Fall 2024
Course Description
This course is an introduction to the fundamental perception, representation, aesthetics, and design that shape today's visual culture. It addresses the way artists and designers create images; design with analog and digital tools; communicate, exchange, and express meaning over a broad range of media; and find their voices within the fabric of contemporary art, design, and visual culture. Emphasis is placed on building an extended form of visual literacy by studying and making images using a variety of representation techniques; learning to organize and structure two-dimenstional and three-dimensional space, and designing with time-based and procedural media. Students learn to develop an individual style of idea-generation, experimentation, iteration, and critique as part of their creative and critical responses to visual culture.
Canvas
Door code 4253
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You can also text/call me if you need to get in touch
6o9238863o
Goals ︎
— Have a fluent understanding of the relationship between form and content.
— Describe the rationale and logic behind design decisions.
— Understand how to identify and communicate to a specific audience.
— Apply a reflective and iterative process.
— Develop an ability for self and group critique.
— Situate your work within the context of historical and contemporary art and design.
Objectives ︎
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
— Demonstrate a foundational understanding of both art and design principles, and techniques (composition, hierarchy, structure).
— Develop a practice that incorporates research methods, iteration, and feedback.
—Gain exposure to a variety of historical and contemporary working designers and artists, their philosophies, and working methodologies.
— Have a fluent understanding of the relationship between form and content.
— Describe the rationale and logic behind design decisions.
— Understand how to identify and communicate to a specific audience.
— Apply a reflective and iterative process.
— Develop an ability for self and group critique.
— Situate your work within the context of historical and contemporary art and design.
Objectives ︎
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
— Demonstrate a foundational understanding of both art and design principles, and techniques (composition, hierarchy, structure).
— Develop a practice that incorporates research methods, iteration, and feedback.
—Gain exposure to a variety of historical and contemporary working designers and artists, their philosophies, and working methodologies.
Week 1 (Short week) Composition and Form: Essentials of expression
o Wednesday, August 28th
Introductions to each other, course overview and establishment of shared goals for the semester.
Week 2 (Short week) Composition and Form
o Wednesday, September 4tth
Discussion of readings
Norman Potter, What is a Designer?/ Is a Designer an Artist? p 10-20
Bruno Munari , Design as Art p 25-34
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Introduction to Workflow/file management
Adobe Illustrator, Demo + Exercises
https://bezier.method.ac/
o Wednesday, August 28th
Introductions to each other, course overview and establishment of shared goals for the semester.
Week 2 (Short week) Composition and Form
o Wednesday, September 4tth
Discussion of readings
Norman Potter, What is a Designer?/ Is a Designer an Artist? p 10-20
Bruno Munari , Design as Art p 25-34
Introduction to Workflow/file management
Adobe Illustrator, Demo + Exercises
https://bezier.method.ac/
Course
Format ︎
Class sessions will be structured around group critiques, reading discussions, and informal presentations and supported studio time.
Critiques
Critiques will be a central part of this learning environment. Each student should be prepared to present visual progress in stages before the final assignment is submitted. You should also be ready to offer constructive criticism to peers, on both concept and form. With the exception of the final- All critiques will be of work in progress.
Readings + Class Discussion
All assigned readings are required. Students are expected to come to class having read the material prior to class and be prepared to participate in discussion.
Exercises + Project Assignments
In the beginning of each section you will be asked to complete short exercises to familiarize yourself with the each new platform we use. The goal is to think of these platforms as materials that we can then use for assignment- not the goal being to learn the platform. The question at hand will be- how can this software help me execute my goal?
These exercises will be completed both in and out of class. I will provide in-person and recorded tutorials on all platforms for more in-depth training. 3 Larger Projects will be assigned throughout the course.
Presentations + Critique
1. Each student will be required to give 1 class presentation on a historical or contemporary designer, artist or studio. These presentations should be 10 minutes long, and showcase visual documentation of their approach.
2. In critique, you will also be evaluated for your presentation or installation format in addition to the work itself. How you document, compile, and share your work with the class should be just as considered as the final design.
Presentations Description ︎
Over the course of the semester, each of you will give a presentation on a contemporary artist, collective, designer or deisgn firm. Your presentations should be 10 minutes. Please either email me the content if you are sharing it digitally or you can bring a thumb drive to class.
Presentations should include
— Brief biography of the Artist, designer or design group
— Historical or cultural context
— Description of their design methodology, process, or approach
— Description of their contributions to the discipline
— Close reading of at least 3 projects/ peices , with a detailed case study of why the work was noteworthy.
— Presentations should be 10 minutes long and presented visually, prepair to lead a 15-20 minute discussion after
-Class participation
Reading discussion 10%
Critique 10 %
-Project 1 15%
-Project 2 15%
-Project 3 20%
-Exercises 15%
-Presentations 15%
COURSE POLICIES ︎
Attendance
The class is an intensive course that covers a wide territory of technical and conceptual content. Attendance is critical to successful completion of the course. More then three unexcused absenses will result in a letter grade deduction.
Cell Phones/Computer use
Computers and phones are to be used for executing in-class work but not for other tasks.
Project and Exercise Deadlines
All projects and exercises are due on the assigned date. If you are having technical or material difficulties please communicate this to me as early as possible. Late material may not be accepted.
Intellectual Property
Work produced in courses at the Weitzman School of Design is the property of the student. By participating in a course, each student grants the Weitzman School of Design a nonexclusive right and license to use, copy, distribute, display and perform such work in any and all media for educational, programmatic and/or promotional purposes. The School of Design will exercise care with respect to student-created materials submitted in conjunction with a course; however, the School of Design does not assume liability for their loss or damage.² (p. 45 Student Handbook School of Design) Academic Integrity The University Code of Academic Integrity is online at: http://www.upenn.edu/academicintegrity/ai_codeofacademicintegrity.htmli
While there are a wealth of examples of art works that challenge the foundational tenets of authorship, originality, fidelity and authenticity, students should independently familiarize themselves with the Code. Please recognize that the work produced in the course will be considered your own work and thus each artist/student must be prepared to discuss, defend and address their methodologies including any intentional mimicry, reproduction and/or sampling of already existing material.
Individual Accommodation
In compliance with Penn policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that may be required by any students with a disability. Requests for academic accommodations need to be made during the first two weeks of the semester, except under unusual circumstances, to arrange reasonable accommodations. Students must register with Student Disabilities Services (SDS) for disability verification and for determination of reasonable academic accommodations. If something comes up during the semester, reach out to me for a time to meet and we can find a solution together.
Office Hours
Tuesdays 9-6, or upon request. Email to set up a time 2 days in advance minimum.
Class sessions will be structured around group critiques, reading discussions, and informal presentations and supported studio time.
Critiques
Critiques will be a central part of this learning environment. Each student should be prepared to present visual progress in stages before the final assignment is submitted. You should also be ready to offer constructive criticism to peers, on both concept and form. With the exception of the final- All critiques will be of work in progress.
Readings + Class Discussion
All assigned readings are required. Students are expected to come to class having read the material prior to class and be prepared to participate in discussion.
Exercises + Project Assignments
In the beginning of each section you will be asked to complete short exercises to familiarize yourself with the each new platform we use. The goal is to think of these platforms as materials that we can then use for assignment- not the goal being to learn the platform. The question at hand will be- how can this software help me execute my goal?
These exercises will be completed both in and out of class. I will provide in-person and recorded tutorials on all platforms for more in-depth training. 3 Larger Projects will be assigned throughout the course.
Presentations + Critique
1. Each student will be required to give 1 class presentation on a historical or contemporary designer, artist or studio. These presentations should be 10 minutes long, and showcase visual documentation of their approach.
2. In critique, you will also be evaluated for your presentation or installation format in addition to the work itself. How you document, compile, and share your work with the class should be just as considered as the final design.
Presentations Description ︎
Over the course of the semester, each of you will give a presentation on a contemporary artist, collective, designer or deisgn firm. Your presentations should be 10 minutes. Please either email me the content if you are sharing it digitally or you can bring a thumb drive to class.
Presentations should include
— Brief biography of the Artist, designer or design group
— Historical or cultural context
— Description of their design methodology, process, or approach
— Description of their contributions to the discipline
— Close reading of at least 3 projects/ peices , with a detailed case study of why the work was noteworthy.
— Presentations should be 10 minutes long and presented visually, prepair to lead a 15-20 minute discussion after
Final Grade ︎
-Class participation
Reading discussion 10%
Critique 10 %
-Project 1 15%
-Project 2 15%
-Project 3 20%
-Exercises 15%
-Presentations 15%
COURSE POLICIES ︎
Attendance
The class is an intensive course that covers a wide territory of technical and conceptual content. Attendance is critical to successful completion of the course. More then three unexcused absenses will result in a letter grade deduction.
Cell Phones/Computer use
Computers and phones are to be used for executing in-class work but not for other tasks.
Project and Exercise Deadlines
All projects and exercises are due on the assigned date. If you are having technical or material difficulties please communicate this to me as early as possible. Late material may not be accepted.
Intellectual Property
Work produced in courses at the Weitzman School of Design is the property of the student. By participating in a course, each student grants the Weitzman School of Design a nonexclusive right and license to use, copy, distribute, display and perform such work in any and all media for educational, programmatic and/or promotional purposes. The School of Design will exercise care with respect to student-created materials submitted in conjunction with a course; however, the School of Design does not assume liability for their loss or damage.² (p. 45 Student Handbook School of Design) Academic Integrity The University Code of Academic Integrity is online at: http://www.upenn.edu/academicintegrity/ai_codeofacademicintegrity.htmli
While there are a wealth of examples of art works that challenge the foundational tenets of authorship, originality, fidelity and authenticity, students should independently familiarize themselves with the Code. Please recognize that the work produced in the course will be considered your own work and thus each artist/student must be prepared to discuss, defend and address their methodologies including any intentional mimicry, reproduction and/or sampling of already existing material.
Individual Accommodation
In compliance with Penn policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that may be required by any students with a disability. Requests for academic accommodations need to be made during the first two weeks of the semester, except under unusual circumstances, to arrange reasonable accommodations. Students must register with Student Disabilities Services (SDS) for disability verification and for determination of reasonable academic accommodations. If something comes up during the semester, reach out to me for a time to meet and we can find a solution together.
Office Hours
Tuesdays 9-6, or upon request. Email to set up a time 2 days in advance minimum.
Week 3 Composition and Form
o Monday , September 9th
Discussion of readings:
Charles Eames interview, What is Design ?
Robert Bringhurtst, First Principles p.17-75
Intro Design Prinicples and Short Exercise ( To be reviewed in class)
Introduce First assignment
Studio time
o Wednesday, September 11th
Figma Demo
Studio time
First round of exercises due by end of class
Submit HERE
Week 4 Composition and Form
o Monday, September 16th
Discussion of reading:
Siane Ngai, Zany, Cute, Interesting: Our Aesthetic Categories (Introduction)
Studio time
o Wednesday, September 18th
Studio time
Week 5 Composition and Form
o Monday, September 23th
Color Theory Lecture
Reference material
Optional Reading: Pamela Fraser, How Color Works
Studio time
o Wednesday, September 25th
Liz Lerman’s Critcal Response Practice
Work in Progress Group Critique: Post progress of project before class
Week 5 Digital Image making: within a frame
o Monday, September 30th
Assignment #1 due before class
Discussion of readings:
Susan Sontag, Against Interpration
A.L. Stiner
Kameelah Janan Rasheed
Carolyn LazardRose Salane
Introduction to Adobe Photoshop, Demo + exercises
o Wednesday, October 2nd
First round of presentations
Studio time
Week 6 Image Making
o Monday, October 7th
Discussion of Reading
Roland Barthes, The Rhetoric of the Image
Introduce second assignment
Studio time
Complete Photoshop exercises by end of class
o Wednesday, October 9th
Studio time
Week 7 Image Making
o Monday, October 14th
NO CLASS TODAY
:::::::::Class moved to Thursday Oct 24th:::::::::
o Wednesday, October 16th
Discussion of Readings
The Digital Image and the PleasurePrinciple:
Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhan
Second round of presentations:
Studio time
Week 8 Image Making
o Monday, October 21rd
Studio time
o Wednesday, October 23th
Group Critique: Post in progress assignment before class
o Thursday, October 24th
Weitzman Fine Art Lecture Series at ICA
Joanna Piotrowska
6:00 PMAddress: ICA - 118 South 36th Street, Philadelphia
Week 9 Moving Image and Choreography:Communicating with Time, Motion, and Sound
o Monday, October 28th
Assignment #2 Due before class
Discussion of readings and screenings (in-class screenings)
Art Forum: Video Art in and Around the Contemporary
Video lnstallation Art:The Body, the lmage, and the Space-in-Between
o Wednesday, October 30th
Screenings:
Nancy Holt Boomarang
Martha Rosler - Semiotics of the Kitchen
Cheryl Donegan, Head
Chris Burden TV commercials 1973
Big Wrench
Alex da Corte, chelsea hotel
Martine Syms, Memory Palace
Arthur Jafa, Love is the Message and the Message is Death
Sondra Perry
Jasper Jus, Bliss and Heaven
Hito Steyerl, How to not be seen anywhere
Ryan Trecartin
Week 10 Moving Image and Choreography
o Monday, November 4th
Third Round of Presentations:
Yvonne
Sky
Lennox
Introduction to Adobe Premier and Demo + exercises
Studio time
o Wednesday, November 6th
Forth Round of Presentations:
Sphia
Lyean
Discussion of Reading
Ways of Seeing by John Berger
Ch. 1 and 2
In class viewing - Episode 2
Complete Premiere exercise by end of class
Introduce third assignment
Studio time
Week 11 Moving Image and Choreography
o Monday, November 11th
Practices of Looking introduction
Presentations
Studio time
o Wednesday, November 13th
Fifth Round of Presentations:
Jose
Mekides
Studio time
Week 12 Moving Image and Choreography
o Monday, November 18th
Studio Time
o Wednesday, November 20th
Final Round of Presentations
Alice
Erin
Megan
Discussion of Readings + screenings
Practices of Looking
Ch. 2 [p.24-68]
Ch. 6 [189-231]
* Also uploaded to Canvas
Studio Time
Week 13 Moving Image and Choreography
o Monday, November 25th
Practices of Looking
Ch. 2 [p.24-68]
Ch. 6 [189-231]
* Also uploaded to Canvas
Studio Time
o Wednesday, November 27th
Thanksgiving break bye!
Week 14 Reviews
o Monday, December 2st
Jamal J. Elias, Meaning, Modernity, and Shifting Signifiers
Alana Clarke, Exploiting The Web as a Tool for Democracy: New Ways Forward in the Study and Practice of Digital Democracy, World Forum for Democracy
https://forensic-architecture.org/
Final studio day
o Wednesday, December 4rd
Final Crit LONG CLASS (extended by up to 1 hour)
Week 15 Wrap up and Group Discussion
o Monday, December 9
Final class- group discussion and goodbyes ︎︎︎︎︎
Design a series of posters for an event of your choosing. It can be for a real event or imaged, future or past. Please hand in 3 size variations of the poster and adapt the design according to their size and intended purpose. Consider what might be most essential to include in a smaller digital format or what you can expand on in print. Ask yourself how you can maintain a cohesive thread linking all 3 graphics. You may use Illustrator or Figma to create these graphics.
Size parameters:
1. Print Poster 16 x 24 in
2. iPhone Vertical 375×812 pt
3. Instagram post 1080 x 1080
Final Draft Due before class October 2nd
Poster Insipration
Assignment #2
Create a piece using Photoshop that contains:
1. Linguistic messages
2. Coded Iconic Messages
3. Non-coded Iconic Messages
Size: minimum 1 4500 x 3000 Pixels in .jpeg or .png
but you may create additional pieces to form a series.
Method: Use collage techniques to create a new image. You may bring in found source material or material/images that you have taken yourself. You can also create shapes and forms in Illustrator and bring them into Photoshop to manipulate further. This labor will yield a digital work of art.
Thematic center: Choose one aesthetic category ( Zany/Cute/Interesting) to integrate visually in this piece, ask "What are its bounds, conditions, or peeks?" and "What part of our visual and digital culture is it responding to?"
Please expand upon these choices and your process in a 1 page-written document (word doc).
Upload using the file structure
MONTHDAYYEAR_DIGITALART_NAME
Assignment #3
Video with Rules:Produce a series of 4 - 5 short videos that all follow a set of established formal or conceptual carried throughout the entire work. The individual videos can range from 15 seconds to 6 minutes and together they will make a full piece of Video Art. This is not a documentary or work of narrative cinema.
Conditions:
- The video can be shot on your phone camera, a camera rented from the cage (located in the basement of Addams) or it can be found footage.
- Audio is optional.
- It must be edited in Premiere Pro.
- The subject matter must engage the theme of digital culture (subjective to your personal definition or relationship)
Please export as a .mp4 or .mov file as one larger file ( not 4-5 separate videos)
Additonal artists to screen for inspiration:
Jan Ader (various works)
Adel Abdessemed
Andy Warhol's SCREEN TESTS (1964-1966);KISS (1963)
Richard Serra HAND CATCHING LEAD(1968)
Francis Alys (various works)
Roman Signor (various works)
Chris Burden TELEVISION COMMERCIALS (1973-77)
Doug Aitken THESE RESTLESS MINDS (1998); MIGRATIONS (2009)
Cheryl Donegan Head
Alex DaCorte Chelsea Hotel no. 2
Martine Syms NOTES ON GESTURE (2015)
Marina Abramovic and Ulay (various works)
Valie Export (various works)
Vito Acconci (various works)
Phil Collins El Mundo Non Excuchar
Kate Gilmore Built To Burst, Rock Hard Place
Eva Kotatkova Behind Between Over Under
The importance of good workflow
“Does workflow really matter? Don’t stifle my creativity!”
If this was a thought you were halfway to having when you began this assignment, hopefully the horror stories above will have gone some way to persuading you that, if nothing else, a decent design workflow will save you a lot of embarrassment and awkward conversations.
But more importantly, using solid working practices as a designer will allow you to work more quickly, more efficiently, and to a higher standard. The clarity of a good workflow can even bestow extra clarity on your creative process, too.
Five workflow principles
1. Follow a clear process
Whatever kind of project you’re working on, and no matter how big or small it is, it’s important to follow a rigorous design process.
The design process varies from one design specialism to another, and it can (and should) be adapted to the needs of the individual project or design problem.
2. Take notes
Whether you’re talking to a client, a contractor, or your collaborator, make sure to take a note of important points there and then. These could be instructions, ideas, technical requirements, deadlines — anything.
Keeping notes in a structured way — for example, in the same notebook or notes app, with a date and title for each new note — will help you to go back and find the information you need.
Having a record of meetings, phone calls, and any decisions agreed with others, can also be helpful if there is any disagreement later in the process.
It can sometimes be difficult to take notes at the same time as holding an engaged conversation with a client. If you find this to be the case, you could ask a colleague to join the meeting and note things down, or even ask the client if they would be comfortable with you recording the discussion.
Note that some people will be uncomfortable with being recorded, and even if they agree, it will sometimes mean you get less candid information.
3. Keep all project materials in the same place
When you begin a new project, create a new folder on your computer where you will save everything related to it.
If you also gather paper documents during the project, keep these together, too — we find a simple, reusable folder works well. It’s also a good idea to scan in notes and other materials, so that you have a digital copy and can use them when you’re away from your desk.
If you’re using cloud-based software like Figma, you can organise your files there too — either by creating a folder within the app, or by using the same keyword in the all the filenames relating to the project. Doing this makes it easy to search for that keyword and find all your project files.
4. Invest time in managing your design files
Although it is boring, and can feel a lot like busywork, there is genuine value in keeping your design files neat and tidy.
This means both having a consistent system for naming files, and observing good practices for organising the work within each file.
It will help not only the quality of your work, but also colleagues and clients who might need to access and understand your files.
5. Back up, back up, back up
Finally, back up all your work as often as possible, ideally in more than one place.
To back up files that you keep on your computer, you can sync them to a cloud storage service like iCloud or Google Drive. You can also back them up to an external hard drive, which we recommend you encrypt and store separately from your computer.
For cloud services, backup options vary between different tools. In the case of Figma, you are able to download any project as a .fig file by selecting the “File” menu, then the “Save as .fig” option.
5 file management tips
1. Name your files consistently
There are many systems you can use to name your files. The most important thing is that you choose one system, and use it consistently.
We like to include a date in the filename itself, because “date modified” or “date created” can become unreliable when files are moved between different drives and computers.
We also like to structure dates like this: YYYY-MM-DD (for example, 2020-10-30), and then put that at the start of the filename. This means that sorting alphabetically by filename will give you a reliable chronological list of files. Here’s an example:
2020-09-07BaselineProjectBrief.pdf
2020-09-11BaselineMeetingNotes.pdf
2020-10-03BaselineMoodboards.sketch
2020-10-04BaselineMoodboards v2.sketch
2. Name and group objects and layers
Most design software, including Figma, Sketch, Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, uses objects and layers like text, shapes, and images. Each layer has a name, which usually defaults to something like “Rectangle 1”, “Text layer”, etc.
Here are two simple steps you can take to keep your file organised and understandable.
- Keep elements grouped. When you create a visual or logical group within a design, it’s usually a good idea to group those elements together in the software, too. To create a group in Figma, select the objects you want to group together, and then press command G on Mac, or control G on PC.
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Selecting multiple elements in Figma![]()
Multiple elements after being grouped in Figma - Give groups and frames meaningful names. Particularly in large files, having thousands of groups called “Group” and hundreds of frames named “Frame” can become pretty baffling — so give all your groups and frames names that describe their content or explain their function. To rename anything in Figma, select it, and then press command R on Mac, or control R on PC. You can then type in the new name.
3. Save file versions regularly
In Figma, periodically saving versions of your work can be as simple as duplicating the frame you’re working on, so that you can look back at previous iterations.
Alternatively, you can select the File menu, and then click “Save to version history”. In other software, you can simply make a copy of the file you’re working on, and add a version number to the file name.
How you do this will depend on the software you’re using. For example, Figma has the option to “save to version history”, which will allow you to go back to that version without having to save a separate file.
However, with more traditional software like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, to save a separate version, you’ll need to create a duplicate file.
We recommend doing this any time you make significant changes. Keeping these versions can also be helpful for documenting your process, whether that’s for presentation to a client, or for inclusion in a case study for your portfolio.
When saving a version of a file, we recommend including both an updated date and a version number in the file name, for example:
2020-11-02 ArtsMagazinev3.indd
2020-10-27 ArtsMagazinev2.indd
2020-10-24 ArtsMagazinev1.indd
4. Be careful when inserting images
Pasting a lot of photos or other raster images into a design file can create very large file sizes, which can make your computer run slowly or, for cloud services like Figma, result in slow load and save times.
In Figma, Sketch, and Adobe XD, aim to avoid pasting in too many photos. Generally you’ll be using these packages for interface design, so it’s unlikely you’ll need to use a lot of photos.
In Photoshop, creating a lot of raster layers in the same file can cause problems because of the way Photoshop manages computer memory. For example, if you create an animated GIF with lots of frames in Photoshop, you can encounter “scratch disks are full” errors. (We’ll come back to creating GIFs in Photoshop later in the course.)
Following these steps means that InDesign + Photoshop creates a “link” to the image file, instead of saving the image inside your InDesign file. This will prevent your file getting too big, and it will also help printers when you send your file away for print.
5. Use styles, components, and page masters
Most design software allows you to create styles, components, and templates for design elements that repeat. For example, you can set up a text style for headings. Doing this means that if you want to change the heading font, for example, you only need to edit the style once, and all the headings in your document will be updated automatically.
Similarly, in tools like Figma, you can create “components” that allow you to repeat a group of elements — say, a button design — and just make changes to the master copy to update it throughout a design. And in InDesign, you can use “page masters” to maintain consistent layouts from one page to the next.
In conclusion...
Although typing filenames and naming layers can be boring and feel like needless admin, good file management has tangible benefits to you, your colleagues, and clients. Start as you mean to go an, and adopt these practices today!