Credit:

This course syllabus and content has been approved for 3 college credits as part of the SUNY Ulster collegiate program.  It is aligned with Art 121 Design Foundations.

1 Credit HS/ 3 Credits SUNY Ulster

Pre-Requisites:

Successful completion of: Introduction to Media Arts and Introduction to Studio Art and a 90 or better average in Computer Graphics.

Course Description:

In this course, students will use the technical and design skills learned in Media Arts and Computer Graphics and apply them to a variety of real world graphic design problems.  Students will further develop skills using Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat as well as the iPhoto and iMovie. Students will also have the opportunity to independently work in other areas of design such as web design. Students will strengthen their problem solving skills as well as their visual and verbal communication skills through ongoing critiques and project evaluations.  Students will work both as individuals and in teams to complete projects and various design problems.  Development of a diverse portfolio of computer aided design work will be a major objective of the course.

Course Materials:

No Additional textbooks or supplies are needed for this course.  The students will use the iMac computers along with the Adobe Creative Suite programs for all assignments.  Any additional resources needed for the course, will be instructor generated or found on the web through a variety of resources.

Evaluation:

Throughout the design process students will be expected to take risks and experiment with many different solutions to the same problem.  During this learning process students will make many “mistakes”.  Those willing to take risks and make “mistakes”, but have the determination to try again, can achieve great success in their final design solutions. (Watch this video on failure)  Therefore, a wide tolerance of error is essential.  With this in mind, the evaluation method for this course must allow for error as a positive part of the learning strategy and shift the ultimate responsibility for learning to the student.  The student’s ability to learn from peer, teacher, and client critiques and suggestions will be an ongoing essential part of the evaluation process.  In addition project rubrics will be used to define expectations for student work and determine grades.

Students who wish to receive credit through the collegian program are required to submit a portfolio to SUNY Ulster and receive a B or better in the course.

Attendance Policy:

Within the guidelines established by Rondout Valley Board Policy #7110, students are required to be in attendance for all individual course sessions or days of instruction.  Students who fail to attend 85% of such sessions or days may be denied course credit.  In addition, students who miss class time will miss valuable working time and will lose credit based on the rubrics mentioned above.