ASSIGNMENT FIVE

WHY DESIGN?

The Project:
For this project you will be designing a poster that presents an argument for why design matters. For this poster you will have to develop a reason or series of reasons why design matters and use the vehicle of the poster to persuade a public viewership. You should consider various forms of text, images and visual development. You are not just creating a written argument, but are designing a visually persuasive case. You may take any of a broad range of approaches: personal, historical, social, political, cultural, others or a combination of several. The major concerns of this project are for you to elaborate your position and develop a design which visually reinforces/expands the ideas you are presenting. You should also use this as a point of departure for considering/developing your own ideas about design and your reasons for wanting to be a designer..

Due Date:
This project will be due on Tuesday, February 20.

ASSIGNMENT FOUR

MAP YOUR SELF

The Project:
For this project you will be designing a map of your Self [please note that the traditional yourself has been broken up into two words]. To do this you are going to need to consider two distinct components: what are maps for and what is the self.
As far as maps go, a map is an abstract representation of a place or information which can be interpreted relative to a given purpose or set of purposes. There is no perfect form of mapping; different forms of maps give access to information in different ways. There are always selections and omissions that are made in maps relative to a communicative/navigational purpose or goal.
With regard to your Self, you will both need to make decisions about how you think of yourself and what you consider the Self to be: what is the relation of who you are and what the Self is? This sets up a wide range of possibilities from the entirely personal to the purely philosophical. Do you want to go about this personally, through family history, culturally, philosophically, medically, anatomically, etc, etc.?

What you will need to do is develop a mapping system and visualization which is both engaging and appropriate to the mode of self you select. Also, keep a close eye on your type decisions: bad type sucks.

Due Date:
This project will be due on Tuesday, February 13.

ASSIGNMENT THREE

ELEVEN-LETTER WORD

Step 1:
Find a word with at least eleven letters. Try to find one that interests you: an unusual word/definition.

Step 2:
You will then need to draw/design a typeface for this word. The typeface you design for this word should in some way reflect its meaning. You are not developing the entire typeface, just this word. You will need to figure out just how this word should be visually represented. What should the letterforms look like and how should they be inter-related in space. This type design must be hand drawn (do not use the computer for this).

Step 3:
To create the final design you will use the type design of the word and its definition to create the final design. You will scan in the type-word you designed and integrate it. At this point you may clean it up or leave it hand drawn depending on your design decisions. In producing your design consider how you are using definitions: do you use only the primary definition, do you use alternates, pronunciation, etymology, first usage, etc. Consider looking at different dictionaries (perhaps the OED).

Due Date:
This project will be due on Tuesday, February 6.

ASSIGNMENT TWO

TODAY...

Step 1:
Go get a copy of today’s [or tomorrow’s] Des Moines Register.

Step 2:
You will use this as the source material for a print entitled “Today”. For this you can use anything you find in the newspaper: images, text, ads, everything, but this is your only material. No outside images or text may be used. You will scan in components and utilize them to produce your design. You may resize, change brightness contract, shift from color to B+W, alter opacity, delete parts and recombine, but you cannot use filters or effects. Your job is to produce a visual record of today. Think about what you choose to record [what is not written is lost much like Leonard in “Memento”] and how you relate different elements and ideas even though they may have nothing to do with each other. Consider visual hierarchies and organizations: up/down, left/right, in depth, scale, differences in legibility and readability. The communication of the print should be found equally in what you select to use and the manner in which it is handled. Source and design must work together to produce a message. What do you want to say about today?

Due Date:
This project will be due on Tuesday, January 30.

ASSIGNMENT ONE

FOUND LIVES

Step 1:
Find a funky old object: go to a thrift store, borrow something, whatever, but find some interesting thing that you think is amazing.

Step 2:
Write a personal history for this object. Where did it come from, who used it, what was it used for, something along these lines. Essentially you are writing a narrative of its past life before it came to you. It can take any tone: highly personal, use-oriented, anthropological, just be creative. Come up with a history for this thing that is fascinating. Think about where it might have been, which people might have had it.

Step 3:
Photograph it [a digital camera will be available during class on Thursday, otherwise you are on your own].

Step 4:
Use your narrative and photographs to design a page for the book *Found Lives* which we are designing as a class. Your design style should reflect the object and the history you have created for it. You are not simply doing a neutral design for a preformatted book, each page should uniquely reflect its object. Think about color scheme, type decisions, time period, references being made and any other relevant issues which may surround your object.

Due Date:
This project will be due on Tuesday, January 23.

WELCOME TO THE BLOG

GD IV class:
This blog is a site where I will post any important announcements about the course; though, for the most part, these announcements will be made in class. Assignments will be posted here as well, along with handing them out in class.

This is where I will also post suggested resources here along with links to items of interest. You should get into the habit of checking in here periodically to see what else is going on.