Design Education & Course Development
Creating college-level Graphic Design curriculum has become a true passion of mine. Every few years within my professional career I strive to educate real world design practice to foundation design students. Not only does this keep me fresh for my clients and projects, but elevates our young, aspiring designers to enter the field with solid conceptual skills that have been instilled in me over the years by countless mentors and creative experiences. Oh yes! It’s about more than just selling “stuff”, pass it on.
NOTE: The following work is full rights and ownership of those students, under my creative direction.
Section 01—Pens & Inks
Teaching a foundation Graphic Design class for Platt College, San Diego, CA, the concept of the curriculum was based on solutions sans computer. In this exercise, students were asked to find a photograph with a strong typographic element or meaning to the overall photo. With pen and ink, student proceeded to create a graphic representation of the photo. Using stippling, hatching and cross hatching techniques. The edges of the photo were also resolved in a graphic nature. Styles varied and created an interesting take to the overall collection.
Section 02—Collaged Illustration
Teaching a foundation Graphic Design class for Platt College, San Diego, CA, the concept of the curriculum was based on solutions sans computer. In this exercise, students were asked to find a photograph with a strong typographic element or meaning to the overall photo. With pen and ink, student proceeded to create a graphic representation of the photo. Using stippling, hatching and cross hatching techniques. The edges of the photo were also resolved in a graphic nature. Styles varied and created an interesting take to the overall collection. The projects below took it to the next level by collaging their illustrations and then incorporating that into an existing editorial design.
Section 03—Film Festival Poster
My foundation Graphic Design students for Platt College, San Diego, CA, researched cultural inspiration for these 10th Anniversary poster submissions. Most all elements were created organically and by hand. The class was divided into small teams for their first collaborative group assignment. The project included incorporating the existing film festival logo. The overall process included: research, sketching, 3 class critiques and intense creative direction. Post techniques of scanning and implementation of the logo were done digitally.
Section 04—Organic Concept Poster
A fresh assignment for my Platt College, San Diego, CA foundation Graphic Design students was the challenge of creating organic logo marks on 8 inch x 8 inch cardstock tiles. Some students created over a hundred samples, while others established inspiration from the 30 minimum. The materials open for use were endless and the more interesting (wax, hair, nailpolish, dirt) the more concepts began to flow! Once a concept was established from the initial mark, refinement continued with a full evolution of a concept company which self generated, in many cases, from the materials used. The mark was tweaked by each student through art direction and numerous class critiques. Proving that an innovative “idea” is the soul, wit and success to any project.