Term 3: Graphic Design: Week 1

We are all ready for another section of visual storytelling, or graphic design!  Students will be creating a great assortment of visual projects that can be used in a large variety of settings.  This week we will learn about the topics and disciplines of graphic design.  We will also spend some time getting to know each other.  The next part of this week will deal with learning about the history of graphic design and its role in our daily lives.  Students will research information about graphic design, and we will finalize it into a report.  Students should have a very good idea of all of the career opportunities that are available in graphic design.  I can't wait for class to start and to see everybody on the first day of term 3!

graphic design: Typography

Graphic design students have finished their work with branding and identity designs, now we are on to typography.  Be sure to ask you kids about Mr. Petersen's commandments of typography!!    We have been discussing effective typography practice, and how a different message can be delivered just by changing the space and weight of the letters.  We have also looked at some different styles including grunge design by David Carson.  We are practicing putting together some typography prints and will then finally put together one of our own.  This is such a great group of students, and I am really enjoying seeing their work this term!

adv graphic design Project Work

Students have all turned in their project proposals, their outlines, and their mood boards.  Now it is time to roll up our sleeves and get to work on our projects.  For the next several weeks, students will be working on their projects.  They need to have a one on one meeting with me at least one time each week where we can have conversations about our work and progress to see if any changes need to be made to our timeline or overall project goals.  Students have great ideas and now it's time to start making them become a reality.

Mood Boards

Advanced Graphic Design students are finished with their planning for their projects!  This week they will turn in their mood boards.  This is a poster that includes a collage of similar materials that they have found when researching their idea for their term-long projects.  The most important part of the project is their included sources from where they found all of their resources.  These boards are a critical part of their project as they will be used to help guide their work from here out for the rest of the term.

Branding

Graphic Design students have done a great job with their logos and learning about branding.  We are working on our stationery this week.  This will consist of a letterhead, an envelope, and business card.  Once we finish this project, we will finish the week by creating a branding guide.  This class has done great work, and show a lot of promise and talent with their work so far early this term!

adv graphic design: Project Planning

We are in our first section of advanced graphic design which deals with project planning.  Students will be working on a term-long project of their choice this term.  The first thing they did was create a project proposal that tells me the idea that they came up with.  The next part of the project involves creating a timeline.  Students will make a list of all the components that they will be creating for their projects, then come up with a schedule that will let them finish their projects in a set amount of time.  The next part of the project will involve collecting resources that can be placed on a mood/project board.  This will be a resource that students can look to throughout the term to influence the direction they should go with the design of their project.  There have been some very good proposals turned in, and I'm excited to see how these turn out!

graphic design: design process/identity design

We are in a new term and have started a new section of graphic design class!  Last week, students did some research on careers and education in graphic design.  This paper was due by the end of class on Thursday.  If students did not get this complete, they are expected to finish this at home, or come in before/after school to get caught up as it is for a significant grade.  Next week, we will be learning the design process.  This is a list of steps that we will follow for each of our projects we do this term.  Once we are introduced to this concept, we will use it together to complete our first design, which will be an identity design.  Students will be creating a logo with their initials.  We will eventually create a digital image of their design, and will also try and 3D print their logos.  I have really been impressed with this group of students so far, and can't wait to see the great things they make this term!  It's going to be a lot of fun!

photography and environmental design

Students have been learning about elements of effective photography.  So far, students have been defining and taking photographs of subjects that demonstrate rule of thirds, balancing elements, leading lines, symmetry, patterns, varying viewpoints, backgrounds, depth, framing, cropping, and experimentation.  Students combined their findings into collages and we used a gallery walk to walk around and see what we came up with.

Next, we are going to look at some examples of environmental design.  We will use google image searches and also look at some time-lapse videos of Kyle Steeds murals to get some ideas of what environmental design is.  Students will then come up with an idea of a design of their own, and will eventually Photoshop it into a photograph of a boring area that they took with digital cameras.  Students have been doing a good job with this project so far, and I'm excited to see the work as it gets completed.

week 5: infographics

This week we need to finish up with our typography work and get it all posted to our portfolios, then we will be ready to move on to infographics.  Students will be looking at some examples of infographics and will find where they are all used in the business world.  We will then research a topic of our choice, and put together an infographic that summarizes our findings.  We are at mid-term grade posting time, so students need to be sure they have everything in their portfolios and turned in.

week 4: Typography

Graphic design students have finished up with their business stationery, and are getting ready to put together their branding guides to wrap up our identity design units.  The next thing we will start learning about is Typography.  Students will look at some examples of well-known typography designers, then will put together several small projects of their own.  We will wrap up this section with the creation of creative word art.

Logos, Portfolios, and More

Graphic Design class has finished up with the first part of their identity designs.  This included the creation of a digital version of their logo.  Next, students will create a portfolio using PortfolioGen.  Students will then upload their logo and a reflection to their site.  This portfolio will then be used to add work throughout their technology classes at NPHS.  Once we have all of our logos uploaded, we will move on to creating a brand with our logo.  We will make business stationery, and finish up with a branding guide or identity standard.

Week 2: Design Process

Students will be turning in their career research papers by the end of class on Monday, then we are ready to start our first designs!  We will start off with the design process, and use this as a way to create our first project which will be a logo for an identity design project we will be working with later.  We will look at examples of effective identity designs, sketch ideas, collaborate in groups, then will have a final drawing of what we want to use for our logo designs.  Once we get our drawings finished, we will learn how to use our digital tools in our class, then will ultimately create our drawings on the computer and will publish our work to a digital portfolio.

2017 term 1 graphic design (week 1)

Welcome back to school everybody!  Graphic Design is a great class that allows you to use creativity, art, technology, and problem solving to become visual communicators.  We will start off learning about ourselves and becoming familiar with our classmates then will spend some time learning about career opportunities and the role in our world for visual storytelling.  Students will include their findings in a report that they will turn in at the end of the first week.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone soon!

Advanced Graphic Design: term-project progress (week 5)

Advanced graphic design students are still working on their term-projects.  Students have been having their weekly conferences with me, and they have been putting together the components outlined in their project proposals.  Also, a reminder about the field-trip we will be taking to Pro Printing in North Platte, Nebraska.  Students need to have their forms in by the end of April in order to go.  It's going to be a great learning experience!

graphic design: typography and infographics (week 5)

Next week graphic design students will finish up their typography work.  Below are a few examples that were turned in that I really liked.

Not only did these students turn in good work, but they also really demonstrated how to effectively use our design process that we follow in class!

Once we finish up our typography work, we will learn about infographics and will create one of our own.  This class continues to impress me with their work ethic, and it has been a lot of fun to see how their work has improved with each project!

graphic design branding guides then typography (week 4)

We are just about all finished up with our business stationery and will then be ready to create our branding guides for our imaginary companies.  We will look at several good examples of identity standards, and will discuss the importance of a brand and identity and will see how everything fits together.  Once we finish up this document, students will be ready to start learning about typography.  We will see some examples including work from David Carson, then students will create a few types of typography work.

I'm really pleased with how students have been working this term, and look forward to start posting some of their work online within the next week!

Advanced Graphic Design Project Work (week 4)

Students have turned in their project proposals, their project time-lines, and their project boards.  Students have also been doing their weekly conferences with me allowing us to have conversations about the progress of their work.  For the next several weeks, students will be working on their independent term-long projects.  The only thing students need to worry about is being as productive workers, staying on schedule, and continuing to have their weekly conference with me.  Each conference is a 5 point assignment, so they really add up by the time we get to the end of the term.

I have also sent home a permission slip for a field trip.  On Tuesday, May 2nd, we will be visiting Pro Printing here in town.  This will give students the opportunity to see what graphic design looks like in a real-world/business setting.  Students will need to have their permission slip signed by parents/guardians and turned back in to me by April 28th.  This is a great experience for the kids, and very generous of Pro Printing to donate their time and open their doors to us to teach us about the career of graphic design.

Advanced Graphic Design Mood Boards (week 3)

Students have their project proposals turned in, their outlines with their components of their term-long projects finished, along with a term outline that they plan to follow.  The next part of their projects will involve their mood board.  This will be a collection of resources and various inspirational pieces of work the students will be using to guide their project as they work on it.  It can also include font-types, color combinations, and sketches.  This project will be due at the end of the week, and is what the students needed a poster board as listed in the course syllabus.  Projects are off to a good start, and soon we will really be into the project work itself.

Graphic Design Branding (Week 3)

Graphic Design class will be finishing up their logos on the computer at the start of this week.  We will then start looking at branding and finding a way to incorporate their identity design to a set of business stationery and promotional materials.  We will finish up by creating a branding guide or identity standard.  Great job so far by the kids this term!

Advanced Graphic Design: project components, timeline, project board (week 2)

Last week, students finished up their project proposals for their term-long work they will be doing.  This week, we will divide up that term-long project into smaller components.  Students will break it down to everything they will need to do to accomplish everything for their work.  Once students have this finished, they will create a detailed time-line showing what they will get done each day/week in class this term.  Once students have this finished, they will need to collect resources for their project and inspiration work that they will then assemble into a project board or mood/inspiration board.  They will use this board as a guide to help give them direction for many aspects of their project from this term.  The class has had a lot of creative ideas for their projects, and I am excited to see them work through the final product!

graphic design: design process and digital design (week2)

Students will be finishing up their research work on Monday and will turn it in at the end of the class.  On Tuesday, we will introduce the design process, and will do this while learning about identity design.  Students will be creating logos for a brand.  Once we get to the part of the process that deals with creating the work digitally, we will get familiarized with the Adobe Creative Cloud suite for the rest of the week.  When we return the following week, we will then be ready to create our logos using digital tools.

Adv. Graphic Design (week 1)

Advanced graphic design starts class on Thursday when we get back from break.  We will get our syllabus, and look at the outline schedule for this term.  Students will then have some time to start brainstorming ideas for their term-long project that they will be working on.  Once they have an idea, they will type of a proposal and we will have a conference about their idea and how they will accomplish it.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what we create this term!

4th term graphic design (week 1)

Next week on Thursday we will have a new set of students ready to be learning about visual story-telling and graphic design.  We will get the syllabus and discuss our topics we will be learning about.  We will then do a research project to find out the role that graphic design plays in today's world.  This class will be a lot of fun, and I can't wait to see the creativity that my students display in their work this term!

finishing things up (week 8)

Graphic design students will be demonstrating their photoshop skills by teaching the class how to make emoji designs they have created.  We will then look at environmental designs and photomanipulations.  Finally, we will do some work with the First Things First graphic design manifesto then it will be time for our next term.  This has been a lot of fun in this class these 9 weeks!

Photoshop Skills (Week 7)

Students have been doing some good work while finishing up their typography designs and learning about layout designs.  We will be finishing up layout designs with some movie posters.  Students will be learning about minimalism and looking at some work of Saul Bass.  Students will then create a Saul Bass or minimalism-style poster inspired of their favorite movie or t.v. show.  We will then be doing a variety of work that will allow students to demonstrate their ability to use the tools we have been learning to use this term.  Below I have some pictures students have turned in that I thought turned out nicely.

Good work students putting together these projects and also using the design process!  Keep up the good work!

Layout Designs (week 6)

Next week graphic design students will be learning about the components of layout designs.  We will use a variety of collateral designs, magazine covers, and poster layouts.  Next week I will post some of the typography designs the students made.  I was really pleased with what they came up with!

Typography (Week 5)

Students did a great job of finishing up their identity design unit, and I have some of their great work included below.

 

 

 
Students will start learning about typography next week.  We will create a variety of different typography projects, and will look at some different practices that are being used in the field of graphic design.  One graphic designer we will learn about is David Carson.

I have really been impressed with the students so far this term and look forward to seeing their skills improve as this term goes on!

Stationery (week 4)

Graphic design students have put together some nice logos!  Below are some examples that I thought turned out really well!

The next part of our identity design we have been working on is our stationery.  Students are making their letterhead, envelope, and business card.  We are just about finished up with this.  The last part of our project we will be putting together is our identity standard or branding guide.

For an example of what your identity standard will look like, check this link http://graphdesportfolio.blogspot.com/2012/10/identity-standard.html Open up Microsoft Word.  You will create an Identity Standard for your business.  Your Business Stationary needs each of the following:

Title PageIntroduction (who you are, why it’s important to have a consistent identity)Typography (what types of fonts, font colors will your organization be using in various forms)Colors (what colors are you using for your logo?  Unofficial names, RGB and CMYK values)Logos (Show logos, include examples and description of inappropriate and appropriate logo usage)Promotional Material (include business stationery, banners, flyers, etc…)Web Content (list a web page where your business would be found, list page colors, fonts, content, web banner, etc…Conclusion (Tell how you find it important to ensure quality with your brand, give a contact where someone can find help when wanting to use your brand and identity standard)

Once the identity standard document is completed, we will print it off, staple it, and turn it in. 

The project is worth 20 points.

more identity design (week 3)

Last week students turned in their sketches for their logos.  We then spent time learning how to use Adobe Photoshop CC.  Next week we will be creating our logos on the computer, then will create a digital portfolio where they will store their work and reflections from this term.  Once we are finished with our logos, we will then move on to business stationery.  Students will create a letterhead 8.5 x 11 in. for an imaginary company that they create from their logo.  Students will also create a 2 x 3.5 in. business card, and a 9.5 x 4.125 in. envelope.  We will discuss identity and branding for companies and will look at some examples.  Students elements from the business stationery should all have matching themes and appear to fit or belong to each other.  Once we finish this, we will create a mock-up which can be used to present their work in a professional manner.  If we complete our stationery this week we will then move on to our branding guide project or identity standards.  I will post more on this assignment when we get closer to that point.

Design Process & Identity Design (week 2)

Graphic design students are off to a good start this 3rd term.  The research paper for graphic design students was due Friday by the end of the class period and had a lot of time in class to work on this.  Friday we turned in our papers to be graded, and started discussing the design process and practiced it with our first project, which will be identity designs.  Students will use the following design process in each of our projects.

1. Purpose

2. Research

3. Plan (Outline, Sketches, Drafts, Feedback)

4. Production.

Next week we will be working on a logo that we will eventually be incorporating into a brand.  I'm very excited to see all the great ideas this class will come up with!

Introduction to Graphic Design (Week 1)

I hope everybody had a great holiday break and are off to a great start to 2017!  Graphic Design will be in full swing when we come back on Monday.  We will start off with expectations, procedures, and getting familiar with what we will be using this term in class.  The first project we will work on is researching the field of graphic design, its disciplines, where it fits in the world, and college/career opportunities.  We will take our research and organize it into a formal report.  This will be due by the end of class on Friday, January 13th.  It is crucial we get this turned in on that day, because on Monday the following week we will be starting with the design process, and start learning how to use the Adobe Creative Cloud.

We will be doing some very creative projects this term and I am very excited to see what kinds of ideas and work that our students create.