01 Course introduction
Syllabus
Course overview
Examples of effective use of diagrams
Previous student work
Required Materials:
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- A computer with Rhino and the Adobe suite, especially these programs: Illustrator, Photoshop, Premier Pro, After Effects, InDesign
- A large sketchbook
- Drawing materials
- Design Is Storytelling by Ellen Lupton. Click here to see other recommended books.
Bluescape pinup space
Please watch this series of short videos for instructions on using Bluescape
Click here to go to our DL03 Bluescape space
Upload a file, make some text, comments and other objects in the “MESS AROUND HERE” area to make sure you have access.
Google Drive
We will use Bluescape this semester for pinups and crits, but will have this Google Drive available as a secondary means of transmitting materials.
Google Drive Link
File name example
DL03_20FA_Assignment_YourName.pdf
DL03_20FA_1.2_MarkGee.pdf
04 Student Introductions
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- Hello! Tell us your preferred name. Did Mark mangle your name? Tell him how to pronounce it correctly!
- What’s something good that happened last term? It doesn’t have to be something at ArtCenter.
- Favorite class so far?
- Are you outside of the L.A. area right now?
- Are you in ENV-3 with Emil now?
05 In-class exercise – Diagram Case Studies
Break out into groups of three. Each group will select one of the following projects and conduct internet research to collect and analyze various diagrams about the project. Each group will then present to the class on Bluescape, and also put the info together in a single PDF to hand in Week 2.
Class discussion items: What does each diagram represent and how does it do it? What do you see in common with the diagrams? How do they relate to each other? How many types of information does a diagram contain and what is that information?
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- OMA / CCTV
- OMA / Seattle Library
- OMA / Casa da Musica
- OMA / PRADA LA
- OMA / Prada NY
- OMA / Dee + Wyly Theatre
- Delugan Meissl / EYE Film Institute
- BIG / Air+port
- BIG / ST7
- BIG / DRY LINE
- BIG / PHO
- BIG / ZOO
- BIG / NYPD
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06 Pictograms
Lecture on pictogram graphics
Download Slides from here.
Category discussion
Discussion on appropriate iconography subjects. Find a family of things that can be translated to iconographic graphics.
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- Airport Signage
- Olympic Sports
- Cities in a country
- Product range of Apple
- Your Friends
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In-class exercise – Pictogram sketches
Get out your sketchbook, or just a pen and some paper, and start sketching a parent icon and 10+ child icons based on your chosen theme.
Pin up to Bluescape and we’ll discuss as a class.
Illustrator Crash Course
Assignment 1.1
Based on your in-class sketches, create 1 parent icon and 10+ child icons, using Adobe Illustrator. Lay them out using the Web-Large Illustrator template (1920×1080 pixels). Save your completed work as a PDF using the filenaming described above, and upload it to Bluescape. Do not add any text unless your theme is about text — viewers should be able to understand the icons and their relationship as a family without explanation.
Important things to consider are:
- Simplicity
- Clarity of meaning
- Consistency among the family members
Due Week 2.
Assignment 1.2
A Diagram of You.
Create 1 diagram of who you are. Use the Web-Large Illustrator template (1920×1080 pixels). Some suggestions for things to depict:
- Friends / Social circle
- Places you have lived / visited
- Musical / Filmic preferences
- Your hobbies
- Favorite designers
- Timeline of your life
- Transitions of your hairstyle
Choose any number of different concepts, but include at least three examples.
Save your completed work as a PDF using the filenaming described above, and pinup to the Bluescape board.
Due Week 2.
Assignment 1.3
Compile your group diagram research into a single PDF and upload to Bluescape.
Due Week 2.
For Week 3:
Read pages 17-43 of Design Is Storytelling.