Methods & Principles

delivery and timing

We will meet once a week in person on Wednesdays from 10:30 to 1:10 in room 1020 in the Art and Design Building. The classes are required and during our sessions we will discuss work, complete demos, and further our design knowledge. The class is scheduled to run for 16 weeks and you can expect to work for six hours outside of class each week.

prerequisites

AVT 215: Typography

course description

This course emphasizes developing multiple design solutions to cultivate a design process. This class further develops skills in design and typography and introduces conceptual problem-solving, form making approaches, and the tools designers must use to create effective visual communication solutions. An emphasis is placed on the design process.

objectives

content

This class consists of shorter exercises, in-class demos and lectures, and longer projects. The exercises, demos, and lectures are meant to build skills and learn new concepts and the projects are a place to demonstrate your understanding and ability to combine those skills and concepts.

projects

Project 1: Make & Make & Make &

Daily act of design based on a conceptual framework, medium, and format generated by the student.

Project 2: 12 Sheets

Using 12 sheets of letter sized paper, design a typographic object using a movie or tv monologue as content. Students will work with type as content, type as image, and type as content + image. The meaning of the monologue should be evident by how the text looks as well as how it reads.

Project 3: Words/Meanings

Investigate the multiple meanings of a given word by exploring images, text, and the combination of both. Design and content should explore the various meanings of the word, both denotative and connotative, and perhaps comment on related social/cultural context(s).

Project 4: Container

Create a container to show your work from the semester alongside a written narrative that documents what you learned about your own design interests and your own design process.

discussion of work

You will need to take an active role in both the presentation and discussion of your work. We will review projects in a variety of ways and you are expected to be able to talk and write about your own work and give feedback to your peers about their work. The ability to discuss your work and other student’s work is a very important part of your education at Mason. Use this class to improve on those skills.

communication

Your ability to communicate with me is of prime importance in this course. If you are going to be absent, late, or not have your work, it will be your best interest in communicating those things to me in advance. I do not need to know your reasons for being absent, late, or not having your work but I do need to know. A simple, short email will be fine.

The same goes for if you are struggling in this class or having other issues that are hindering your ability to complete work in this class. The more you keep me in the loop the more I can help you and adjust as needed.

attendance

Your attendance is tied to your engagement grade. Each class you miss will lower your engagement grade by 25 points unless you let me know you won't be in class and make an effort to cover what you missed in class. Each class you are late to will lower your engagement grade by 10 points unless you let me know. If you miss four or more classes you will automatically fail the class unless you have communicated with me prior to the fourth absence.

engagement

This course has an engagement policy instead of an attendance policy. Your engagement will affect your final grade (and, by extension, the quality of your work) for this course. You are expected to actively and passionately take part in this course in the following ways.

grading

Grades will be based on engagement (25%), exercises (25%), and projects (50%).

engagement (25%)

This percentage will be based on your engagement in the class which is explained on above. Attend class and be engaged in this course and its content throughout the semester and this should be an easy 25%.

exercises (25%)

The exercises are meant to be quicker, skill building tasks that improve your projects and design knowledge.

projects (50%)

Each project will generate two different grades. One grade will be based on your week to week process and the second grade will be based on the final submission. At the end of the semester you will have 8 total project grades that are all weighted equally for this 50%.

late work

Late work will be accepted for three weeks after a deadline with the exception of the final project which will be due at the end of the semester. There is a section on the rubrics showing how late work is factored into the assignment grade.

rubrics

Rubrics are used to grade exercises, projects, and checkpoints. The rubrics are in the PDF syllabus and tied to each submission on Canvas. The rubrics are here to allow you to understand how work is graded and to reference while working to self-evaluate.

weekly schedule

Class is on Wednesdays from 10:30–1:10. Most days we will meet for the entire time but some weeks we will have individual meetings or end early. Some classes will be work days so make sure to bring things to work on each class. Unless otherwise specified, all work is due at the beginning of class.

A note—Time management is an important skill to master and should be worked on all your classes. Staying up all night working is not a badge of honor, it typically means you didn’t budget your time correctly. Staying up all night isn’t healthy and making sure you are keeping yourself healthy is your first priority.