Syllabus
AR
314 Graphic Design III
Albertus
Magnus College
Jerry
Nevins, Professor
Phone:
773-8546, office, 203 Aquinas Hall
Contact
____________________________________________________
Introduction:
Graphic Design III is intended to be a continuation of the work begun in Graphic
Design I and II and at its heart is about the skillful interaction of text
forms and images into cohesive, clean designs.
With a variety of devices accessing websites and current standards for interactivity and motion graphics, most engaging websites are coded using HTML5 and CSS. As this is not a coding class, we will concentrate on designing websites using Photoshop first, then move onto working with templates in Adobe Dreaweaver and replacing pre-coded elements with your own content. Finally you will create a live website using the free version of Weebly to be a showcase highlighting work created at Albertus.
Technical Topics:
Introduction to Dreamweaver
Explore Squarespace, Weebly, Jimdo, Tumblr, Wix
Editing photographs for use in your projects
Scaling and setting up linked image galleries
Understand information hierarchies
Linking, hypertext, problem solving
Color design and integration across your site
Page layout and design for the monitor
Understanding FTP
Goals of the Course:
-Plan a Web site design based on the function and content of the information to be delivered. Extend that understanding to helping solve client needs in the future.
-Create a site map that visually shows the plan of each page in your site and how the architecture of the site is conceived.
-Develop user-friendly pages with bandwidth-saving techniques and clear navigation systems.
-Integrate prior graphic design experience to the Web site design.
-Develop Color Schemes using Adobe Kuler or
ADOBE TV Dozens of Videos from Adobe on using Dreamweaver.
Assignment I Research artist websites that appeal to you and take screen shots of 4 landing or home pages to archive in your Drive. Recreate them in terms of their structure and form but using your own content. Use Photoshop to design them. Work up several more using MidJourney AI v4. Create a fictional product with the AI as demonstrated in the following video.
Take a look at this 3 1/2 min video to get started
Assignment II Using templates built into Adobe Dreamweaver and/or free website templates found on the web, replace the elements of the template with your own content. Create a 4 page interactive website with a home page, and about page, a resume page and a gallery page, showcasing your creative work from prior art classes.
Assignment III. Develop a comprehensive personal website which promotes you and your visual portfolio work you have done to date at Albertus. Include an About Me page, Resume and Gallery page with links out to individual pages of images.
Develop front page sites using 3 or 4 of the "free" site builders such as Squarespace, Weebly, Jimdo, Tumblr, Wix.
Webflow offers a free drag and drop html editor and will host your site for free. Take a look at Savana Massias' site.
Review and links to Free WTSIWYG website editors
WIX.com build a live portfolio site... free
Video: How to use Crop tool to Resize and not Skew in Photoshop
AI Tools that can be very useful
Dall E2: https://labs.openai.com/ Image generation from text prompts
Astria: https://www.strmr.com/examples Another AI image generator
Jasper: https://beta.jasper.ai Jasper is an AI Copywriter.
Luma Ai: https://lumalabs.ai/ build 3D meshes using your phone cam
Runway ML: https://runwayml.com/ AI image generator browser based
Durable: https://durable.co/ai-website-builder
Academic Expectations:
Attend all classes, care about your work, make progress in the medium, help
and cooperate with your classmates, take risks, make mistakes. Your grade
will be based on your willingness to achieve the above as well as a portfolio
of the pieces outlined above, due at the end of the semester. Atendance is important.
Tradition of Honor: As a member of the Albertus Magnus College Community, each student taking this course agrees to uphold the principles of honor set forth by this community, to defend these principles against abuse or misuse and to abide by the regulations of the College. To this end, every student must write and sign the following statement at the end of each examination: "I declare the Honor Pledge."
Tradition of Respect: In our class: 1) Everyone is allowed to feel they can work and learn in a safe and caring environment; 2) Everyone learns about, understands, appreciates, and respects varied races, classes, genders, physical and mental abilities, and sexualities; 3) Everyone matters; 4) All individuals are to be respected and treated with dignity and civility; and 5) Everyone shares the responsibility for making our class, and the College, a positive and better place to live, work, and learn.
Accommodations for Special Needs: Please advise the instructor of any special problems or needs at the beginning of the semester. Those students seeking reasonable accommodations based on disabilities should contact the Director of Academic and Student Disability Services, Aquinas Hall, Room 114 at (203) 672-1050, or email asejdic@albertus.edu, to obtain a Faculty Accommodation Letter. Albertus Magnus College complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
In order to respect the independence, rights and dignity of students with disabilities, the College initiates services only after a student makes a voluntary disclosure of a disability to the Office of Academic and Student Disability Services. Students who are approved for accommodations are responsible for approaching instructors in a timely manner to provide faculty accommodation letters and to arrange how accommodations will be implemented. Accommodations cannot be retroactive, so we strongly advise students to make accommodation appointments as soon as possible.
In providing reasonable accommodations, the College shall not fundamentally alter the nature of programs, services, or activities; require waiver of essential academic standards or violate accreditation requirements.
WITHDRAWING FROM A COURSE:
It is the responsibility of the student to officially drop or withdraw from a course. However, failure to attend a course for 14 calendar days may result in an administrative withdrawal from the course. The policies on course withdrawals and administrative withdrawals may be found online at http://www.albertus.edu/policy-reports/academic-policies-regulations-ug#apgr
Albertus Magnus College adheres to the definition of a credit hour in compliance with, and as defined by, NECHE commission policy.
Required Reading:
Numerous Photoshop tutorials online at http://www.adobe.com
Virtual Training Co. Photoshop CS2 Essential Training with Michael Ninness... Free
Lynda.com has video tutorials that cover Dreamweaver, Photoshop, FTP and more
ADOBE TV Dozens of Videos from Adobe on using Dreamweaver.
Any mass market bookstore will have numerous Photoshop titles for sale in the computer section. Although not required you may want to pick up a book that fits your budget an learning style to have as a reference.
Suggested Reading:
The Non-Designer's Design Book, Second Edition - Robin Williams (Author); Paperback
Niederst, Jennifer. Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to HTML, Graphics,
and Beyond. Sebastopol, CA:O'Reilly, 2003.
Website Design Awards
