Ex.1 Crit
Ex.2 Demo (pg.190)

Design a flag using any or all of the shapes you create for Ex. 1. Sketch out at least 10 ideas in your book before producing a final design. Create the flag in the same file as the rest of the shapes.

Create a logo for a Broadway musical using text and shapes. It can be for any musical you like. Only use a few words; don't overcomplicate things. Or, create a simple poster in a Art Deco style using text and shapes. It can be about anything you like; political messages are good for starters.

Create a fall-themed foliage design using the techniques you learned in Ex. 3. For extra credit, use the Wacom tablets in the web-lab to try pressure-sensitive brushes.

Apply the fall foliage to an in-store banner promoting a fall sale at a department store.

Redesign the label for "Toon Ale"

I got the idea for this exercise at http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/default.aspx?f=37&m=51887

Your designs do not have to rely so heavily on graphics; concentrate on good typography and let any graphics you use be secondary.

Create a font from your own handwriting.

Using a sharpie marker or other high-contrast stylus, write each letter in the alphabet, upper and lower case, on the font layout sheet.

Scan the page in @ 400 dpi and convert to vector using the notes we cover in class. Paste or staple the drawn letters into your sketchbook.

A demo will be conducted on conversion to working fonts.

You've been called in on an assignment for the Weekly World News (http://www.weeklyworldnews.com/). Their main writer/photographer team got eaten by CHUD while tracking the Chupacabra in Central Park and they need a new headline/story/photo FAST. They'd like it to feature a "spotting" of some kind; you know, Elvis in Iraq or the Olsen Twins at the national Wing Festival (you get the idea).

You call upon the valuable lessons learned in Exercise 6 to combine two photos-one of a background scene (like Mt. St. Helens blowing up), one of a foreground image (like Elvis), and add a drop shadow to complete the forgery. Your mastery of the pen tool will come into play as well as you clip out the foreground image and paste it into the background image.

Tips:

Look for the directions of other shadows in the background image. Make sure the shadow on the foreground image follows those shadows. Also, look for directional lighting. If something is being lit from the left, make sure your foreground image is too, or flip it so it does.

Check out Rasiel.com for good background images. +5 qp's for scanning in imagery from original or reproduced photos.

Project draft 1
Midterm paper

Topic:
The history, current status, and future of popular digital graphics formats

Assignment:
Choose a graphic format from among dozens that have been used/are currently in use in Digital Media.
Explain the technical aspects of the format. What is it used for? How does it work? Research the origins of the format. Discuss purpose for the format (the need it was to fulfill), litigation (copyright issues etc.), competing technologies, developers' background, and other points of importance in the development of the format.
Analyze the way in which the format is currently being implemented. Has it met the expectations of its developers? Is it widely used or has it fallen outside of the radar? Is it open source or proprietary? What factors led to the current state of the format?
Predict the future for the format. Will it be swallowed up by Microsoft, or merge with another file type? Does it have potential to continue to grow, or is it in danger of going the way of the dodo? How do you see yourself using it? Back up you predictions with research.

EXAMPLE FILE FORMATS:
GIF, JPG, TIF, PNG, WMF, BMP, SVG, SWF, AI, EPS, TARGA, Etc. etc. etc.
Requirements: 5-6 pages, double spaced, 12 pt. type

Exercise 7

Create a vintage postcard with the message "season's greetings", "Merry Christmas", or whatever your message might be for this coming holiday season. Make a photograph of your choice look old (and if you want to go beyond the text, try adding dust, scratches, tape, etc), and then apply colorization to key areas. Apply type as necessary, either directly in Photoshop or even better, in InDesign. The photoshop must be at least 200dpi, with a print size of approximately 4" high by 6" wide (or vice versa if your photo is vertical)

Create a sign for a store of your choice (you can invent one if you like). The lettering for the sign should mask imagery that is related to the merchandise sold at the store. For example, you could do an ice cream shoppe with scoops of all different types of ice cream masked by the words "Ye Olde Ice Cream Shoppe". Actually, you couldn't, because that's my idea.

Both the text and the imagery should be clear and legible. To help with this, zoom way out occasionally and see if you can still read everything.

Use either method from the book (illustrator or photoshop) to complete the applied exercise. However, show an understanding of the method you do not choose by including a basic exercise of the other method. if you choose Photoshop, make sure you are working at least 200dpi, and that the print size is a few inches or larger (go to View>Print size and make sure the image is large enough to be seen clearly).

Create a splash screen for your favorite sports team. Use blended image layers to make a collage of players, logos, equipment, etc. Keep in mind that this is a background that potentially could have a headline or other text put over it, so it shouldn't bee too busy. Use opacity and patterns to give it a cutting edge, high-tech feel.

Find a map of the village/town/city where you grew up. Scan it in or recreate it (you may want to crop in on a specific section of the map). Place the scanned image in Illustrator (remember to embed it in the links palette). Use the techniques in the map symbols exercise to plot out the following symbols:

Restaurant, School, Park, Your home, Friends' homes, Commercial Building, Government Building and any others that you think of. Create a legend for your symbols in an appropriate section of your map.

Create a silkscreen design for a t-shirt promoting a band or musician you like. Start with a photo (again, large-scale photos work best, so if you're searching on the internet for the photo, don't use anything less than 600pxwide/high). Create the final layout in Illlustrator in an 10"x10" document, incorporating text (he name, show date, new album, or whatever text you'd like to use).

The final design can contain no less more than 8 spot colors total. Doing this well will require some experimentation in Flash to get the posterization right. For 10 bonus points, create an Illustrator file featuring 5 or 6 different tracings with labels displaying trace bitmap settings used.

See notes in my shared folder for additional direction.

Choose any tutorial from the book that we haven't done and use it as the basis for your own assignment-one that you create for yourself. Your grade will be based on the execution of the piece as well as the originality of the assignment.