SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION

CMNS 480-2 E1.00

(Directed Study) ADVANCED DESIGN

Seminar: Tuesdays, 17:30-19:20, HC2270

Prerequisites:

CMNS 473 and permission of instructor. Access to a computer is mandatory.


Course Goals:

Participants will building on design skills acquired in CMNS 473. Our priority is to prepare a job winning portfolio of work by the end of term. We will also be exploring issues of Creativity throughout the course. The first two projects will be portfolio enhancers. (A book jacket design, and a festival package.) The middle part of the course will be devoted to students giving presentations on various design topics and issues. The final weeks will be one-on-one meeting/consultation between the professor and the student to help develop a strong self-promotional package and portfolio.

The student's creative resume should be exceptional! It must elevate them above the crowd and clearly show that they can produce results. This is a special tool, one that establishes your credibility. Hopefully, it leaves a lasting impression, is a crisp self-advertisement, a polished mirror of you! A strong concept is the foundation of the creative resume. It can help overcome rather ordinary data. We will work together as a class to brainstorm and develop design directions.

For the final project, students will first design a personal logotype, and then prepare a personal stationery package, creative resume and self-promotional piece (strategy). Please bring even a rough draft of your resume with you to class in week 4.

This course is "Portfolio Driven". You can expect to spend from $20 to $60 (or more, depending on what your project is . . .) on developing your portfolio.


Course Outline:

Week 1:

Tuesday 8 January
Introduction: Course Outline
Assign: Book Jacket Design Project
Lecture: Logo Design
Exercises: Logo Design
-bring examples of good or bad logos to next class.


Week 2:

Tuesday 15 January
Look At: good or bad logos
Lecture: Stationery Systems Design
Exercises: Logo Design
-bring examples of good or bad business cards to next class.


Week 3:

Tuesday 22 January
DUE: Book Jacket Designs
Assign: Festival Project
Look At: good or bad business cards
Lecture: Self-Promotional Strategies
Exercises: Creativity
-bring your resume rough to the next class.


Week 4:

Tuesday 29 January
Lecture: Resume Design and Construction
Exercises: Creativity
Resume Clinic


Week 5:

Tuesday 5 February
Portfolio Strategies (possible guest speaker)
Student Presentations
Creativity Exercises


Week 6:

Tuesday 12 February
Student Presentations
Creativity Exercises


Week 7:

Tuesday 19 February
Student Presentations
Creativity Exercises


Week 8:

Tuesday 26 February
Due: Festival Project
Assign: Final Project -- Personal Stationery System
(business card, letterhead, envelope and resume)
Student Presentations
Creativity Exercises


Week 9:

Tuesday 5 March
Meet with students individually to discuss resume and portfolio design issues.


Week 10:

Tuesday 12 March
Meet with students individually to discuss resume and portfolio design issues.


Week 11:

Tuesday 19 March
Meet with students individually to discuss resume and portfolio design issues.


Week 12:

Tuesday 26 March
Tour of Benwell Atkins Printing Company
Field any final project concerns.


Week 13:

Tuesday 2 April
Due: at 6:45 ˜ Final Project design comps
Portfolio Viewing: 6:30 -- 8:00 at Harbour Centre to show off all your great work.


Course Evaluation:


Book Jacket Design Project 20% (Due: _________________)
Festival Project 20% (Due: _________________)
Student Design Presentations 15% (Due: _________________)
Personal Stationery System 30% (Due: _________________)
Professionalism & Attendance 15%

**Professional Conduct and Participation: This mark is determined by an number of things. Your: Attendance

Punctuality
Participation
Attitude
Ability to meet deadlines
Ability to follow instructions
Coolness under pressure
Conduct in lab


For Design Projects:

You will be asked to keep a Graphics Log of all the images you have used in your design solutions, i.e., where you got the image, what resolution you scanned it at, what manipulations you might have visited upon it in Photoshop, etc. You will also be asked to include a black and white printout of your project. This greatly speeds up our marking, and means I won’t have to mark directly on your finished comprehensives.

All assignments are to be handed to me personally in class on the specified due date. They should be in a file folder with your name on it, and contain the marking sheet I have given you. 10% per day will be deducted from late project work. If you absolutely have to hand in something late, please ensure it has been date-stamped at the Extension Credit Programs before putting it in my box. If it's not date-stamped I cannot accept it. (Unless it has been sent by courier!)


Course Attendance & Policy:

Don't miss any good stuff!!! Attendance is a key success factor, so please attend class and be on time. You will be responsible for any announcements/information which is given in any class you missed. Please contact a classmate, not me, for this information. You will be asked to sign in at the beginning of each class . . . it is your responsibility to make sure you do.

The School expects that the grades awarded in this course will bear some reasonable relation to established university-wide practices to both levels and distribution of grades. In addition, the School will also follow Policy T10.02 with respect to intellectual Honesty, and Academic Discipline (see the current Calendar, General Regulations Section).