^<CM501A1&J1>Spring 2024 January 19–May 1
^<CONTACT>Jialun(Jaylen) Wang: jialunw@bu.edu
^{<OFFICE HOURS>}By appointment
^{<USEFUL LINKS>}Class materials,  Submissions,  Slack, Spatial.
^{<DESCRIPTION>}Design Strategy & Software, CM501, provides knowledge and practice for effective graphic design for all media. Develops a foundation in design principles and software skills including Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. Students create projects demonstrating how design strategies are used to engage audiences, and enhance comprehension of all forms of mass communication from traditional print to digital media.
^{< HUB LEARNING OUTCOMES>} ❶Expression.Aesthetic Exploration {AEX}1. Students will demonstrate knowledge and appreciation of notable works in literature and/or the arts, including the cultural contexts in which those works were created, and be able to identify their ongoing significance and relevance. 2. Students will demonstrate the reasoning skills and vocabulary necessary to interpret a work of art (literature, music, visual arts, etc.). 3. Students will produce evaluative, analytical, or creative works that demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics—such as genres, modes, styles, and cultural history– of at least one literary or artistic medium. ❷Creativity/Innovation {CRI} 1. Students will demonstrate understanding of creativity as a learnable, iterative process of imagining new possibilities that involves risk-taking, use of multiple strategies, and re-conceiving in response to feedback, and will be able to identify individual and institutional factors that promote and inhibit creativity. 2. Students will be able to exercise their own potential for engaging in creative activity by conceiving and executing original work either alone or as part of a team.❸Digital/Multimedia Expression {DME} 1. Students will be able to craft and deliver responsible, considered, and wellstructured arguments using media and modes of expression appropriate to the situation. 2. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the capabilities of various communication technologies and be able to use these technologies ethically and effectively. 3. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the fundamentals of visual communication, such as principles governing design, time-based and interactive media, and the audiovisual representation of qualitative and quantitative data.
^{<COURSE OBJECTIVES & REQUIREMENTS>}Design strategies for effectively engaging audiences and enhancing communication in all forms of media. {AEX, CRI, DME}/The fundamentals of visual communication by participating in lectures & critiques, completing design projects, homework & in-class assignments. {AEX, CRI, DME}/The creative process and concept development strategies used in solving design problems. {CI}/ Analytical skills emphasizing the use of objective criteria, design vocabulary and technical terminology. {AEX}/To improve verbal communication of visual concepts and terminology during slide lecture discussions and critiques. {AEX}/How to design and produce communication for all media using creative software. {AEX, CRI, DME}/Effective and ethical use of creative software including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. {DME}/The capabilities of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. {DME}/While completing four design projects using creative software independently, outside of class time. {AEX, CRI, DME} 
^<GRADING>The four projects are weighted equally and account for 80% of the final grade. Class participation and comple- tion of in-class assignments and homework comprise 20% of the final grade. Attendance is required. Any absence affects the final grade. All homework, drafts, finals and in class as- signments are required. Late assignments, drafts and projects will be penalized 10% for each class past the due date. If you are ill and possibly contagious, please stay home. To make up work, check the syllabus for the day you missed, then read the required chapter, complete all blue page skill sets, upload files to the make-up folder on the drive; complete any in-class, homework or drafts and upload to the folders that are on the date you missed. Letter grade numeric values: A 100-94 | A- 93-90 | B+ 89-88 | B 87-84 | B- 83-80 | C+ 79- 77 | C 76-74 | C- 73-70 | D 69-60 | 59-0 F
^{<SOFTWARE, SUPPLIES, & LAB PRINTING>}Graphic Design Essentials: Skills, Software and Creative Strategies, Joyce Walsh Available at the bookstore, Amazon and the publisher’s website for printed or for the best digital versions: Bloomsbury: https:// www.bloomsbury.com/us/graphic- designessentials-9781350075047/ Before the first class, apply for free Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop here: http:// www.bu.edu/tech/services/teaching/digitalmultimedia-production/adobe-creative-cloud/ request/ Load and test Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop before the first class. Bring your book and desk top to every class. Sketchbook or notebook, black marker, thumb or external drive (for backups). To print in the lab: https://www.bu.edu/ comtech/students/laptop-information/how-toprint-from-a-laptop/
^<TECHNOLOGY>You are expected to back up your work, either to a hard drive or a cloud service. Backing up can be automated or implemented as a regular part of your working process. Note that you will not be excused for preventable loss of data. I use both an external hard drive and an automated backup system called Backblaze. Other systems work well (google drive, Apple time machine, etc.) Find one that works for you. There is nothing worse than working on a project for hours and having Adobe crash on you. I also hit the save button A LOT while I work (command S on a Mac, Control S on a PC). I have made a class page containing information from this syllabus. You will use this site to turn in assignments. Please look at the page before our first class and I will do a quick demo of how to navigate the website. Please feel free to reach out should you have any questions.
^<POLICIES>Academic Conduct Code All BU students are bound by the Academic Conduct Code: www.bu.edu/academics/policies. Please review to ensure you are acting responsibly and ethically in regard to your academics. Plagiarism Policy Plagiarism is the act of representing someone else’s creative and/or academic work as your own, in full or in part. It can be an act of commission, in which one intentionally appropriates the words, pictures or ideas of another, or it can be an act of omission, in which one fails to acknowledge/ document/give credit to the source, creator and/ or the copyright owner of those works, pictures or ideas. Plagiarism is the most serious academic offense that you can commit and can result in probation, suspension or expulsion. Boston University College of Communication Plagiarism Policy. Recording Policy (Post-Covid) Please note that classroom proceedings for this course might be recorded for purposes including, but not limited to, student illness, religious holidays, disability accommodations, or student course review. Note that recording devices are prohibited in the classroom except with the instructor’s permission. Disability & Access Services If you are a student with a disability or believe you might have a disability that requires accommodations, please contact Disability & Access Services at 617-353-3658, email access@bu.edu, or fill out the form at https:// bu- accommodate.symplicity.com/public_ accommodation/ to coordinate reasonable accommodation requests. Positive Classroom Experience At your discretion, please alert me to preferred pronouns, preferred name or nickname, or any extenuating circumstances or trigger warnings (personal, medical, etc.) that might affect your classroom experience. I want to make sure you have the most positive experience in the classroom as possible. If work that gets shown in this class, professional or student- generated, offends you in anyway, please mention it in class or talk to us privately about it so that we can all learn from each other. This is not to say we will ever restrict freedom of speech or water down an aggressive or edgy idea, but we want to discuss anything that someone deems troublesome or offensive. Equal Opportunity BU has strict guidelines on classroom behavior and practices when it comes to treatment of students and guests on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, mental or physical disability, genetic information, military service, national origin, or due to marital, parental, or veteran status. Discrimination for any of these reasons is prohibited. Athletics Statement All student-athletes should be provided with a sheet from Student-Athlete Support Services regarding absences throughout the semester. These sheets should be handed in as soon as possible to avoid potential conflicts and so arrangements can be made to provide for missed lecture notes, class work, or discussion.  Sexual Misconduct Boston University is committed to fostering a safe, productive learning environment. Title IX and our school policy prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, which regards sexual misconduct — including harassment, domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. We understand that sexual violence can undermine students’ academic success and we encourage students who have experienced some form of sexual misconduct to talk to someone about their experience, so they can get the support they need. Confidential support and academic advocacy resources can be found with the Center for Sexual Assault Response & Prevention www. bu.edu/safety/ sexual-misconduct Strategies for Success Attend every class, take notes & ask questions. Create a folder for this course and save all of your work (even drafts!) in the folder. Read the book. Prepare your work for critiques and complete each project by the suggested completion date. Phones, food, and drinks (other than sealed water bottles) should not be on the desks, please put them away. During presentations, if a software process is unclear, ask to see the process demonstrated again, your question will likely help others. Spend a few minutes after every class reviewing notes and new software processes. Prepare what you will say, test drive your presentation, and adjust for any malfunctions before the day of class presentations. Texting or browsing will adversely affect your ability to learn and detract from everyone’s classroom experience. We only have three hours together a week, be present. Strive for excellence in every assignment: in class and projects. Treat everyone with courtesy & enjoy the process.
^<PROJECTS>The four projects are designed for students to demonstrate their developing knowledge of principles governing design, strategies for effective visual communication, and to build a strong foundation in creative software skills. Projects become more complex as we progress through the semester. Project 1 will emphasize typography and color knowledge while learning Illustrator skills. Project 2 will add images and layout strategies while learning Photoshop and Illustrator skills. Project 3 creates logos using typography, color and symbol design while using Illustrator. Project 4 involves visual themes, which includes all of the topics students have learned: color, type, images, layout, and graphic elements. Students establish visual themes throughout multiple formats for this final project while developing expertise using InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop.
^{<DISCUSSIONS & READINGS>}In addition to project work, slide lecture-discussions and required readings introduce students to many notable works in the arts, both historical and contemporary. These works reveal graphic design history and their cultural contexts. Examples include the Caves at Lascaux, the history of the development of the symbols of the western alphabet, and Müller-Brockmann’s application of the Golden Section with the emergence of International Style. Participate in the class discussions and increase your class participation grade.
^{<IN-CLASS & HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS>}In-class and homework assignments reinforce design principles, strategies and understanding of contemporary and historical design, while learning new software. As students develop software skills, they reiterate design knowledge in a variety of ways, deepening their understanding of both areas. For example, throughout the semester, students design and write evaluative analyses using design vocabulary, while developing new software skills. All in-class, homework, drafts and finals of all projects are required. Class participation and completion of in-class assignments and homework comprise 20% of the final grade.
^{<PRESENTATIONS>}Projects are due at the beginning of class. Present your work as if we haven’t seen it before. Explain your design strategy and avoid pointing out problems with color, etc. during the presentation.