Digital Representation Principles (Mandatory only for students with no background in design)

COURSE DESCRIPTION
The capacity of communicating trough images and expressing the relevant aspects of a project, from the idea to the final proposal, is a fundamental aspect of design. This course is aimed at providing students with representation concepts and techniques that are broadly applied in design fields. Based on exercises, talks and workshop sessions, the course embraces the ability of students to define and show their ideas by learning about the options and features that Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Indesign and Adobe Illustrator offer as a powerful suite specifically conceived for design professionals. Mandatory for participants to the Study Abroad programme without experience in digital representation and visual narrative, the course is also recommended for those design students who want to deepen their knowledge of digital tools and learn more about the Adobe Suite. The course approaches also the basic concepts of video editing and production, as well as fundamentals of presentation techniques, in order to provide students with a complete range of options that they will put into practice in many visual communications required by the Study Abroad programme as well as by future design projects.

MODULES
– Digital Representation Principles: Photoshop

– Digital Representation Principles: Illustrator

– Digital Representation Principles: Indesign

– Documenting: Image, photography, storytelling

LEARNING OBJECTIVES/OUTCOMES
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:

– Identify the relevant aspects of a design project throughout its whole process.

– Connect the physical with the digital using different tools.

– Understand how design is applied in our environment and be able to reproduce specific pieces.

– Learn how to express one’s own ideas through design tools.

– Work in collaborative environments, especially between students from different backgrounds.

REQUIREMENTS
Students will complete the following exercises:

– Photoshop: software tools and methodologies for the creation of new images.

– Illustrator: software tools and methodologies for understanding the goal, importance and message behind endless possibilities of a vector.

– Indesign: software tools and methodologies for composition, storytelling and ephemeral publications.

– Documentation, storytelling and visual creation.

TEACHING METHOD
This course is focused mostly on teacher’s presentations and hands-on learning.

GRADING
10% attendance to class

20% commitment and participation in class discussion

30% learning process

40% design outcomes

Students will have to complete all the parts included in the grading weights and earn at least a 5/10 in each part.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
– DE BONO, Edward: Lateral Thiking: A textbook to Creativity, London: Penguin, 1990.

– FRUTIGER, Adrian: Signs and Symbols: Their Design and Meaning. Watson-Gutpill, 1998.

– HANNAH, Gail Greet: Elements of design: Rowena Reed Kostellow and the structure of visual relationships. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2002.

– HELLER, Steven, ILIC, Mirko: Anatomy of Design: Uncovering the Influences and Inspiration in Modern Graphic Design. Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers, 2009.

– MEGGS, Philip B.: Type and Image: The language of Graphic Design. New York: Jhon Wiley & Sons, 1992.

– MÜLLER-BROCKMANN, Josef: Grid systems in graphic design: a visual communication manual for graphic designers, typographers and three dimensional designers. Sulgen: Niggli, 2007.

– OWEN, William: Modern Magazine Design. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1991.

– ROSE, Gillian: Visual methodologies: an introduction to the interpretation of visual materials. London & Thousand Oaks, Cal.: SAGE, 2007.

– ROBERTS, Lucienne; THRIFT, Julia: The designer and the grid. Brighton: Rotovision, 2005.

– ROBERTS, Lucienne: Grids: creative solutions for graphic designers. Hoboken: Wiley, 2007