Detailed schedule

GDES-200 fall 2019 (David Ramos, American University Design)
ramos@american.edu · office hours

27 August / 30 August

Week 01

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Intro

Projects

  • Start Sense mapping
  • For Friday, go on a walk for Sense mapping. Bring in the sketch map with your field notes. (You should always be working on projects on your own, through the due date.)
  • In Friday’s class, work on creating a more polished version of your sense map, with studio/small group critique.

3 September / 6 September

Week 02

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Photograph to Photoshop; Illustrator

Topics

  • Photoshop intro
  • Illustrator intro
  • Bezier curve exercise (exercise file, ZIP)

Projects

  • Work on Sense mapping in class on Tuesday (continue work on your own)
  • Final critique for Sense mapping (due Friday)
  • Start Graphic translation (see Blackboard)
  • For Friday, produce 12 rough sketches of your object for Graphic Translation. Explore position and angle, light/dark areas, reflections and shadows, the shapes the object makes, and details. Do this by hand. Drawings can be quite imperfect.

Reading

  • Alissa Walker. Why I Write About Design Now. Good Magazine, May 22, 2010.
  • Optional: start reading Graphic Design: The New Basics. The book covers key ideas in visual communication and image-making, illustrated with exemplary student projects. The material will improve your work for this class, make you a better designer, and enhance your employability, but you are accountable to yourself for doing and scheduling the reading.

You need to know how to use the Mac Finder

10 September / 13 September

Week 03

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Studio

Projects

  • Graphic translation: create one line version of your object in Illustrator (for Tuesday)
  • Continue work in studio on Tuesday
  • Work on project on Friday

Reading

  • Shea, Andrew. Designing for Social Change: Strategies for Community-Based Graphic Design. New York, N.Y.: Princeton Architectural P., 2012. 111–123. Using graphic language to reach street vendors and to advocate for public interest design. [On Blackboard.]

Software tutorials

Work through these tutorials if you find that you need to develop your software skills. There is no due date; choose as much or as little as you need in order to support your project work. (We will be using Illustrator much more than Photoshop.) Sign in through LinkedIn Learning—see the AU Library if you need help.

24 September / 27 September

Week 05

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Type hierarchy

Topics

  • Type hierarchy

Projects

  • Final critique for Graphic translation (Friday)
  • Start Type flyer (introduced in class on Tuesday)

Reading

  • Tip: if you would like more practice with drawing tools, try bezier.method.ac.
  • Norton, Peter D. Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT P, 2011. 65–69. How automotive interests created the concept jaywalking through a publicity campaign, redefining the street from being a shared space to as a place for motor vehicles alone. [On Blackboard.]

15 October / 18 October

Week 08

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Data visualization

Topics

  • Data visualization
  • Data visualization exercise

Projects

  • Studio/critique

Reading

22 October / 25 October

Week 09

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Studio

Projects

  • Studio

Reading

  • Cairo, Alberto. The Truthful Art: Data, Charts, and Maps for Communication. Hoboken, N.J.: Pearson Education, 2016. 41–65. Thinking about excellent data visualizations, working from the hockey-stick chart that describes the climate emergency. [On Blackboard.]
  • The Data Visualisation Catalogue (read: bar chart, line graph, multi-set bar chart, dot matrix chart, pictogram chart, illustration diagram, donut chart, and histogram)

5 November / 8 November

Week 11

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Posters

Topics

  • Posters and scale
  • Poster history

Projects

  • Final critique for Data visualization (Friday)
  • Start Issue poster

12 November / 15 November

Week 12

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Interaction

Topics

  • Interaction design

Projects

  • Studio/critique

Reading

22 November

Week 13

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Design ethics

Topics

  • Design ethics

Projects

  • Studio/critique

Reading

  • Monteiro, Mike. Ruined by Design: How Designers Destroyed the World, and What We Can Do to Fix It. San Francisco, Calif.: Mule Design, 2019. 53–70. The need for ethics in design practice. [On Blackboard.]

3 December / 6 December

Week 15

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New design practice

Topics

  • New design practice

Projects

  • Semifinal critique for Issue poster

15 December

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Issue poster due; no class

  • Issue poster is due