1. Icebreaker2. Introduction of print project3. What’s up with ACE?4. A little design talk and prep for your design activity5. Homework

Today

1. Name2. Favorite color

Icebreaker

Let’s talk just a bit about our print based project, which we will begin in earnest next week when Dr. Jim Porter and Ms. Felice Marcus visit class on Tuesday to discuss the needs of the American Culture and English (ACE) program.

The initial list of their needs includes a mailing card (think data sheet– something roughly the size of a large postcard with key information about the program on one side and nice splash art on the other), a poster, and other recruitment materials/circulation documents (like invitations).

The Print Project

…to this whole process is to know how to speak to community partners. Some key things we’ll need to do, then:

1.Be on time (duh!). You don’t want to walk into a client meeting late. 2.Read over whatever you can find about ACE (I’ll place some stuff on my blog for you to take a look at) and try to become familiar with what they do/provide.3.Think about what you would want to know, for example, to make a poster for them. To make a data sheet. To make, say, varied versions of a one-sheet recruitment flier to mail to potential students in various nations. Come with questions, but make sure they’re specific and thoughtful.

One key…

…is respect. Whenever we deal with a community partner, remember that you, as a student and participant in this course, represent:

1)Our university2)Your respective programs (particularly PW and IMS folks)3)The class4)Yourselves5)Me

Behave as you would expect a professional designer to behave with his clients, and be courteous. Listen carefully, take good notes.

Another key factor…

…we will transition much more into talking about the readings from the books and will move away, at least to a small degree, from the more theoretical underpinnings of the early part of class.

That theory will persist; it’s not leaving us. We’re just about to take the step over the threshold into practice.

This is also a moment where…

Is a semester-long immersive program for students with slightly below acceptable TOEFL scores (meaning they are qualified students other than their need for some additional training in the English language).

It consists of a five-hour speaking course, a four-hour writing course, an American studies course, and one additional class of the student’s choice. Students who move through ACE then proceed with their Miami education with the skills they need to succeed.

Also starting next year there will be a graduate version of the ACE program offered, obviously, for graduate students.

American Culture and English

With our remaining time, I asked you to bring in a photo or the actual flier for your design task this week. I nabbed one from the web (to make sure I didn’t accidentally get the same one that one of you had chosen– I didn’t want to mess with your creative process). I will post it on the next slide, then we’ll discuss what we could do to make it better.

Previewing your design task

From http://www.bignnastyprod.com/site/djdirty/djdirty.htm

I’m not sure I precisely understand it, but there’s sort of a sub-genre of party flyers that look a bit like this. Knowing that, I don’t want to act as if this is absolutely hideous, but I think you can safely say, based on our readings so far, that this is not a well designed flyer.

When addressing a flyer like this, we want to collect some key information. So let’s break down what we actually have here.

There is a design theory here…

Textual information: Colors: Graphics:

Elements

What’s most important? Textual information: Colors: Graphics:

What might we do? Textual information: Colors: Graphics:

Homework

Most of class Tuesday will be spent talking to the fine folks from ACE. Come ready!

Read for class: Kimball & Hawkins Chapters 3 and 4, Golombisky & Hagen chapters 4