
11. The printer is always broken.
12. Collaborate.
13. Dish it out and take it.
14. Laugh. Don’t Cry.
15. Be opinionated. Debate. Ask more questions.
16. Don’t take it personally.
17. I will help you be a better designer.
18. There are no favorites. If you do good work, or work hard it will be recognized. Likewise for poor work or laziness.
19. I will challenge your ideas, be prepared to defend them.

Meetings, Appointments, Reviews

It is expected that you as a class will help and support each other throughout this course and others for that matter. That said, I am of course fully accessible in class as well as at my office and via email: nickrock@bu.edu. Please do not use any other email address to contact me. All communication should go through my BU email address or via Basecamp.

The semester runs four projects. Project 1 runs the full semester; Project 2 has four parts (A–D).

You will be evaluated over the course of the class and will be assessed according to the major learning objectives of a Graphic Design major. In addition, the following specific points will be factored into your final grade for the course:

• Attendance. Attendance at each class is mandatory. As the core studio course for your major it will make up some of the most important work you are doing here. Class discussion and critique are not things that are easily made up and happen regularly. You must contact me in advance if you need to miss a class. At my discretion, if you have more than one unexcused absence your mark will be lowered by as much as one full grade. If you are late, or absent you must follow up with me, as you will still be responsible for the work. I will not chase you down to catch you up. You should be scheduling appointments around your classes since you know your class schedule, and not the other way around.
• Class Participation. Part of a designer’s job is communicating effectively, on a design team, in a studio environment or with clients. You will be expected to be an active member of the class, particularly during critiques, as all feedback is important. Discussion is an important part of the design process. If you are not participating regularly in the discussion you will be asked for your opinion. Lack of participation will negatively impact your final grade.
• Group Work. Designers rarely work independently. Completed work is almost always the result of a team effort of some sort, whether it be just designers, designer and client, designer, developer, writer etc. In this class there will be times when you will be asked to work as part of a team. Your contribution to the team will be assessed along with the final output of the team’s work.
• Project Execution. All projects should be given your full attention and effort. Each component of your projects will be reviewed. Projects need to be submitted on deadline and should be complete according to project brief. Projects must be completed by the due date. Late work will be penalized. All parts of your projects in this class will be evaluated including process and research documents. You will be given an opportunity to improve upon each project following that project’s final critique.
• Project Process. You are expected to document the process of each of your projects throughout the semester. This means, saving all sketches, writings mock ups etc. Your documents will be given the same attention to detail as your design work. The process for each project will make up a portion of your grade.

You will not be graded on your projects individually. While we will have final critiques for each project, you may continue to work on an individual project and re-present the work at the semester final review.

Evaluation: Learning Objectives

Check-ins and Final Reviews

We will also be having 2 individual, monthly check-in meetings, February 23 and March 30, in which we will discuss your status in the class, to ensure that you all know where you stand and that we are all on the same page. You are required to sign up for a time slot on both dates.

We will not have a final review of work for the class. You will have your normal semester end reviews. After which you will receive a letter grade based upon Graphic Design Learning Objectives, Attendance, Project Process + Execution and Participation:

• A — You demonstrate an advanced understanding of concepts presented and are able to complete work above and beyond suggested parameters.
• B — You exhibit a more than competent understanding of concepts presented and utilize these concepts in an articulate and noteworthy manner.
• C — You demonstrate a basic understanding of the information studied and apply this information to assigned problems meeting basic expectations but not going beyond suggested parameters.
• D — You exhibit limited understanding of the concepts and complete work below the level required for satisfactory performance.
• F — You demonstrate little or no understanding of course material, show little desire or motivation to complete the work or turn in incomplete projects.

Requirements

• A laptop
• A flash drive
• A camera
• A sketchbook

Books to Read

• Bringhurst, Robert. The Elements of Typographic Style.
• Lupton, Ellen. Thinking with Type.

Software + Services

It goes without saying that you will need to have access to Adobe Creative Suite if you don’t already. I don’t expect this to be an issue, but wanted to be sure.

You will need a Dropbox account, or you may use your BU-provided Google Drive. You MUST have a backup solution in place after the first week. I recommend Backblaze.

We will be using Basecamp to consolidate class communications: a central portal for class discussion outside of class and a digital library of class resources, such as this syllabus, project briefs, certain readings and the class calendar.