Here is the final semester wrap up and course completion information:
The same content will be sent to your e-mail via blackboard and shared here on this website.
Please reach out with any questions here – rseslow@bmcc.cuny.edu
Tonight, 12/9 – is the last day of classes, I will use this class to share a demonstration on how you can make a PDF portfolio to organize all of your completed works. (its not mandatory, but I recommend it as the skill that can be applied to other courses.)
Next Wednesday December 16th is our last meeting in Zoom during finals week – for those who would like to present their completed work in the Zoom format – please join us at 5:30pm – 9pm – those not attending the 12/16 Zoom session will need to have all completed work added to their personal folder in our google drive no later than 9pm – Wednesday 12/9.
**Please check your BMCC e-mail as of 12/10 for the final semester wrap up and course completion information. The same content will be posted to this website shortly. Tonight, 12/9 is the last day of classes, Next Wednesday is our last meeting in Zoom for those who would like to present their completed work in Zoom – 5:30pm – 9pm – those not attending the 12/ 16 Zoom will have all completed work added to their personal folder in our google drive no later than 9pm Wednesday 12/9.
There have been a few updates to the assignments page, please review them when you can if you are not attending the live zoom class on 12/9.
Lets jump into some student progress and talk about our last project::
(*This tutorial below was covered in the live Zoom session on 12/9/20 and then posted here and on the assignment page – it includes the PDF portfolio layout demonstration)
Vector Art Portrait Making, Poster Design & ZINE Making Collaboration!
We will bring together the applications of a vector art, portrait making, ZINE lay-out / composition, image manipulation, typography & collaboration.
Specifications:
Fictional Museum Exhibit Poster (examples will be shown during the Zoom classes – as well as a series of Illustrator vector demonstrations)
Suggestion :: Choose and work from the image and likeness of one or more of these styles/movements of art to create a poster using a SELF-Portrait
POP ART, SURREALISM, MEXICAN MURALISTS AFRO-FUTURISM, MANGA, POLITICAL ART, FAUVISM, GRAFFITI, AFRICAN MASKS, ANIME, VIDEO GAMES or (Another Style Not Listed Here or create a Hybrid using 2 or more styles)
Find and discover a series of images and references to work from. Your research should inspire you and activate you! Create a new project folder titled “Self-Portrait-Poster-Project” – save these images to your project folder. Create your self-portrait in the style of the Art or Design Movement that you chose for a Fictional Museum Exhibition.
*Your self-portrait IS the artwork – for the poster campaign that you create for the exhibit. You must design the poster in 2 sizes – one landscape and one portrait orientation. I suggest 11 inches x 17 inches (or slightly smaller) Your self-portrait must first be drawn in Illustrator and can be brought into Photoshop later for manipulation, (like adding blended colors, additional imagery or effects.) After you illustrate your self-portrait, you’ll create the actual poster for the exhibit.
Specifications II: The museum having the exhibit you’ve chosen is: SAM, Seattle Art Museum. (or pick another museum that you want to work with)
For the project please use the SAM logo as it is: (attached as a download link here) *feel free to re-render the logo on your own if you wish. (This does not mean change it) You may use any of the tools in Illustrator that we’ve learned or explored and also find and experiment with new ways to draw. You can work from a photo in Illustrator as demonstrated in class.
Do the Portrait First. Then compose the poster. :))
*Please make sure to create a folder for yourself with your first and last name and please name your files with your name – an Example file name looks like this:
Research / Inspiration / Tutorial – Check out these links below:
Project #4 – Part 2 – (Extra Credit – Not Mandatory)
Aside from the production of both a horizontal and traditional vertical poster made in illustrator, students will push the boundaries and application / usage of their portrait imagery. What is the creative potential of the image? How can you push it further? We decided to make a collaborative class ZINE that will isolate and showcase the portrait work. (The image above is from a the lay out that we will go over in class, we will revisit this was we build the zine together as a class.) The ZINE will consist of 2 or more submissions by each student. I would love to see everyone submit at least 2 images: 1 traditional vector image created in illustrator, and 1 highly manipulated version of that image by exploring and hacking into some of the applications below. The isolated portraits should be sized at 8.5 X 11 Vertical. This makes it easy for use to plug the images into the ZINE lay out.
What are the potentials of web and mobile applications in our day and age when it comes to creating styles, textures and over all visual aesthetics? We will walk through a series of demonstrations, some examples are below, along with a slew of apps to play with.
Instagram (I say this because you can layer multiple images, videos and transparent images in the IG Stories feature, then “save” your work even with out publishing it – http://Instagram.com
Welcome back! Tonight we will begin our class by looking at student work in progress as well as completed works that are ready for critique! Please share your screen and show us what you are currently working on, or need some class advice on how to make improvements and updates. Reminder – Please don’t forget to add your works in progress to our google drive (you have a folder there) and keeping your production files there allows for me to help you troubleshoot asynchronously through out the week.
But wait! Remember Vignelli? Massimo Vignelli, The NYC Subway Map and the Graphic Standards Manual designer we talked about in Depth? New York Magazine published this piece in its current edition, how timely! What do you think?
(Click the image below to expand and download the PDF.)
Assignment #3 – Is well underway as we continue to engage in our first project working predominantly with Adobe Illustrator. What are you thoughts and noticeable contrasts between photoshop and illustrator so far?
Class Exercises & Lab Tutorial:: Adobe Illustrator continued. Last week’s video tutorial continued an emphasis on creating shapes with the pen tool, applying the pathfinder and the versatile shape builder tool. We discussed generating shapes, forms and simplifying our results. We looked at the the adobe color palette which is now accessible directly in the properties panel. More tonight on working with color, locating color books and pantone colors.
**Here is the video tutorial that shares and explains Part 2 of Assignment #3 – and shares the many potential “byproducts” the process may produce (recorded on 11/11/20)
(Image & content source quoted from – creativebloq.com)
*Please leave your reactions/responses in the comments section below.
Questions to consider: What do you think about the initial payment for the icon / design job? Were you aware of this story / designer? Do you think that the Nike “swoosh” still holds up today? What do you think it symbolizes beyond the description below? How do you think the Nike company will remain relevant over the next 10 years +, how will design play a role?
“There aren’t many logos that are more recognized the world over than Nike’s iconic swoosh. It’s often the simplest ideas that are the best and the Nike mark proves it.
Graphic designer Carolyn Davidson designed the logo as a student at Portland State University in 1971 – and was paid $35 for it by Nike founder Phil Knight (Knight met Davidson in an accounting class he was teaching.)
The tick-like logo was seen as a symbol of positivity, but it’s actually the outline of the wing of the Greek goddess of victory whom the brand was named after. In 2011, Davidson told OreganLive.com that “it was a challenge to come up with a logo that conveyed motion” and that Philip Knight was very impressed with the stripes of rival company Adidas – it was increasingly hard to come up with something original.
As Nike grew in the 1980s, Philip Knight gave Davidson an undisclosed amount of Nike stock (making up for the tiny fee for the logo, we’re sure).”
Lets jump in tonight by looking at more student work! Share your screen and show us what you have completed, are currently working on, or need some class advice on how to make improvements and updates. Don’t forget to add your works in progress to our google drive (you have a folder there).
Its also time to start talking about Assignment #3 – Exciting! Welcome to Adobe Illustrator!
Discussion – Class exercise :: Adobe Illustrator. Creating shapes with the pen tool, the pathfinder and the shape builder tool. Working with layers, simplifying and reducing images. Working with color, locating color books and pantone colors.
Lab Tutorial – This week we will take a tour of Adobe Illustrator and practiced creating new documents and setting up our art boards for production. Tonight’s zoom class we be recorded and placed here after class.
Below is the screen recording from class on 10/21 – Jump in!
Here is this week’s useful information and class resources: This post has been updated to extend through week#6. There are a number of additional things below that will be covered in Zoom on 10/7.
Lets jump back in and start with some NYC Design History!! Behold, the NYC Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual. Last week we started talking about and discussing the manual.. see below
The link above will you take you to a page with an active full PDF version of the manual. I would like for EVERYONE to leave a comment at the bottom of this page after exploring the manual and answering the questions in the post. We will complete this during our Zoom class on 10/7.
Imagine being offered the opportunity to visually solve, design and illustrate the entire NYC transit system!? What goes into this process and research? Do you know who is responsible for this? How much does the designer charge for a project of such scale? Lets dig in and discuss.
Last week we continued talking about Assignment #2 – The Post Card project ! Lets talk about some work in progress and the potentials of the project. Students will share their work via Zoom. Discussions about presentation methods, portfolios and why presentation is so important. Please navigate to the assignment #2 page to view the assignment with me.
**Video recording of class – 9/30 – tutorial for Assignment #2 – The tutorial covers working with the pen tool, creating your lay out / document set up, layers and composition.
Designed by Massimo Vignelli and Bob Noorda, Unimark, 1970
I would love to hear your reactions and feedback in the comments section below! Each student will leave a comment this week.
**after you “post” your comment I will have to manually approve it – you may not see it show up right away.
Some Questions to ponder and react to:
What is your general feedback on the manual? Do you like it? Dislike it? Please Explain. Do you find it to be well designed, illustrated and clear in its application?
2. The manual was published in 1970. Does it still hold up for today’s world?
3. What is missing or should be added for today’s world of NYC Transit?
**Quick-Note – GAME DESIGN CLASS – Spring 2021 ** – The Media Arts & Technology dept. will be offering MMP 270 Game Design for the first time in Spring 2020. It is an elective class for Multimedia, Animation and VAT students. It will be taught by Professor Owen Roberts. Please direct all questions to his email: oroberts@bmcc.cuny.edu
Last week we began our class by re-capping the previous week’s class discussion about Assignment / project #1 and its 2 parts.
We walked through the creative critique process and we gave comments and feedback to help propel us forward. It is important to be able to see and consider another persons point of view and perspective. Plus, we want to get into the habit of building our work through a process of iterations. Our first idea or concept is rarely the best idea or the main one that we should isolate, especially in the early stages of an assignment or project. Variety, variety!
This week both in and outside of class we spent time cutting out and practiced working with the infamous photoshop Pen-Tool! How did you do? How many assets did you make? (Its OK if you are just getting started on this this week) I estimate that it takes a good 2-3 weeks of regular practice to get the hang of things, and also move forward with more challenging images to work with.
We began talking about the next assignment – Remember, assignment #2 is asking us to organize a series of assets together to compose our post cards. Class on 9/23 will go over a full tutorial and the Zoom class recording will be placed here and on the Assignment #2 page
Here is some great outside of Zoom learning about GESTALT.
What is GESTALT and why is it important in Design?
Gestalt will help you put pieces together, and help form an understanding of the psychology of design and how we perceive design.
Color Theory – (Image via Arhaus‘ via Justcreative)
The link below was published via – JustCreative.com – This is great guide to understanding color in design with an emphasis on logos, identity and branding.
I highly recommend visiting and learning from JustCreative.com aka – Jacob Cass – Jacob is an amazing graphic designer and conduit of great design resources.
More Photoshop Video Tutorials-
Photoshop Tutorial – The top 10 Things photoshop Beginners Want To Know How To Do
As you know by now, I love and recommend Terry White’s Youtube channel. He is an Adobe software wizard and a great teacher! Subscribe here.
Lets jump in and take a look at Assignment #1 parts 1 & 2 / your designs in progress during our Zoom session on 9/16 – I will encourage students to share their progress on screen so that we can engage in dialog about the works and how we can make improvements.
*Remember, you can always find a Zoom class recording for each Assignment tutorial under the Assignment page for that individual assignment, the process for Assignment #1 – parts 1 & 2 are on the Assignment #1 page
We will also spend some class time practicing a few class exercises with the Photoshop pen tool! (exciting!)
**I will be introducing Assignment #2 – AKA – “the Postcard Project” tonight as well.
We will get well versed working with the photoshop pen tool, electronic imaging, cutting out images and creating graphic assets. We will also be creating and working with various file types and bringing our ideas into photoshop to produce the finished designs.
Im a big fan of revisions! We will discuss using multiple art boards and the iteration process while in process.
*This Week’s Exercise – Cutting out Images in Photoshop / Making Graphic Assets: Cutting out images in various fragments is a task that all graphic designers will face on a regular basis. Learning various methods for cutting out images is a necessity. We will explore, experiment and share a few methods on how.
(This exercise/technique will be applied to the post card project – assignment #2 ).
Video Screening Tutorials: Cutting out images in Photoshop (Pen Tool examples)
These tutorials above will help get you started with our class exercise, but ultimately, you will need to master the pen tool in both photoshop and illustrator for the cleanest vector cut-outs.
**Are you looking for a photoshop psd. file template example to create along with, format and submit your postcard? (Photoshop newbies can edit and change the layers as you need to) Those with experience should make the template themselves – Click HERE
(Is there a specific tutorial that you learned from recently or over time? Share the URL link with a description of your experience in the comments section below)
Graphic Designer and inspiration of the week!
Paula Scher! (please get to know her work!)
Watch this great talk by Graphic Design icon Paula Scher!
Last week covered a lot of information and we began to get acclimated with Adobe photoshop, our workspace and our first assignment, we also went over our class website. I shared a tutorials about our first assignment / project here in MMA 100. Did you find the video helpful (its under the Assignment #1 page)? How can I make them better? Leave your comments below.
Did you add or submit your work in progress of part 1 of Assignment #1 to our google drive folder? Remember, I would really like for you to keep your work in progress here as we can dialog about it together. Here is the g-drive link (create a folder with your first and last name) https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1m8_39ko2CtWEyzQ9SXABM2RWfKTCsGii?usp=sharing
In our Zoom class discussion tonight we will start our class by reviewing the student work submission process / presenting our work in process.
