The Syllabus for Fall 2010

GrD 4350 ADVERTISING IN GRAPHIC DESIGN FALL 2011
CRN #81829
Stan Anderson, Associate Professor of Graphic Design
Tuesday / Thursday 11-1:50p
Office 362 / Hours 9:30a-11:00a T/T (or by appointment)
stananderson@gsu.edu or stan450@bellsouth.net

www.falladvertising.blogspot.com

Everything is Advertising. Everything.

The Course Description:
Graphic Design through Advertising. Prerequisites: GrD 3200 with grade of C or higher, and consent of graphic design coordinator or instructor. Applications of graphic design in advertising in a studio problem-solving format; collaboration and art direction on creative teams; visual marketing concepts; campaign development, copywriting; development of presentation skills. Lab Fee: $20.00.
3.000 Credit Hours. (GSU Catalog Description)

Overview of the Course:
Advertising for Graphic Design is designed to create an atmosphere of where the academic world meets the professional world. This particular course is geared more towards the professional corporate world than smaller design studios or independent creative businesses. Throughout the semester each designer is expected to grow not only from the work created individually in the design studio but also to grow from listening to “those in the know” and to be affiliated with the larger graphic design corporate world. You will have the rare opportunity to hear and learn from individuals who have had great success in their working and professional lives. Those professional stories will be their own however, you will be able to ask questions and relay situations that you perhaps have already encountered as a graphic designer. Graphic Design Thru Advertising teaches students to create advertising that is a relevant catalyst in an industry that is constantly evolving and redefining itself. This course emphasizes the definition of target audience, marketing objectives, and the development of projects from creative briefs to finished comps. You will learn to create conceptually strong advertising from a defined marketing and communications strategy and work with real agency-client situations. The primary goal is to develop strong concepts with a thorough understanding of art direction. Problem solving techniques, concept editing skills, and creativity will all be emphasized.

THE ADVERTISING PROCESS
Interview people in the advertising business. Ask questions and read about it as much as you can. Learn about case studies from companies and individuals who have decided to re-brand themselves and their company and discover what the impetus for that change was for them and was it successful. Individual design and creative teamwork will build on your ability to collaborate with other designers yet remain faithful to your own individual work and ethical standards. Collaboration requires the development of leadership skills, communication and teamwork. Study visual concepts and learn how to solve advertising problems. Learn to develop critical faculties and basic presentation skills, and gain insight into techniques for producing advertising concepts. The role of an advertising agency will become evident as you begin to work on assignments.

BRANDING
This course will review the definition of “brand” and how advertising affects a client & their brand. Several case studies will be explored, and projects will emphasize the importance of brand message through audience, tone, copy and visuals.

ART DIRECTION
What is the difference between an Art Director and a Creative Director? What is an Art Director?
Think of an Art Director as Master of the Universe. A person that controls the elements of concept, image and copy, that balances the hazards of client requests, marketing strategy and brand guidelines, and makes it all spin on an axis that makes the right audience take a certain action. This course will address aspects of art direction including strategy, concept, design and tone.

COPY WRITING
Advertising is married to copywriting. Brands are recognized by the tone of their copy. Your assignments serve to reinforce the importance of presenting information clearly, provocatively and memorably. You will learn how to define sophisticated and diverse marketing problems, work from a strategy, develop a concept and pay it off with copy.

TYPOGRAPHY
This course provides an introduction on the use of type in advertising. It offers a comprehensive view of the importance of type and how it is used to brand and individualize specific products and its services. Emphasis is on branding and legibility. This semester designers will be working with various graphic design clients and expected to give professional presentations to clients; legal and ethical observations as they relate to the field of advertising and marketing.

ASSIGNMENTS
Assignments focus on a wide variety of problem-solving exercises that will encourage experimentation and individual creativity. Research outside the classroom is encouraged as part of the whole creative process. Learning how to discuss your projects, from concept to completion, prepares you for when you are called into a professional environment.

CRITIQUES
Critiques are scheduled with adequate time given to complete the work. Each designer is expected to discuss his or her work with professionalism and to present their work as if they were doing so in front of a client. Learn to discuss your work more thoughtfully. Think about what you are trying to verbally and visually communicate. Each designer must learn to “sell” his or her projects by demonstrating strengths. If you lack confidence in discussing your work, you need to practice prior to your presentation on peers, colleagues and family. Your delivery can often affect the way your work is accepted. Everyone is expected to participate in all announced critiques and guest lectures. Learning to verbalize your concepts and offer constructive criticism is essential to successful art direction. It builds the necessary skill set needed to interview, present creative, and sell creative successfully. Vocal participation is an important part of your overall success in this class. If you don’t show up for a final critique all the work you’ve done up until that point is for nothing because you will not be given a second chance at that particular project.

DEADLINES
Assignments will have sufficient time allotted in order to complete graphic design. Designers are expected to conduct Q&A sessions. Clients during this course will include many professionals from the private and corporate sectors of the regional, national and international graphic design industry.

BLOGS
These web blogs belong to you but with focus on this particular class. Please refrain from putting up information that is non-related to the class. No personal information is allowed on the blogs. If you already have a website prior to this class, then you should prepare yourself to create a specific place where you will put work for this course. You may wish to create a new site just for this class. Other outside academic work for other classes is permitted on your site; however, this particular site belongs ONLY to this course and cannot be used in conjunction with other classes or instructors. Please adhere to all rules and etiquette with regards to use of images on your site. Please always give credit and respect to those you include on your site. No profanity or any adult content permitted on these course blogs. This is part of your academic experience.


SIDE NOTE: Please remember that Graphic Designers usually do not design for other graphic designers. The honest fact is that most designers ever get a chance to design for other designers. Furthermore graphic designers are considered seriously lucky if they even get a chance to work with an individual who even understands what their design process actually involves. Designers usually design for a mass audience not individuals. Designers usually work in tandem with copywriters, musicians, producers, CEO’s, Presidents, marketing and advertising executives as well as many other individuals in a corporate environment. Designers are usually only a part of the collaborative creative team. This semester each designer inside this course will be given the chance to work within a collaborative team as well as individually.

The Course Objectives:
1. Gain an understanding of what it is like to work as a graphic designer in the world of advertising and marketing while building a portfolio of work for yourself.
2. Exposure to working professionals from various support fields auxiliary to the design field.
3. Familiarization with the client designer direct relationship, and ethical practices.
4. Practice and improve presentation skills as well as conceptual and copywriting skills.
5. Familiarization with terms used in the advertising arena.
6. Exposure to marketing and social media concepts as they relate to the field of advertising.
7. Learn to balance a project’s creative scope with the realities of production techniques.
8. Develop a firm understanding of a project workflow from concept through delivery.
9. Work directly with a modern “design client” on a project that will be showcased.

Designer Attendance Policy:
Designers are allowed 3 absences./arriving late or leaving early. No more than 3 absences during the semester unless approved by the Instructor prior to the class. I define “absences” as not showing up at all, arriving late and/or leaving class early. The Instructor can call role at any time during the class to insure there is maximum attendance.

When the design major has reached their maximum number of absences the Instructor will notify the student via email as the their status. After 3 absences (unless approved by the Instructor) the designer’s final grade will result in being reduced by a letter grade. There are no excused or unexcused absences, so it is wise to save your allowable absences in anticipation of emergencies.

Designers who fail to attend the first week of class will be dropped. Attendance during all classes is mandatory. This is your major and you should take it seriously.
*Read this section again so we are on the same page. You are responsible for any material missed due to any absence regardless of excused or not.

*No credit (that means an “F”) will be given for work turned in after its due date or critique.
Designers must provide an email address and phone number where you can be reached in the event that the instructor must contact you. Each designer will be responsible for checking email and course blog each day before class begins.

Cell phones, Internet, Ipods, Texting Policy:
Absolutely NO ipods/music/earplugs can be used inside the studio. No phone calls or text messages inside the studio. Designers should turn off your cell phones prior to entering the studio. If you need to use the phone you can excuse yourself and leave the design studio. No Facebook and No Twitter unless this is part of a project for a client.

You are not permitted to look at movie sites such as Hulu/YouTube/ in order to watch movies during studio hours. If designers need to research a client or project then you have permission to visit those sites. I have no problem asking any designer to leave studio for the day if designers are caught looking at websites that I considered non course-related. If design majors are asked to leave the studio then it will be counted as an absence for that day.

Disruptive Policy:
Disruptive student behavior is student behavior in a classroom or other learning environment (to include both on and off-campus locations), which disrupts the educational process. Disruptive class* behavior for this purpose is defined by the instructor. Such behavior includes, but is not limited to, verbal or physical threats, repeated obscenities, unreasonable interference with class discussion, making/receiving personal phone calls, text messages or pages during class, excessive tardiness, leaving and entering class frequently in the absence of notice to instructor of illness or other extenuating circumstances, and persisting in disruptive personal conversations with other class members. For purposes of this policy, it may also be considered disruptive behavior for a student to exhibit threatening, intimidating, or other inappropriate behavior toward the instructor or classmates outside of class.
www2.gsu.edu/~wwwdos/wordFilesEtc/A_Disruptive%20student%20Conduct%20in%20the%20Classroom%20or%20Other%20Learning%20Environment.pdf

Academic Honesty Policy:
By taking this advertising course each designer is consenting to the University’s policy on academic honesty published in The Undergraduate co--curricular Affairs Handbook. Please read and the section on plagiarism and understand how it relates to images and words used in your design projects. If this is not clear, speak to instructor.

Non-Discrimination Policy: Georgia State University stipulates that no person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, sex, religion, creed, age, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or national origin, be excluded from employment or participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity conducted by Georgia State University or any of its several departments now in existence or hereafter established.

Disabilities: will only be accommodated with a letter from the Office of Disability Services. This letter is not retroactive.
Sexual Harassment Policy Statement: Sexual harassment of any member of the university community is prohibited and will subject the offender to possible disciplinary action after compliance with due process requirements. Sexual harassment is also prohibited by the University System of Georgia and by state and federal law

E-mail: Information regarding assignments, schedules, and other course-related matters will be sent to your GSU e-mail address. You are responsible for checking your GSU e-mail account. When e-mailing the instructor, you must include your first name, last name, and course TITLE in the subject line of your e-mail.

Recommended Books:
Advertising By Design: Robin Landa
Ogilvy On Advertising: David Ogilvy
Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: Luke Sullivan
How Brands Become Icons: Douglas B. Holt
The Tipping Point: Malcolm Gladwell
Advertising Age
Communication Arts
Lürzerʼs Intʼl Archive
Creativity
How
Print
CYMK
Wired
-Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines (Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines) (Paperback) by Graphic Artists Guild (Author); 352 pages, ISBN-10: 0932102131, ISBN-13: 978-0932102133
Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical guidelines, 12th Edition is the industry bible, containing information all graphic artists and their clients need to buy and sell work in a totally professional manner. This edition has been revised and updated to provide all the information you need to compete in an industry moving at lightning speed.

Disclaimer: The advertising syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary and up to the Instructor. Designers will be advised accordingly.

CLIENTS:
This semester we will be working with clients who are taking time out of their professional lives to work on a specific project with you and in doing so it is expected that you conduct yourselves in a professional manner. How you perform on the projects is not only a reflection of your own work ethics but also the reputation of the professor, the department and the University.

CNN HLN
MODA
The Trevor Project
Miracle House Organization
Follett Marketing Genius
Others to be named at a later date

Calendar Forthcoming