WEEK 6
Monday 2/10: in-class work on creating a mood board: download melissa carter modified.psd.zip and this tutorial for creating and modifying a mood board
assignment:
- check out the other mood board templates available in our Box.com folder or via the Resources page
- complete brand exercise #1 and bring a digital version to class on Wednesday 2/12 (or bring a print version if that works better for you)
Wednesday 2/12: group feedback on brand exercise #1 (here’s a nifty list of adjectives that can used to describe the style of a brand); continue work on the Brand Style Guide project
- check out the color tools on the Resources page
- read Perfect Color, by Before and After
- add colors to your lettermark logo and lockup, with these helpful instructions
- complete brand exercise #2 by creating the color palette, typography, and imagery pages for your brand style guide; upload your PDF(s) for these pages to the class Box folder before class on Wednesday 2/19
- check out these resources:
- from the brand style guide examples:
- finding perfect typeface pairs:
- 29 perfect font pairings, by CreativeBloq
- 10 Beautiful Font Combinations, by Inkbot
- 30 Great Font Combinations, by Digital Synopsis
WEEK 7
Monday 2/17 — holiday!
Wednesday 2/19: group feedback on brand exercise #2; create Photoshop mockups
- note: mockups with Photoshop “smart objects” can’t be done in Affinity Photo, GIMP, or Pixlr
- but yay! they can be done in Photopea, a free online photo editing program
- here’s a tutorial for creating a mockup using Photopea
- samples to use in class: wall sign, flower cup, and stamp
assignments:
- look at Photoshop mockups at GraphicBurger, FreePik, PSD Mockups, Unblast, and/or do a Google search for “free Photoshop mockups”
- complete brand exercise #3 and upload your image(s) to the class Box folder by Monday 2/24 (or bring a print version if that works better for you)
- make revisions to the pages you created for brand exercise #2; your revisions should incorporate white space, repetition of design elements across pages, and at least one of the other 13 design principles
week 8
Monday 2/24: group feedback on brand exercise #3; tips and tricks for business card design; business cards in Canva; check out logos and business cards designed by previous students in the minor
- put your business card design into a Photoshop mockup
- samples to use in class: horizontal and vertical
- create a draft of the Brand Style Guide and upload it to the class Box folder before class on Wednesday 2/26
Wednesday 2/26: group feedback on Brand Style Guide drafts; cover, introduction, and voice sections
- covers and intros from the brand style guide examples
- guidelines for brand storytelling, by Michelle Polizzi
- a couple of examples of About pages with great personality: SammyBDesigns, Julia Marsh, more?
- better examples of writing in the brand style guides: Scrimshaw; I love NY; Love to Ride; Barre & Soul; Herban Kitchen; Jamie Oliver (lots of writing!)
assignment:
- complete the Brand Style Guide Project: upload the PDF to the class Box folder before class on Monday 3/2
- bring a copy of a poorly designed document to class on Monday 3/2
- you can take this opportunity to redesign your resume, even though it’s not “poorly designed”, in order to make it more unique and visually appealing
WEEK 9
Monday 3/2: Brand Style Guide Project due; begin Document Redesign Project; InDesign tutorial
- sample materials we’ll use in class for designing a minor info session flyer
assignment:
- write a description of the target audience, purpose, and potential distribution platforms and media for the document you’re redesigning
Wednesday 3/4: design critique of Women’s Center flyer
assignment:
- create a draft of your document redesign and bring a digital version to class on Monday 3/9 (bring a print version as well, if you can)
WEEK 10
Monday 3/9: group feedback on redesigns; document redesign memo; if time, Juxtapose
assignment:
- create a second draft of your document redesign and a first draft of your redesign memo, and bring a copy of each to class on Wednesday 3/11
Wednesday 3/11: getting ready for Writing 155b!
assignment:
- complete the Document Redesign Project: bring a printed copy of your redesign and the original document to my office on Friday 3/13, and email me the PDF of your redesign and a Word doc with your memo
Friday 3/13: Document Redesign Project due
WEEK 1
Monday 1/6: course overview; begin the Design Principles Project
assignment:
- download and explore the Antonio template (from SlidesCarnival); note that you can use this template with either Google Slides or Powerpoint
- continue researching your design principle
Wednesday 1/8: in-class work on slides; check out the Resources page and my presentation/workshop Design Awesome Slides
assignment:
- work with your partner to finish a draft of the five slides for your design principle, and upload the slides to our class Box folder before Sunday 1/12 at 5:00 pm
- the filename should be the name of your design principle (e.g., contrast.pptx)
- prepare your 2-minute presentation for class on Monday 1/13
- read Chapter 1: Research and Concepts, from Graphic Design School, by David Dabner, Sandra Stewart, and Abbie Vickress
WEEK 2
Monday 1/13: design principles slideshow; additional work on slides
assignment:
- experiment with Screencast-O-matic to create a quick screencast
- click “Start Recording for Free” and then “Launch Free Recorder”
- resize the frame; select Screen, Webcam, or Both; and click on “Rec” to start recording
- click on the Pause button when you’re done, and then “Done” (or click on the Trash icon if you want to start again)
- click on “Save as video file” and then “Publish” to save the MP4 file to your desktop
Wednesday 1/15: finish Design Principles Project (by Friday 1/17 at 5:00 pm); begin Logo Project; begin logo exercise #1 (on Projects page)
assignment:
- omplete and turn in (by Friday 1/17 at 5:00 pm) the Design Principles Project
- complete logo exercise #1 (on Projects page)
- read the Foreword, Introduction, and the chapter “Why typography matters” in Practical Typography by Matthew Butterick
- also Butterick’s Typography in ten minutes and his Font recommendations are very helpful pages
- read Chapter 3 from Stop Stealing Sheep by Speikermann & Ginger
- watch The History of Typography 5-minute video by Ben Barrett-Forrest
- learn and have fun at the same time:
- Type Connection: “a typographic dating game”
- KernType: a kerning game where you can compare your kerns to a typographer’s solution
- I Shot the Serif: test your knowledge of serif and sans-serif fonts
WEEK 3
Monday 1/20 — holiday!
Wednesday 1/22: group feedback on logo exercise #1; Illustrator Tutorial #1 (Getting Started with Text)
assignment:
- complete logo exercise #2 (on Projects page)
- explore the following resources on logo design:
- The Art of Logo Design, 6-minute video
- The 7 types of logos (and how to use them), by 99 designs
- 31 Creative Techniques for Two-Letter Logos, by Company Folders
- 40 Creative Lettermark & Wordmark Designs, by Bashooka
- Logo of Letters, by Before and After
- Lettermark Design, Pinterest
WEEK 4
Monday 1/27: group feedback on logo exercise #2; discuss logo readings; Illustrator Tutorial #2 (Shapes)
assignment:
- complete logo exercise #3 (on Projects page); here’s a sample
Wednesday 1/29: Illustrator #3: (Fun Stuff) with these line drawings; time in class to work on logos; exploratory writing for the Logo Design Memo
- complete a draft of the Logo Project (logos plus memo) and bring three printed copies to class on Monday 2/3
WEEK 5
Monday 2/3: group feedback on Logo Project drafts
links for the in-class writing exercise:
- Five traits that define a typeface, by Creative Bloq
- Canva’s Beautifully illustrated glossary of typographic terms you should know
- Typographic anatomy lesson
- Type Connection and its Resources page
- Chapter 3 from Stop Stealing Sheep & find out how type works by Erik Speikermann & E. M. Ginger
assignment:
- complete the Logo Project: bring a printed copy of the logo/lettermark to class; upload the logo PDF and the logo design memo (preferably as a Word doc) before class on Wednesday 2/5
Wednesday 2/5: Logo Project Due; Photoshop tutorials: Photoshop 1 (Interface & Layers), Photoshop 2 (Text), Photoshop 3 (Selecting & Combining)
assignment:
- read through several brand style guides:
- How to Create a Brand Style Guide, by 99 designs
- 21 Brand Style Guide Examples, by Hubspot
- Identity Designed, by David Airey
- Brand Identity Style Guides, by David Airey
- excellent student examples from 2019 (Box > Writing 155A Winter 2020 > brand style guide project > student examples)
- select and study three style guides that might serve as models for your own