ART250E,  ART251E, ART350E, ART356E, ART450E, ART451E

Graphic Design: Spring 2007

Course Description: This course is about the integration of design and technology, analysis, creation, and critique of print and web based media for a variety of communication purposes. This course is meant to be a hands-on course where students can apply what they learn as they learn it. The course includes problem solving experiences in the areas of layout, typography and illustration, making use of appropriate software. As this is a production-oriented course, students will be expected to spend substantial out-of-class time working on the computer. Prior web design, HTML or programming experience is not required, although students should be fully comfortable working on a computer.

Prerequisites: This is a mixed level course. There are prerequisites for the upper level courses. This is not an introductory computer course even for the ART250. I am going to assume that you are familiar with or have the following :

• Knowledge of how computers work, including how to find your way around on a typical personal computer
• Familiarity with the Internet and what sorts of resources are available to you. We will review this in class. Quickly.
• Familiarity with e-mail, how to use it to send and receive messages, and how to manage your e-mail account.

Objectives:

• To become proficient with some major tools used in designing and publishing information.
• To develop expertise in textual and non-textual communication.
• To develop expertise in communicating in print and electronic forms.
• To create a website analyzing and evaluating communication effectiveness.
• To develop expertise in Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop PDF files/Acrobat, Adobe GoLive, and Basic html

Instructor: Susan Fecho

E-mail: sfecho@barton.edu, 252-39906480
Office Hours: MW 10-12, TTR 9-12
Course Web Site: Blackboard

EXAM: Monday, May 14, 2:00 – 4:00

Schedule: The detailed and up-to-date schedule can be followed from the course website. There are fourteen weeks of material listed for this class, even though there are more than fourteen weeks in the semester. This is to allow us to fall behind if necessary as well as allow extra time at the end of the semester for final projects.

Quizzes

Quizzes count for 15 percent of your score. There will be approximately five quizzes during the course that will test your mastery of HTML and Web Site design issues. The lowest quiz grade will be dropped. You must make arrangements if you miss a quiz.

Final Project

Rather than a final exam there will be a final project due on exam day in the scheduled exam period. You cannot just drop the work off and leave. The project will include an in class presentation of the project and a short report detailing the nature of the project and the decisions used to arrive at the final product.

Class Participation

This class has a strong class participation element. Therefore, participation is factored in as ten percent of the grade. Complaining afterward that you didn't know will not be accepted as a valid excuse.

The point of class participation is that we are working with design, which is an imprecise art that works best when multiple view points are contributing to the mix. We, as a class, will be looking at various Web sites and trying to critique them on their strengths and weaknesses. This is an excellent way to learn about what does and does not work for both your-self and for others. A primary aspect of Web design is to design for the audience. Because of this attendance is highly recommended and will be factored in as part of the grade when considering a student's level and quality of participation. The participation grade breaks down as follows:

·          5 points for attendance and paying attention,

·          5 points for your final presentation and attending the final project presentations of other students in the class (or participating in online discussions)

Attendance
Attendance is MENDATORY. You need to arrive on time and stay for the entire class. Attendance is taken at the beginning of the class. Please notify me in case of an emergency via e-mail. Notifying me after-the-fact does not excuse you from classes. After 3 unexcused absences, you will lose 3% (3 points) of your final grade for each missed class. The course will be very intense; it will be difficult to catch-up with the material from someone else's notes. If you are absent on the day an assignment is due, you must make arrangements to have the assignment turned in for you. The attendance policy will be strictly enforced.

Assignments and Homework:

Although you can resubmit work to improve your grade, you cannot earn points back for the following items: getting the Web address of your page wrong when handing it in (-1 point) handing homework in late (-5 points per week). If you are having problems you are better off handing it on time so I can help you, rather than sitting on the work until it is late.

What am I looking for:

·          Effort. If it's not worth your effort, it's not worth mine either.

·          Assignments and the final project will be graded in terms of both functionality and aesthetics. 

·          Creativity--your ability to invent new, imaginative, engaging materials and to effectively combine textual and visual materials.

·          Concept--your ability to define the problem, explore various possibilities, and develop a unique solution.

·          Design Quality--your sensitivity to the principles of design and typography.

·          Professionalism--your ability to present work on time, during class critique, in a mature, effective manner.

·          Upper level students will be expected to create more complex and sophisticated projects.

You should always back up your work on the computer and back it up with CDs. Don't count on the files you left on the computers.
(Loss of work is the student's responsibility)

Late assignments will be penalized by the loss of 30% of the assignment grade for each day of lateness. The late clock begins ticking at the beginning of class. If you can not make it on time, let me know before.

Lab Fee
This course carries a $46 dollar fee that will appear on your bill. This covers your paper for printing, CDs, mounting board and half of the lab fee transfers over to your print allotment account.

Course Books
While there are no required books for this class, students are expected to follow the required readings for every week. They will be internet sites. For those who want to buy books, a list of useful books and other learning sources are also listed in the resources page.