Visual Communication

You can view and download a copy of the course syllabus by pointing your browser on your phone, tablet, or laptop to egsnider.com/411syllabus.pdf or by visiting our ASU Online site at ecollege.asu.edu

TWC 411/511 SLN: 44202/3/4 Summer A 2013 ASU Online

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TWC 411/511

Eva Grouling Snider (540) 588-7954 egsnider@asu.edu @snidereg (Twitter) snidereg (Skype) egsnider.com

Course Description............... 2 Objectives.............................. 2 Texts....................................... 3

Assessment............................ 3 Expectations.......................... 4

Syllabus

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 Course Description
In this course, we will explore visual communication, or how we as human beings use visual language to communicate, to persuade, to inform. We will begin by discussing theories of visual communication, including visual rhetoric and visual culture. We will learn to examine documents critically using principles of visual communication. From there, we will focus on using the principles of visual communication, including principles of color, typography, and space to create visually effective documents. We will start with some of the more basic principles, such as those surrounding color, and move on to more complex principles, such as those surrounding layout and space. Every week (excepting Week 6) will include a set of readings accompanied by a discussion board for those readings. Every week (excepting Week 6) will also include a document analysis assignment that asks you to look at documents you encounter in your everyday life in different ways. Finally, each week will include another assignment, related to the topic for the week (e.g., typography). Readings are meant to give you background knowledge and introduce you to the principles of visual communication, while assignments are meant to give you opportunities to put those principles to work in specific rhetorical contexts. All readings, discussion boards, and document analyses are due on Fridays. Assignments and discussion board responses are due the following Monday.

Objectives
By the end of the course, a successful student will be able to: + Evaluate and critique theories of visual communication, including theories of visual rhetoric and visual culture + Identify and utilize strategies to read and analyze the images you encounter in everyday life + List and navigate the steps involved in the design of documents, including sketching, wireframing, drafting, and revising + Use color effectively to organize documents visually and create aesthetically appealing documents + Use typography effectively to organize documents visually and create aesthetically appealing documents + Use white space, alignment, and other layout elements to organize documents visually and create aesthetically appealing documents + Reflect on the quality of documents he/she designs + Provide constructive criticism to other designers

TWC 411/511

Syllabus

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 Texts
You have two required texts for this class. They are: White Space Is Not Your Enemy: A Beginners Guide to Communicating Visually through Graphic, Web, and Multimedia Design, Rebecca Hagen and Kim Golombisky, 2nd edition Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, and Students, Ellen Lupton, 2nd edition

Assessment
Your grade in this class will be determined by your performance on the major assignments, as well as your performance on document analyses and discussion boards: + + + + + + + + + Article Review.............................................. 5% Identity Package........................................ 10% Color Palettes.............................................. 5% Clip Art Project............................................. 5% Type Poster................................................ 10% Menu Redesign.......................................... 15% Final Exam: Newsletter............................. 10% Document Analyses................................... 15% Discussion Boards (w/Responses)............ 25% Total......................................................... 100%

On each assignment, you will receive a whole letter grade of A, B, C, D, or F. I do not award +/grades. The reason for that is that I believe the differences between a B- and a C+ are negligible and deeply subjective. If you do excellent work, you will earn an A. If you do good work with some flaws, you will earn a B. If you do decent work with some significant flaws, you will earn a C. If you do barely acceptable work, you will earn a D. If you do not do the work or do not meet the assignment criteria, you will earn an F. I know this system will take some getting used to for most of you, but I hope you will come to see the value in its simplicity and transparency. Please note, though, that just because you will only receive full letter grades on individual assignments does not mean you will receive a full letter grade for your final grade. Your final grade is determined by the amounts listed above, with letter grades translated to numbers for calculation purposes (A=95, B=85, C=75, D=65). As such, final grades can include +/- grades. You will have the option to revise any major assignment, with the exception of the Menu Redesign and the Final Exam: Newsletter, both of which are due on the final day of classes.
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 Expectations
Workload: This is an accelerated summer course that fits a 15-week course into a 6-week span. You can expect roughly triple the workload of a regular 15-week semester each week. Each week includes a series of readings (~3 hours), a discussion board with responses (~2 hours), a document analysis (~2 hours), and a major assignment (~6 hours), so you can expect to spend roughly 12 to 15 hours a week on the work of the class. Planning: Because this is an online course, you are responsible for planning and scheduling your time so that you complete the required tasks on time. All information for the course will be posted to our LearningStudio site, starting the first day of classes, Monday, 5/20. Etiquette: In an online class, its important that you participate in discussion boards in order to enable social interaction and knowledge building. Please complete all discussion boards on time. When responses are required, please respond on time, as well. In your responses, be sure to treat others ethically, engaging with their ideas critically without disparaging their opinions. Remember that, in an online environment, we lose visual cues indicating how others are responding to our words. Consider what you are writing and how someone may react to it before you post. Technology: This class is an ASU Online class. You will need access to a desktop or laptop with a web browser and an ASU ID in order to access LearningStudio. The class also demands that you use industry-standard document design programs, including layout programs (e.g., Adobe InDesign, Scribus), photo editing programs (e.g., Adobe Photoshop, GIMP), and drawing/ illustration programs (e.g., Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape). You can access all the relevant Adobe programs in any ASU computer lab. I do encourage you to sign up for Adobes Creative Cloud so you can use those programs on your own computer, but its not required. Some students in this course will have much more experience with certain programs than other students. Your inexperience with graphics or publishing programs will not be a detriment to your success in this course. Having said that, you will not be able to use your inexperience as an excuse not to use these programs to complete your assignments. For instance, while writing an analysis in Word is acceptable, creating and editing images or graphic design assignments in Word or or Paint is not acceptable in this course because such programs are not dynamic enough and do not not include the complex features that Adobe programs do. If you are concerned about your ability to use Adobe programs (or their equivalents), I encourage you to look at tutorial videos online or purchase a book like this one. Copyright: Youll be using a lot of images in this class, and its important that you ensure you are following copyright laws in doing so. Your best bet is to use images you created yourself, but you can also use Creative Commons licensed images or images from stock photo sites. If you use any images you did not create, be sure to document them properly.
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