Maryland Institute College of Art

Course Description

This course provides extended study of graphic design principles and their application to more complex and comprehensive solutions. Experimentation, research, conceptual thinking, and process are emphasized in design for the screen. Students learn essential design tools and techniques for the development of interactive media. Students work with HTML and CSS to understand code as a fundamental building block for their design compositions. Prerequisite: GD 200 (Graphic Design 1).

This class will be taught with a heuristic approach in the context of design and conceptual thinking. The fundamental building blocks of the course will focus on developing the relationship between context, content, creative and code for visual communication in an interactive medium. The objective is to develop a deep understanding of the separation between presentation, structure and interaction through information design, visual design and technical design principles.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Articulate design fundamentals and apply them to digital media.
• Demonstrate an understanding of hierarchy as it applies to interactive media.
• Employ concepts, processes, and production tools for interaction design.
• Develop a process that adapts to new tools, best practices and mediums.
• Develop an understanding of interaction as an essential component of communication.
• Empathy.

Technology/Software Requirements

• Portable drive to transport/back up work
• MICA e-mail account
• Sublime Text (or comparable text-editor)
• Cyberduck (or comparable FTP-client)
• Google Chrome Web Browser (v. 47 or newer)
• Adobe Creative Suite (specifically Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator)
• Access to Slack (web-based or App)

Suggested Readings

• HTML & CSS: Design and Build Websites by Jon Ducket
• Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug
• Designing with Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman
• A Book Apart - HTML5 for Web Designers by Jeremy Keith
• A Book Apart - CSS3 for Web Designers by Dan Cederholm

Attendance

Attendance and punctuality will be monitored and will affect your grade. Per 07-08 academic bulletin p. 284, 4 unexcused absences result in a failing grade. Please contact me in advance if you will not be able to attend class or if you have to arrive late or leave before the class is dismissed.

In the event of an absence, you are responsible for being up to date with in-class materials and information by the time the class meets again the following week.

Course Outline

This calendar provides a rough overview of the semester. Check project sheets for more accurate dates, as all dates here are subject to change.

Scheduling of student course evaluations

Class time will be set aside toward the end of the semester for completion of student course evaluations.

Grading

One grade will be awarded per project unless otherwise noted and it will evaluate process, execution and presentation. The final grade for the semester will be an average of all project grades as well as a final evaluation of quality of resolve and follow-through in the work, visual experimentation, class presentation and participation throughout the semester.

Definition of grades:

• A. Superior work; all requirements have been met in a distinguished way.
• B. Above average work; all requirements have been met.
• C. Average work; all requirements have been met.
• D. Below average work; barely meeting course requirements.
• F. Unacceptable; failure to meet course requirements.

Grades for late projects will be lowered one letter grade. After a full week, a project may not be handed in late and it will be awarded a failing grade. Punctuality and participation to in-progress critiques and final critiques have an impact on the grade for each project. Class participation is paramount and should show marked progress in the student’s ability to talk about design intelligently and constructively.

Each project grade will take into account: research/ideation/concept, sketches/roughs, final execution/craftsmanship, presentation/class participation and experimentation/development of additional skills not covered in class. Please note: Lost work due to technological problems (computer failure, corrupt drives, lost drives, server down) is considered late. Always keep multiple back ups of your electronic files. Technical trouble is not a valid excuse to miss a deadline.

Final grades are submitted to Enrollment Services at the end of each semester. All MFA and some MA grades are on a Pass (P)/Fail (F) system. Graduate students must receive a grade of B or better in liberal arts and studio elective coursework at the undergraduate level in order to receive graduate credit for the course. For Post-Baccalaureate students, a Passing grade is considered a C average (2.0) or above in undergraduate courses.

MICA's Academic Policy Statements

Full academic policies and procedures are published online in MICA’s Academic Bulletin:
http://mica.edu/[...]/Academic_Bulletin.html

Americans with Disabilities Act

Any student who may need an accommodation based on the potential impact of a disability should contact the Learning Resource Center at 410-225-2416, in Bunting 458, to establish eligibility and coordinate reasonable accommodations.

Environmental Health and Safety (EHS)

It is the responsibility of faculty and students to follow health and safety guidelines relevant to their individual activities, processes, and to review MICA's Emergency Action Plan and attend EHS training. It is each faculty member's responsibility to coordinate with the EHS Office to ensure that all risks associated with their class activities are identified and to assure that their respective classroom procedures mirror the EHS and Academic Department Guidelines. Each of these policies and procedures must be followed by all students and faculty. Most importantly, faculty are to act in accordance with all safety compliance, state and federal, as employees of this college and are expected to act as examples of how to create art in a way to minimize risk, and reduce harm to themselves and the environment. Faculty must identify and require appropriate personal protective equipment for each art making process, for each student, in all of their classes, when applicable. Students are required to purchase personal protection equipment appropriate for their major. Those students who do not have the proper personal protection equipment will not be permitted to attend class until safe measures and personal protection are in place.

Plagiarism

Each discipline within the arts has specific and appropriate means for students to cite or acknowledge sources and the ideas and material of others used in their own work. Students have the responsibility to become familiar with such processes and to carefully follow their use in developing original work.

Policy

MICA will not tolerate plagiarism, which is defined as claiming authorship of, or using someone else's ideas or work without proper acknowledgement. Without proper attribution, a student may NOT replicate another's work, paraphrase another's ideas, or appropriate images in a manner that violates the specific rules against plagiarism in the student's department. In addition, students may not submit the same work for credit in more than one course without the explicit approval of all of the instructors of the courses involved.

Consequences

When an instructor has evidence that a student has plagiarized work submitted for course credit, the instructor will confront the student and impose penalties that may include failing the course. In the case of a serious violation or repeated infractions from the same student, the instructor will report the infractions to the department chair or program director. Depending on the circumstances of the case, the department chair or program director may then report the student to the appropriate dean or provost, who may choose to impose further penalties, including expulsion.

Appeal Process

Students who are penalized by an instructor or department for committing plagiarism have the right to appeal the charge and penalties that ensue. Within three weeks of institutional action, the student must submit a letter of appeal to the department chairperson or program director, or relevant dean or provost related to the course for which actions were taken. The academic officer will assign three members of the relevant department/division to serve on a review panel. The panel will meet with the student and the instructor of record and will review all relevant and available materials. The panel will determine whether or not to confirm the charge and penalties. The findings of the panel are final. The panel will notify the instructor, the chairperson, division, the student, and the Office of Academic Affairs of their findings and any recommendations for change in penalties.

Title IX Notification

Maryland Institute College of Art seeks to provide an educational environment based on mutual respect that is free from discrimination and harassment. If you have encountered sexual harassment/misconduct/assault, please know that there are multiple ways to report it and you are encouraged to do so (www.mica.edu/equal_opportunity). Additionally, in order to meet our commitments to equity and to comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and guidance from the Office for Civil Rights, faculty and staff members are required to report disclosures of sexual violence made to them by students, except when prior notice regarding a specific classroom assignment or discussion is provided. If you require academic accommodations due to an incident involving sexual harassment or discrimination, please contact Student Affairs at 410.225.2422 or Human Resources at 410.225.2363.

Students with Extended Illness or Cause for Legitimate Absence

In the case of extended illness or other legitimate absences that may keep the student from attending a class for more than three meetings, students must contact the Student Development Specialist in the Division of Student Affairs so that instructors can be notified. Graduate students must contact the instructor, program director, and the Office of Graduate Studies. Students in art education or professional studies programs must contact the Dean for the Center for Art Education or the Dean of the School for Professional and Continuing Studies, respectively. The appropriate administrator will have a conversation with faculty to determine whether the student can achieve satisfactory academic progress.