Academic Catalog

GID 35: GRAPHIC DESIGN STUDIO III

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Summer 2025
Units: 4
Hours: 3 lecture, 3 laboratory per week (72 total per quarter)
Advisory: Not open to students with credit in GID 52.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Non-GE
Transferable: CSU/UC
Grade Type: Letter Grade (Request for Pass/No Pass)
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Student Learning Outcomes

  • A successful student will define unique visual communication projects
  • A successful student will be able to design complex pieces on a professional level.
  • A successful student will evaluate the quality of work in terms of the communication objective and the design solution.
  • A successful student will manage time and resources of projects from conception to completion.
  • A successful student will demonstrate an understanding of the pre-press production process
  • A successful student will demonstrate an understanding of the web production process.
  • A successful student will communicate information in visual form to a culturally-diverse public.

Description

Continuation of GID 34. Students design and produce a real-world graphic design campaign. Focus on creative solutions that effectively use type, image, and layout. Projects include branding, identity, newsletter, website, and package design. Creative ideas are explored in sketches, rough layouts, comps, and final presentations. Students learn and use professional practices and industry standard software design packages to complete the graphic design activities in this course.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:

  1. Apply the design process from conception to completion.
  2. Define unique visual communication projects.
  3. Construct complex design pieces on a professional level.
  4. Evaluate the quality of work in terms of the communication objective and the design solution.
  5. Manage time and resources of projects from conception to completion.
  6. Demonstrate an understanding of the pre-press production process.
  7. Demonstrate an understanding of the web production process.
  8. Communicate information in visual form to a culturally-diverse public.

Course Content

  1. Design process
    1. Information gathering and research
    2. Design and audience
      1. Client
      2. Consumer public
    3. Communication of information
      1. Communication objectives
      2. Design objectives
      3. Idea generation
      4. Concept development
  2. Visual design
    1. Articulating the message to communicate design objectives
    2. Strategies for effective visual communication
  3. Collateral design
    1. Corporate campaigns
    2. Brand identities
    3. Newsletters
    4. Websites
    5. Packages
  4. Design solution
    1. Design thinking
    2. How to effectively visually communicate design objectives and for a culturally-diverse global marketplace
  5. Production and distribution
    1. Print publications
      1. Working with outside vendors
      2. Preparing files for pre-press and commercial printing
      3. Portable document production (PDF)
    2. Online publications
      1. Working with online service providers
      2. Uploading files
      3. File and directory management
      4. Usability testing​
  6. Pre-production
    1. Create concept art and thumbnail sketches
    2. Create wireframes and high fidelity and high-resolution mock-ups
    3. Proofing
      1. Check font spacing
      2. Confirm image size and resolution
      3. Ensure color accuracy
      4. Calibrate your screens
      5. Define bleed and crop marks
      6. Take care of imposition
  7. Design production and process
    1. Digital image preparation for electronic media
      1. Toolbox
      2. Menu items
      3. Palettes
      4. File formats
    2. Webpage layout
      1. Toolbox
      2. Menu items
      3. Palettes
      4. Importing text and graphics
      5. Typography
      6. File formats and file management
    3. Portable document format (PDF)
      1. Toolbox
      2. Menu items
      3. Palettes
      4. File formats and file management
    4. Skills and techniques in design presentation
  8. Visual communication
    1. Visually communicate for a global marketplace
    2. Analyze and discuss artistic contributions by individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds

Lab Content

  1. Software techniques
    1. Digital file preparation for print media
      1. Pre-press
      2. PDFs
      3. File formats
    2. Page layout
      1. Toolbox
      2. Menu items
      3. Palettes
      4. Grids
      5. Importing text and graphics
      6. Typography
      7. Style sheets
      8. File formats and file management
    3. Skills and techniques in design presentation

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

1. A lecture room equipped with an instructional computer, high-resolution color monitor, projection system, scanner, print output device, software, and network connectivity. Lighting and wall space suitable for displaying and critiquing hard copy output and projected images.
2. An integrated or separate facility with student workstation configurations to include hard drives; color monitors; mice or electronic drawing tablets; keyboards; scanners; print output device, software, and network connectivity.
3. When taught via Foothill Global Access: ongoing access to computer with JavaScript-enabled internet browsing software, media plug-ins, and relevant computer graphics applications.

Method(s) of Evaluation

Methods of Evaluation may include but are not limited to the following:

Completed student projects
Full class critiques
Student-teacher conferences
Portfolio evaluation

Method(s) of Instruction

Methods of Instruction may include but are not limited to the following:

Lecture presentations and classroom discussion using the language of graphic design
In-class reading of graphic design texts by the instructor and students followed by instructor-guided interpretation and analysis
Group presentations of major projects followed by in-class discussion and evaluation

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

Dabner, David. Graphic Design School. 2023.

Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments

  1. Examples outside of class assignments:
    1. This assignment is based on real-world practice and application within a design firm and/or industry studio. As a Art Director at a design firm, you are tasked with creating the visual style guide and mood board for the advertisement and marketing campaign of a fictional active lifestyle and fitness company using the design principles of graphic design and typography.
    2. Sketch at least twenty (20) thumbnails of a logo for a fictional active lifestyle and fitness company. Keep your thumbnails simple and loose with variety in size and shape. Sketches may be done in color or black and white, or a combination of both.

Discipline(s)

Graphic Arts