Class Exercise (1/30): Ken Burns Slideshow + Letterform Visual Translations

Based on the techniques and tools shown in today's After Effects demo, complete the following visual exercises and post as H.264 quicktime movies on your own blog by the start of next class.

1. Ken Burns Effect Exercise
Using the panning and zooming technique coined by documentary filmmaker, Ken Burns, create a visual slideshow of 10 photographs. Consider your choice in initial and final photographic croppings of each image. You may ONLY use Scale, Anchor Point and Opacity keyframes (no position keyframes are allowed in this exercise). Each photograph should be visible in your composition for at least 5 seconds each.

Example:

2. Letter Visual Translations 
Using the letters from your first and last name initials, create two brief 10 second animations that explore letterform as action verbs. Take consideration in the form and structure of your chosen character and how your action verb naturally and logically bridges the relationship between your letterform and action verb animation.

Example:

Week 2 Day 2 (Jan 24) -Homework

1. Select designer/design agency for Research Project: Design Case Studies by the end of the day. Begin gathering information for project. Final presentations are scheduled for Feb 20.

2. Continue Visual Journal blog daily entries. 


3. Acquire Adobe After Effects by start of next class session. Bring in 10 different jpgs (72 resolution, at least 1024x768 pixels in size) to class.


Download trial version of After Effects CS5.5 here

Research Project: Design Case Studies

Download PDF

*Library Resource (on reserve)
Design Diaries: Creative Process in Graphic Design by Lucienne Roberts and Rebecca Wright

Research Project:

Design Case Studies

Description:

Select a designer/design agency and conduct thorough research regarding the designer, including company and background information, the type of work, and documented design accomplishments and achievements. You must also choose one significant project completed by the designer to further examine in a detailed case study. The case study should analyze the chosen project from beginning to end (research, process, development, completion). Research should be assembled into a final presentation created in InDesign. 

Final presentations are scheduled for Monday, February 20th. Oral presentations should be around 10 min in duration.


Wikipedia is not a reliable source of research and should not be used. You will be asked to cite all sources, so be sure to keep track of all publishing details related to books, articles, journals used in your research.

Objectives:

Discuss the creative process of a professional designer

Conduct in-depth research on a graphic design project

Display oral and written communication skills

Prepare a formal, oral, visual and written presentation

Selected Designers/Agencies:

2x4 (Michael Rock)

Sussman/Prejza (Deborah Sussman)

Pentagram (Paula Scher*/Michael Bierut)

Kolar Design (Kelly Kolar)

Two Twelve (David Gibson)

Vignelli Associates (Massimo Vignelli)

Lance Wyman

Saul Bass

Frost Design (Vince Frost)

EdenSpiekermann

Bruce Mau Design (Bruce Mau)

Stefan Sagmeister*

Borries Schwesinger*

Bond + Coyne*

Wolff Olins

Landor

Interbrand

Chermayeff + Geismar

Grading Criteria:

+ Completion of all points in the study

+ Organization of Materials Presented

+ Depth of Research

Quality and Design of Oral/Visual Presentation

Case Study Points of Reference

Name of Designer/Agency:

Business Profile:

Project Title:

Project Dates:

Client:

Project Team:

(Art Director, Designer, Production, Copywriter, Artist)

Project Objective:

Target Audience Profile:

Project Strategy:

Describe the venue(electronic, print, environmental design, etc):

Other insights:

Week 2 Day 1 (Jan 23) - Homework

1. Complete and post Photo Crop Exercise to your class blog by start of next class session.

2. Visual Journal blogs will be assessed and reviewed starting this week, be sure to keep up with daily journaling M-F.

Photo Crop Exercise

Locate a poorly composed photograph, or one that could be cropped so that attention is drawn to a different portion of the original image. Locate a second photograph of a human or animal subject that contains the head and all or part of the body.

Make cropping blocks from two L-shaped pieces cut from bristol paper or card stock. Use a T square or straight edge to ensure that the edges are square and cut at right angles.

Crop each photo by positioning the cropping blocks so that the areas of the photo that do not improve the composition are eliminated and the best portion of the photograph is preserved. With the human or animal subject, concentrate on cropping it so that the focus is on the head or face. When you have found a crop that works, take the L-shaped pieces together and scan you final selection.

Repeat process for 6 images in total, and answer the following questions for each cropped image. Post your 1)original and 2)cropped selections and 3)written reflections for all 6 photographs to your blog, titled "Photo Crop Exercise". Due by the start of next class.

Reflection Questions
How successfully does each crop work?
How is cropping an improvement to the original?
What unnecessary components in the original have been eliminated through cropping?
How has the focal point in each photo changes or been improved?
Are the cropped images compositionally well balanced?

Week 1 (Jan 18) - Homework

1. Scan all work created for 10x10 exercise (mind mapping, 100 sketches in 10x10 grid, 3 final sketches), color correct and web prep scans, upload to visual journal (blog), and write up a brief summary (2-3 sentences) per image to explain your creative process for this exercise.

2. Bring in 10-15 photographs (printed), tape, thick paper (bristol, card stock), ruler, x-acto knife, tracing paper to next class session.

In class Exercise: 10x10

"Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it's the only one you have" --Émile Chartier, French philosopher

(90 min. in class exercise)

1. You've been hired by a soda company to create the packaging for an affordable organic energy drink. Your audience is well-off twenty-year-olds.

2. Brainstorm a name and description of the drink through mind mapping for 10 minutes

3. Next spend 50 minutes on a hundred sketches of the possible energy drink design, including form factor and typography. (Using a 11x17 sheet of paper, sketch in a 10 row by 10 column grid of 100 sketches)

4. Spend the last 30 minutes refining the hundred sketches down to three final design sketches that incorporate all of your best thinking.

Feel free to photocopy, cut out*, scan/reprint you final ideas to make improvements and revisions (*Be sure to scan/photocopy original 10x10 grid for blog documentation before cutting up sketches). Each design concept for final three must fit nicely on 8.5x11 sheet of paper.

{from Creative Workshop by David Sherwin}

4. Scan all work created for 10x10 exercise (mind mapping, 100 sketches in 10x10 grid, 3 final sketches), color correct and web prep scans, upload to visual journal (blog), and write up a brief summary (2-3 sentences) per image to explain your creative process for this exercise.

The Design Process

A successful design process involves a combination of intuitive and deliberate choices.

We will be utilizing a broad range of techniques within the scope of the graphic design process this semester in order to push all conceptual ideas and opportunities that will result in effective visual communication solution, pleasing to the client, user and yourself.

3 Phases of the Design Process:

1. Define the problem
2. Getting Ideas
3. Creating Form

Read Brainstorming/Mind Mapping handout (from Graphic Design Thinking: Beyond Brainstorming edited by Ellen Lupton)

Visual Diary/Journal

Set aside 10-15 minutes each day to create something new. Sketch, doodle, paint, photograph, write, design, type, collage. Whether you do it by hand, on paper or on the computer, document these creative exercises each day into your visual journal blog, as to develop a means to explore potential creative ideas and have digital documentation of all your thoughts, in order to revisit them when falling into a design rut.

1. Read Visual Diary handout
2. Create your own visual journal blog. Sign up for a free blog account at blogger.com, tumblr.com, wordpress.com specifically for your visual journal this semester. Completion of daily entries will be factored into Studio Practices portion of course grade.
3. Email me your visual journal blog URL by the end of today's class session.





Sketchbook Resources
Claire Sambrook

The Sketchbook Project

Moleskin Sketchbooks

Syllabus + Weekly Schedule

Download Syllabus + Weekly Schedule

Timeline*
*last revised 02.06.12

Week Date Agenda

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01 W 18 Jan Course Introduction/ Brainstorming Techniques/Visual Journals

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02 M 23 Jan Imagery in Design: Photo crops/Graphic Reduction

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      W 25 Jan Research + Visual Communication Case Studies Project  Library Session

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03 M 30 Jan Demo: AE Basics

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       W 01 Feb Icons, Indexes, Symbols/ Farmers Market Icons

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04 M 06 Feb Farmers Market Icons

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       W 08 Feb DUE Farmers Market Icons / AE Demo (Motion Path + Masks)

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05 M 13 Feb Color

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       W 15 Feb Demo: AE Basics

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06 M 20 Feb DUE  Research Case Studies Presentations

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       W 22 Feb Tastebud Mapping

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07 M 27 Feb Tastebud Mapping

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       W 29 Feb DUE Tastebud Mapping

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08 M 05 Mar Demo: Dreamweaver Basics

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       W 07 Mar Collaborative Design: Visual Sequencing+ Associations

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09 M 12 Mar Collaborative Design: Visual Sequencing+ Associations

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       W 14 Mar DUE Collaborative Design: Visual Associations

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10 M 19 Mar Spring Break - No Class

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       W 21 Mar Spring Break - No Class

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11 M 26 Mar Work Day: (History of Vis Communication Visual Timeline)

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       W 28 Mar Demo: Flash Catalyst Basics

       Work Day: Desk Critiques

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12 M 02 Apr Work Day

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       W 04 Apr Demo: Flash Catalyst Basics

       Work Day: Desk Critiques

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13 M 09 Apr Work Day: Desk Critiques

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       W 11 Apr Demo: Web/Motion

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14 M 16 Apr Work Day

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       W 18 Apr Demo: Web/Motion

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15 M 23 Apr Work Day

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       W 25 Apr Final Project Review (History of Vis Communication Timeline)

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16 M 30 Apr Work Day: Digital Process Book

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       W 02 May Work Day: Digital Process Book

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Final Review Week 17 TBA Final Reviews with Faculty