“And suddenly you know it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of new beginnings”
2nd year of graphic design
– LEARNING TASKS –
Post production
1. Draw a diagram of your preferred workflow and explain why you take certain steps 2. Create a checklist for your workflow Preproduction:Set shooting to RAW format.Insert empty memory card.Find correct lenses, camera body and charge battery.Have editing software available, like Photoshop or LightroomShotlist + storyboard. Postproduction:Import images.Do back up on the RAW files.Manage the…
Fashion photography
Written assignment In your own words, describe the procedure of planning a fashion shoot. You don’t need to go into too much detail, a short outline will do. What are the stylist’s duties? List your duties as photographer What equipment would you take along on the Alice in Wonderland shoot that was featured in this module?…
Lesson Task – Advertisement in After Effects
In this lesson task, you are in need of a green screen background. During this lesson I have touched on many things that should help you understand the possibilities of After Effects. I would now like you to create your own Apple iPod advertisement. It should be similar in style to the one shown at…
Lesson Task – Creating an Animation in After Effects
Work through my sunrise example step-by-step. Upload your version of this project to your WordPress blog. Please note, you will make a better impression if you make this animation your own. Don’t be scared to take things a little further and experiment. Now you need to come up with a unique animation concept of your…
Lesson Task – Applying Basic Animation Principles
Create a character. This character can be a letter, a person, an animal or any type of illustration, use your imagination. This character will play the main role in your animation. Take this character and draw it in five different exaggerated poses. In each of these poses the character has to express some kind of…
Lesson Task – Visualise Your Ideas
I would like you to create a mood board and storyboard using a word and its meaning as the concept. For example, you could use the word “prop”. You could then use the “r” to prop up the “p” that keeps falling over. That’s just to give you an idea, be creative and use a…
Lesson Task – Playing With Ideas
If the idea is at the heart of everything, then I would like you to think of a movie that you love. Then look at its current title sequence and come up with a new one. Sketch up the rough idea in the form of a storyboard. Your storyboard needs to be at 30 frames…
Lesson task – Front cover
Question 1 Practical assignment (Two and a half days)Have a look at all the tasks and lessons you have done over the last few weeks. Your task now is to make a cover (a front page) for your very own magazine. Go through the Graphic Design history timeline and choose a style and designer that…
Lesson Task – Typography
Question 1 Written assignment (observation and analysis) (4 hrs) Define the term “typography” in your own words Write a few sentences explaining what typography is not Find a case study on typeface development on the Internet (similar to the ones in Addendum A). Explain which medium (small format printing, large format printing, mobile devices, etc.) the font…
Lesson Task – Sketching Techniques
Practical assignment (observation and analysis) Define, in your own words, the printmaking terms Find examples on the Internet to represent each of those terms Use your graphite, eraser, eraser putty and blending stub to sketch spheres using the following techniques: hatching and cross hatching, blending, rendering, squiggly lines and cross contour lines (please scan your…
Lesson Task – Practical Assignment
Design two postcards. Each with one piece of advice that you would give a first year Graphic Design Student. You are welcome to make more if inspiration strikes. All graphics and text must be your own. So I made a few postcards. I have not created a variation of designs, but I have created a…
Lesson Task – Shooting in Low-Light Conditions
Describe the steps that you will take to ensure that you take a high quality photograph in low light conditions. Refer to exposure, lenses, tripods, colour temperature, flash and ISO. Your answer should be a minimum of 350 words. To take high quality photograph in low light conditions you need to have some knowledge on…
Lesson Task – Fun with slow shutter speeds
Wait until it’s almost dark outside. Take your camera and go and sit in a busy tourist area. Choose a building or statue to photograph. Place your camera on a tripod and set the shutter speed to 30 seconds or more (if you don’t have a tripod, something stable, like a chair, will also work.…
Lesson Task – Mastering the Art of Product Photography
Draw up a list of the most important aspects of a product photograph. Refer to shadows, lighting, quality, ISO and editing in your answer. Mention at least five things. There are many things to consider when you are doing product photography. 1.Lightning – This is maybe the most important aspect in product photograph. If you…
Lesson Task – Applying Philosophy to Design 2
Design a book cover for a thriller book called “The Fall of Imagination” by Sam Wan. This book does not exist and is open to your interpretation as to the subject matter. It must be designed by clearly drawing inspiration from a previous design style. The size of the cover must be A5 and it…
Lesson Task – Analysing the Use of Design Fundamentals
Choose any one of the illustrations from the lesson “Design Drawing” and answer the following questions (when submitting your feedback – also provide the illustration you chose): What fundamentals are used successfully? Describe in detail what you think is the most successful aspect of the illustration (remember to focus on the fundamentals). The fundamentals that…
Lesson Task – Applying Philosophy to Design 1
Design an A4 poster for a humanitarian cause you feel passionate about. For example, creating awareness and a call for action against human trafficking. You must apply pastiche to your design. Use a style of propaganda used during the Modernism era and create your own, unique design in a contemporary context. Start by creating at…
Lesson Task – Focusing on Design With A Conscience
Analyse Frank Shepard Fairey’s poster for the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election and give your opinion on the use of style and its efficacy. Also critique the use of pastiche and typography. Write one page (about 350 words) on your opinion of this design and substantiate your answers with examples. The poster is as mentioned created by Frank Shepard Fairy during the 2008…
Lesson task – Focusing on Pioneering Designers
Within the broader milieu of Neo-modernism, we focus on Marian Bantjes, who set design trends with her unique application of typography, loose illustration and well-balanced compositions. WATCH: Course on Marian Bantjes (2h 18m) Watch the video, then answer the following questions: Objective observationDuring the interview, Marian mentions, “When I worked at Digitopolis, I was working almost entirely on…
Lesson task – Research on Late Modernism
Consider what we have discussed regarding Late Modernism in the USA and The Swiss International Style. Do additional research on the Swiss International Style – it may be a good idea to study some of the known designers of this style and period. As a guide, visit designishistory.com, which gives a brief outline of specific…
Lesson Task – Graphic Design History
Question 1 1.1. Define, in your own words, the Bauhaus, De Stijl and Swiss Movements.1.2. For each of these movements: find examples from their eras, as well as current designs that are influenced by these styles.Explain in your own words how these designs were inspired by the movements. DE STIJL The first movement of these…
Lesson Task – Preparing for Brand Development
Write, in detail, the following about your client from the previous lesson task (A Personal Survey): Attributes Vision and mission Key products or services – list these in detail Key competitors – list three Competitive advantage Key stakeholders Value proposition Target market 2. Gather your findings and analyse the one or two interviews you’ve done.…
Lesson Task – A personal survey
Having read the basics of surveys in detail, choose someone you know (other than yourself) and create a logo for that person according to the two steps below. The person may be a family member, a friend, a fellow student, a celebrity or anyone you could physically interview and who would be able to participate…
The Components of Visual Identity
Name the three most important components of visual identity.The most important components of visual identity is first of all the logo. That is the face of the company which is on every touchpoint regarding to interaction with the customer and is communicating their brand and concept. It is the most powerful and familiar visual expression…
A knack for names
Consider the tips on Inspiration given in your prescribed book and create a name for an ice cream. The ice cream has a range of different flavours, but the unique aspect it should communicate is the fact that it is the coldest ice cream in existence. Now come up with five name options for this product (you should not…
Acquainting yourself with the work process
Consider the different steps in the work process and answer the following questions in writing: Conduct research Write down different means of conducting research (what do you think can be done to collect information and get consumers’ perspective on a proposed idea?) Research can be done in different ways. This involves identifying a question, gathering…
Having fun with brand identity
Design strategy takes form in life Watch the movie “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” (The official title is “POM wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold”) and answer the questions that follow. Do you think the movie provides insight or detail into what drives product placement in entertainment? It gives me good insight in what…
Building a Mobile-Friendly Website
Write a detailed brief. (You may use a real client or a fictional one) Use the information from the brief to build a wireframe for the website Choose a WordPress theme for the website Customise the WordPress theme to fulfil the specific needs of the client Make sure that the site works on both desktop…
Building a Website From Start to Finish
Write a detailed brief for your website Create a wireframe according to the brief Draw some sketches to plan your design Build a working website according to these specs The brief: What is the client’s service/product? This company is an accounting company that offers services and online solutions for business owners regarding to accounting, as…
Designing for Performance
Surf the web and find 5 examples of websites that have been coded and designed for performance. So I checked out the web to see if I could find any websites. I looked at pingdom.com where they had an overview of the best websites regarding to performance. I think loading time is essential so I…
Coming up with a strategy
Set up a meeting with a business owner and ask him/her what he/she would want from a website. Also ask him/her what the business strategy is and how the website would fit into it. Then write a detailed document about this. I would like you to use the information from this document and create a…
Creating a Brief
I want you to take on a client. I then need you to have a meeting with your client and create a very detailed brief. This brief should contain all the information that will be needed to achieve the client’s requirements.Your brief should cover these sections: What is the client’s service/product? What are their requirements?…
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Let's study graphic design - A Reflective Journal 