4. The Print Project
Let’s talk just a bit about our print based project, which we will
begin in earnest next week when Dr. Jim Porter and Ms. Felice
Marcus visit class on Tuesday to discuss the needs of the
American Culture and English (ACE) program.
The initial list of their needs includes a mailing card (think data
sheet– something roughly the size of a large postcard with key
information about the program on one side and nice splash art on
the other), a poster, and other recruitment materials/circulation
documents (like invitations).
5. One key…
…to this whole process is to know how to speak to community partners.
Some key things we’ll need to do, then:
1.Be on time (duh!). You don’t want to walk into a client meeting late.
2.Read over whatever you can find about ACE (I’ll place some stuff on my
blog for you to take a look at) and try to become familiar with what they
do/provide.
3.Think about what you would want to know, for example, to make a poster
for them. To make a data sheet. To make, say, varied versions of a one-sheet
recruitment flier to mail to potential students in various nations. Come with
questions, but make sure they’re specific and thoughtful.
6. Another key factor…
…is respect.
Whenever we deal with a community partner, remember that you, as a
student and participant in this course, represent:
1)Our university
2)Your respective programs (particularly PW and IMS folks)
3)The class
4)Yourselves
5)Me
Behave as you would expect a professional designer to behave with his
clients, and be courteous. Listen carefully, take good notes.
7. This is also a moment where…
…we will transition much more into talking about the readings from the
books and will move away, at least to a small degree, from the more
theoretical underpinnings of the early part of class.
That theory will persist; it’s not leaving us. We’re just about to take the step
over the threshold into practice.
8. American Culture and English
Is a semester-long immersive program for students with slightly below
acceptable TOEFL scores (meaning they are qualified students other than
their need for some additional training in the English language).
It consists of a five-hour speaking course, a four-hour writing course, an
American studies course, and one additional class of the student’s choice.
Students who move through ACE then proceed with their Miami education
with the skills they need to succeed.
Also starting next year there will be a graduate version of the ACE program
offered, obviously, for graduate students.
9.
10. Previewing your design task
With our remaining time, I asked you to bring in a photo or the actual flier
for your design task this week. I nabbed one from the web (to make sure I
didn’t accidentally get the same one that one of you had chosen– I didn’t
want to mess with your creative process). I will post it on the next slide, then
we’ll discuss what we could do to make it better.
12. There is a design theory here…
I’m not sure I precisely understand it, but there’s sort of a sub-genre of party
flyers that look a bit like this. Knowing that, I don’t want to act as if this is
absolutely hideous, but I think you can safely say, based on our readings so
far, that this is not a well designed flyer.
When addressing a flyer like this, we want to collect some key information.
So let’s break down what we actually have here.
15. What might we do?
Textual information:
Colors:
Graphics:
16. Homework
Most of class Tuesday will be spent talking to the fine
folks from ACE. Come ready!
Read for class: Kimball & Hawkins Chapters 3 and 4,
Golombisky & Hagen chapters 4
