Art 2554 (LSU)
ART 2554 is an introduction to the graphic design process. In this course students learn about idea generation, and how to combine concept and content to create effective visual communication. Students apply the basic elements and principles of design as they experiment with both manual and digital media to develop creative solutions to design problems. Through shorter assignments and longer projects, students practice and demonstrate both creative and technical skills. Through group workshops and critiques, students learn to analyze their process and articulate their goals. This class is certified as a Communication Intensive course by the LSU Communication across the Curriculum program.
Object Iterations
In this project, students explore the process of idea generation through denotative and connotative image-making experimentation. Each student chooses one ‘everyday’ object and, using a wide range of media and perspectives/approaches, creates dozens of studies on or relating to the object. Students gather 20 studies into a presentation, and choose two studies to combine into a single poster. The poster enables the students to explore image juxtaposition, as well as to practice combining image and text.
Assignment adapted from one used by Professor Lynne Baggett of LSU (The poster portion of the project is my own addition)
Infographic Self-Portrait
In this project, students are challenged to create an infographic poster that features data about who they are. During the course of the project, students explore infographics as a design medium, and focus on integrating graphics with data (as contrasted with illustrating data with graphics). Students identify and apply a cohesive visual style to creatively combine text, graphics, and images, utilizing color, grid, and typographical considerations. Note: An actual image of the student is not a required element—the self-portrait aspect is implied through the data itself.
Historical Branding & Web Ad Campaign
In this project, students are challenged to design modern branding for a historical figure in an imagined contemporary business setting. They begin by choosing and researching their chosen figure; they then develop a logo, color, and typography for the brand identity. The branding is applied to a stationery mockup. The class then turns attention to web advertising, where students apply their branding, along with messaging and image integration, to an imagined Google Ads campaign spanning three different shapes. Students also produce an Adobe Spark presentation documenting their design process.
Assignment adapted from one used by Professor Lynne Baggett of LSU (The web ad campaign and Adobe Spark portions of the project are my own additions)
M.Saas Design 