Faculty Syllabus

A study of the Elements and Principles of Design as explored through a project-based curriculum.

Course structure may be altered as the semester progresses to fit the needs of the class and the progress of the students.

Course Description

An introduction to the universal elements and principles of design and their fundamental application in two-dimensional visual art. An emphasis will be put on the organization of visual elements (line, shape, value, texture & color) while exploring creative thought processes and methods of visual analysis. The student will also be introduced to art terminology, materials, and techniques. 

Instructional Methodology & Rationale

Design I introduces each student to the underlying nature of visual art. Both art and design constitute the focus of this course. By studying and applying the dynamics of the visual form (the elements and principles of design), by studying forms of expression, and by applying the design process for problem-solving purposes, the student is guided toward an understanding of art, design, and composition based upon thoughtful, sensitive, visual perception. Group discussion, critical evaluation, class involvement, and interaction are crucial parts of this process. 

Common Course Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Identify and apply the elements of art and principles of two-dimensional design
• Employ discipline-specific vocabulary in the evaluation of two-dimensional design problems
• Demonstrate creative skill in aesthetic problem solving within assigned parameters
• Demonstrate an appropriate level of professional practice, including safety, craft, and presentation

ACC Specific Learning Outcomes:

• Utilize the elements of design and composition: line, shape, space, texture, value, and color
• Identify and utilize the principles of design and composition: balance, movement, emphasis, proportion, economy, space, harmony involving rhythm/repetition, and variety involving contrast/elaboration
• Use a vocabulary that enables communication about the design of two-dimensional artworks
• Utilize various materials (ink, paint, collage) to create abstract and representational compositions on paper
• Utilize self-direction, time management, and organization in the completion of designs
• Present visual solutions in a professional manner
• To foster and promote intelligent and sensitive use of the elements of design through awareness and consideration of the principles of visual composition. Making anything involves a series of decisions, and design is about considering every one of those decisions
• To encourage individual creative inquiry and foster an appreciation of both subtle and dynamic aspects of the creation of visual form
• Understanding design is a process of creative exploration. Whether the process is a loose series of steps (from thumbnails to comps to a final solution) or a completely intuitive one, the outcome should never be predetermined. Truly creative solutions only come from thinking with your hands and exploratory play
• To enhance the student’s ability to objectively criticize both his/her own artworks and the artworks of others by developing awareness of reasons, methods, and standards for critical evaluation.

DESIGN BASICS by David A Lauer & Stephen Pentak.

This course has been set up as an "Inclusive Course," which means that your textbook (an eBook) is available digitally in Blackboard to students on the first day of class. This program is also known as First Day Access, and pricing has been negotiated with publishers to offer significant savings to students. The cost of the digital textbook is added to tuition, and students have the option to "opt-out" until the census date if they do not want to participate.  The main benefits are:

• students have their textbook on the first day of class
• students receive significant savings, and this price is required to be below market value
• students know upfront the total cost of the course

The First Day program eliminates the need for students to search for and wait for a textbook to arrive.

Upfront Statement Regarding Workload: Design I is a work-intensive course, no matter who you take it with, and all of the work will be completed both in class and at home in your own workspace. Traditionally, every 1 hour in class = a minimum of 1-2 hours of work outside of class is required. This means that for the 5+ hours a week we spend in the classroom setting, you should expect to be working a minimum of 5-10 hours in addition to the 5+ classroom hours for a total of 10-15 hours per week. Please be prepared for the time commitment this course involves and requires. If you have been able to avoid having that formula apply to you in other classes, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to do so here…these projects take a good deal of time to complete and trying to cram all your work in at the last minute before a deadline typically does not result in success because you have not given yourself the necessary time to work and re-work, which is where successful designs come from. Forewarned is forearmed. :)

GRADING CRITERIA:

COMPREHENSION CHECK GRADES (25%)

Comprehension Check Grades are earned for each Project assigned. Each Project requires you to answer a series of questions that will check your comprehension of the assigned Readings and the Project concepts. 

These are designed to make sure you are engaging with the Readings and gaining the clarity and understanding they provide so that your Designs are as strong as they can be and so you can learn as much as possible about how good Design works while you are a student in this class.

Students are required to complete the Comprehension Check for each Project by the posted due date. Missing the Comprehension Check for any Project results in a 0. Students should reach out before a Comprehension Check is missed if there is an unforeseen issue with being able to complete it by the posted due date.

DESIGN PROJECT GRADES (75%)

Design Grades are earned for each Project assigned and are evaluated by these 5 criteria:

1) Design Objective: per the assignment, the instructional criteria are followed to provide optimal evidence of the intent and purpose of the assignment. Successful resolution of an artistic statement in which the Elements and Principles of Design work together in harmony to create a cohesive unit with nothing superfluous or underdeveloped. The quality of execution and implementation of related theory from readings/slideshows/discussions/critique is evident.                

2) Craftspersonship & Technical Quality: the care and skill with which the artistic statement has been produced and presented for viewing. The degree of personal investment inherent in the manufacture of a visual image (i.e. awareness, ability, and technical skill applied through discipline, focus, patience, sensitivity to detail, love/passion/devotion, and time).                     

3) Creativity & Originality: imagination and expression. The degree to which the artistic statement is uniquely resolved and visually interesting. Expression - the degree to which the artistic statement is uniquely personal and meaningful to its creator. The quantity of work created in the service of the development of multiple ideas and potential solutions.

4) Effort & Perseverance: the demonstration of diligence in the quality of work created. Willingness to put in the effort to challenge one’s presupposed concepts and abilities.

5) Engagement & Participation: determined by the quality of initiative (both in and out of the classroom) and your participation in group discussions and/or critiques. Attendance, dedication, concentration, focus, interest, and implementation of constructive criticism are also factors in determining the Participation/Attitude grade.

*All of the above factors will be considered in relation to each individual’s work and in relation to the work of other members of the class in fair comparison. Points for each category are designated as follows (see Master Grade Sheet Criteria on Blackboard, under Syllabus link):

• Exceptional: 20 points
• Proficient: 16 points
• Basic: 12 points
• Needs Improvement: 8 points
• Unsatisfactory: 4 points

SUMMARY OF FINAL COURSE GRADE CALCULATION

The average of all your Design Project grades comprises 75% of your Final Grade in the class, while the average of all your Comprehension Check grades comprises 25% of your Final Grade in the class. We have six Projects total.

QUANTITY TO GET QUALITY

Get comfortable with producing Quantity to get Quality…working and reworking is the key to good Design. Students desiring to earn full points on the Projects should significantly exceed the minimum requirements for each Project.

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM: is part of your Participation Grade and is designed to provide you and your classmates with feedback you can implement in real time. It will be specifically geared toward developing critical thinking skills around technical, formal, and conceptual issues. Your attention and regular participation in evaluating the work of your classmates are expected and will be reflected in your Engagement & Participation Grade, as will your incorporation of any feedback I provide to you on your work-in-progress. This kind of input is effectively a test of your growing comprehension and understanding, so if you do not participate (i.e. you don’t have your work completed by the due date, you are absent, you don’t contribute, or you are not incorporating constructive criticism when it is provided), you will lose significant points on your Engagement & Participation grade. 

Please keep in mind that a constructive critique of your work is not a critique of you as an individual…we are all here to learn, and at this stage, we are all likely to learn more from cultivating an ability to sense and discern what is ‘working/not working’ in a given design, and from working collectively to make our designs better. 

LATE WORK: Your Design Project Grade will be dropped 5 points for each day from the original due date that work is late. Incomplete work is late work, and only the portion completed will be considered on time. 

Late work cannot be reworked for a potentially higher grade.

REWORKING DESIGNS: Any project originally turned in on time may be reworked as many times as you desire within the semester, and only the highest grade earned on a project will be recorded. This policy does not apply to any project for which the original due date/deadline is missed (late work).

GRADING CRITERIA

A      Consistently outstanding, superior, excellent work. Significant growth in skill development and demonstrated ability in understanding and effectively assimilating presented concepts. Meets all grading criteria to a superior degree. Participation and attendance are excellent.
B      Consistently good, above, and better than average work. Demonstrated improvement and growth in skill development and concept assimilation. Meets all grading criteria to an above average degree.
C      Consistently adequate in growth with average progress in skill development and concept assimilation. Meets minimum levels of acceptance in all grading criteria.
D      Below average, less than adequate improvement. Meets minimum levels of acceptance in some but not all grading criteria.
F      Unsatisfactory, unacceptable, insufficient improvement. Inconsistently meets deadlines and finishes assignments. Does not meet minimum levels of acceptance in any grading criteria.

A grade of “C” is still an average grade, earned with an average level of effort and performance and regular attendance. Students wishing to earn a higher grade will need to actively explore varying approaches to design, expand their abilities, show growth in their thinking, incorporate constructive criticism, and be an active and positive participant in class.

EXTRA CREDIT: You may earn 3% extra credit (3 points on the final grade) by attending a local art museum or exhibition and turning in an essay (which you will submit through the Extra Credit Opportunities link on Blackboard - the link closes once the final submission date has passed). The exhibit must be local and currently on display during the semester in question. Check the Austin Chronicle’s Visual Arts section (www.austinchronicle.com) for current exhibitions.

MATERIALS LIST (supplies with an * are needed asap for the first project)

• Supply box, bag, container of some kind (tackle boxes work great and are cheaper than art boxes…a place to keep all your materials together and accessible is necessary)
• *Scissors
• * 2-3 Sheets Black Construction Paper or Card stock
• *Metal Ruler 24” with cork back (wooden yardsticks aren’t terribly accurate… you need 24” to span the length of your Bristol pad and an 18” ruler won’t do that)
• *Tracing Paper Pad (8.5x11 or 9x12…a roll of tracing paper is fine, too)
• Compass (get a good Drafting Compass…not the cheap plastic ones meant for school kids)
• Protractor
• *Handheld pencil sharpener (double or triple hole sharpener that sharpens different parts of the pencil)
• Value Scale (it’s a small card with 8-10 Value Steps on it…Jerry’s carries them)
• Small Artist’s Color Wheel (Jerry’s carries several versions of these…small pocket version)
• Acrylic Gouache 20 ml tubes of paint (Turner set of 12 tubes…see notes on ‘What You Need to Know About Artist Paints’ below…paint quality matters a lot in your success)
• *Roll of 1” Blue Painter’s Tape
• *X-acto Knife w/ blades 
• *Pad of 3x3-inch Post-It Notes
• *White Plastic Eraser
• *Sakura Pigma Micron pens - set of 3-4 with different tip widths like .005, .05, .03, .08, etc. (other technical pens like Staedtler or Prismacolor are fine if they produce a rich black ink and the capacity for precision…brush pens aren’t terribly precise, avoid these)
• At least two good brushes (Silver Brush SilverWhite at Dick Blick): synthetic short-handle Bright: Size 2-8 OR synthetic short-handle Round: Size 2-4 (the long-handles are too big in these sizes…precision comes from small brushes you can easily control)
• Small plastic palette knife & palette - palette paper pad, plastic, wood, wax paper - to mix paint (flat surface is best for mixing. Trays with wells are hard to evenly mix…avoid these)
• Rags & Old Work Shirt/Apron, if desired to keep your clothes clean
• *Drawing Pencils- 2H, H, 2B, 4B, 8B (good quality = get Derwent, Staedtler, Koh-I-Noor, Faber Castell…5 high-quality pencils are far more valuable, useful, and pleasurable to work with than a 12-24 pack of poor quality pencils…get the good ones!)
• *Glue Stick (UHU or other Acid-free)
• Containers for Water - cans, jars, cups, etc. 
• *Sketchbook - at least 9” x 12” (bigger is fine, but no smaller. Spiral-bound can be easier to work with because it lies flat)
• *18 x 24” Bristol SMOOTH Pad (25+ sheets) WHITE (a Strathmore pad that’s 19 x 24” is ok)

*** Additional materials may be assigned during the course of the semester***

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ARTIST PAINTS:

Artist paints are made by several paint companies in varying degrees of quality. Better/more expensive brands are more highly pigmented and are a joy to use, whereas inexpensive brands have cheaper materials (less pigment/more filler), have poorer coverage, and are a struggle to use successfully. It may initially seem like a good idea to get cheaper paint, but you end up wasting more time, becoming more frustrated fighting with the material, and using the paint up twice as fast as you would a better quality brand because of its inferiority. The more expensive paint is worth it.

We are looking for specific qualities in the paint we’ll be using for our projects. We want paint that is fast drying, opaque, water-based, and highly pigmented. Poorer/cheaper brands tend to be more translucent because they contain more water than pigment, and therefore you spend more time and a greater amount of material to get the color and coverage you need. Our projects are already going to be time-consuming, so I strongly suggest better quality materials so you don’t spend more time/energy than is already going to be necessary.

Paint comes in thousands of premixed colors, but in order to learn how color functions, we will need a basic palette of at least eight colors (a warm and a cool version of each of the PRIMARY COLORS, 20 ml tubes):

• 2 REDS: an orange-shade red & a violet-shade red
• 2 BLUES: a green-shade blue & a violet-shade blue
• 2 YELLOWS: an orange-shade yellow & a green-shade yellow
• 1 BLACK
• 1 WHITE: a large tube, 40 ml or 3 oz

***additional tubes of secondary colors (violet/green/orange) may be necessary for brighter Secondary colors if your chosen colors aren’t working well, but we’ll start off with the above-listed 8 colors and go from there as needed. 

ACRYLIC GOUACHE is preferred and is different from regular Gouache. Gouache by itself is like watercolor, but it can be applied in opaque flat areas of color. Like watercolor, it can be reworked if moisture or another layer of paint is applied to a layer of dried gouache. This is a disadvantage for our use in color designs where we want flat areas of color and do not want our previous layers lifting up.

Acrylic Gouache has the advantage of being a hybrid of Acrylic and Gouache, and gives us the best of both worlds. It is waterproof once it is sufficiently dry, and layers of opaque color can be applied over one another (like Acrylic). The surface is more flexible than Gouache, and therefore resists cracks, but is less shiny than Acrylic and can be thinned out considerably with water, increasing transparency.

These are your best bets for quality ACRYLIC GOUACHE Paints:

• Turner Acryl-Gouache (20 ml tubes): Carmine Red, Permanent Scarlet, Ultramarine Blue, Sky Blue, Permanent Yellow, Permanent Yellow Deep, Black, White (40 ml tube). ***Jerry’s has a set of Turner Acryl-Gouache that will work just fine, but you’ll probably need to purchase additional White***
• Holbein Acryla Gouache (20 ml tubes): Carmine Red, Scarlet, Ultramarine Blue, Turquoise Blue, Deep Yellow, Lemon Yellow, Jet Black, Titanium White (40 ml tube).

ACRYLIC PAINT (an alternative to Acrylic Gouache) ranges from transparent to opaque and dries very quickly. The surface tends to be shiny, which makes seeing the color in a design difficult at certain angles due to light reflection. Information about a color’s degree of transparency can be found on either a color chart or the back of many tubes…look for the brightest and most opaque colors if you take this route, though it’s not recommended for the above-stated reason.

Recommended Alternates if you prefer ACRYLIC (but Acrylic Gouache is preferred/recommended):

• Academy Acrylics (3 oz tubes): Cadmium Red Medium, Cadmium Red Light Hue, Thalo Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Yellow Light, Mars Black, Titanium White (4.6 oz)
• Golden Acrylics (2 oz tubes): Napthol Red Light, Quinacridrone Magenta, Pthalo Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Hansa Yellow Light, Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue, Black, a larger tube of White
• Liquitex Soft Body (2 oz tubes): Pyrrole Crimson, Cadmium Red Medium Hue, Cadmium Yellow Deep, Cadmium Yellow Light Hue, Cerulean Blue Hue, Ultramarine Blue (Red Shade), Mars Black, Titanium White (4.6 tube). AVOID LIQUITEX BASICS!!

Austin Art Suppliers:

Jerry’s Artarama:  6010 N. IH-35 Austin, Texas 78752 (best local bet and a 20% student discount)

Art Store at the Co-op: 2234 Guadalupe St, Austin, TX 78705 (student discount)

Michael’s: more expensive! Google for location nearest you (better for just picking up an emergency item occasionally)

Hobby Lobby: more expensive and closed on Sundays! Google for location nearest you (better for just picking up an emergency item occasionally)

Internet Suppliers: Dick Blick, Jerry’s Artarama, Utrecht, Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff, Amazon