Portfolio Development for Graphic Design Syllabus for 2014-2015
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Course

ARTC-2335-001 Portfolio Development for Graphic Design

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Successful completion of 21 hrs of ARTC coursework or instructor consent

Course Description

Preparation of a portfolio comprised of completed graphic design class projects. Evaluation and demonstration of portfolio presentation methods based on the student’s specific area of study.

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Department Expectations

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Hours

(3 sem hrs; 2 lec, 2 lab)

Class Type

On Campus Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

No textbook required.

Instructional website: http://thedesignlab.us

Supplies

Your supplies will vary depending upon your area of focus, and more specifically, the projects you will be working on. You will get a better idea of the supplies you'll need beyond the basics after discussing what projects you will be working on th

Student Performance

The goals of the class are to create a portfolio from your body of work (refining existing work and creating new work as needed) and to showcase your work and yourself in a manner that present you in the best light as an artist/designer. This will include evaluating your strengths and weaknesses, developing an individual plan for refinining your portfolio, creating self-promotional materials and participating in an interview with a studio or other related business.

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Student Rights and Responsibilities

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In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

• Cell phones and communication devices will be required to be kept inside your purse, bag or pocket.
• Cell phones and devices must be turned to silent.
• No texting during lecture, critique or class room instruction.
• No social networking of any kind during class time.
• Students are required to come to class prepared with all supplies.
• Student are expected to be respectful to each other and all faculty.

Failure to operate within the above guidelines may result in dismissal from the class and student will not receive credit for that day's attendance or activity grade. Further action will be taken if a student exhibits a habitual disregard to the above guidelines.

Plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated and will be reported.

Grading Criteria

Class Grade Breakdown

Activity/Participation: 30%
This includes being in class every day, using your class time appropriately, participating in class discussions and activities, seeking and implementing feedback from instructor and peers, and behaving and interacting appropriately and respectfully with your peers and instructor.

Projects: 50%
You will be creating, revising and expanding a number of projects throughout the class. This is the main task of the class; most everything else in the class is put in place to enhance the quality of these pieces and your presentation of them to prospective employers or clients.

Final Portfolio/Self-Promotion: 20%
You will compile all of your work and present it in a professional manner, along with a resume and other supporting materials, at the end of the semester. The creation of this portfolio (which of course requires projects to place in it) – and knowing how to do it – is the primary goal of the class. A poor representation of your work, even if the work itself was well-executed, can therefore substantially reduce your grade.

Interview: 10%
Each student will be responsible for arranging and completing an interview from a studio or other place of employment appropriate for their area of study. Feedback from employers (fiiltered through instructor) will determine the grade received.

As was announced in class, the interview portion of the class is not required.

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Projects

You will be working on 8 Pieces, at least 4 of which will be new. Some of these pieces will likely be multi-part. Since this class is meant to enhace your portfolio, and you differ from everyone else in the class, the nature of projects you will work on will differ. You should not be concerned with the amount of work others are doing, unless it helps to work more efficiently. You should be concerned with improving yourself as a designer. You will be graded individually, but fairly.

Existing Projects

Each student will be working on 8 projects to place within their final portfolio. This number may be slightly higher if the quality of your work dictates, but can be no lower. Your portfolio is meant to present you and your work in the best light, so a high quality of work is expected out of each piece in your portfolio.

At the beginning of the course, you will bring in all your work that you think should be considered for a spot within your portfolio, and which requires improvement or perhaps expansion in scope. You should bring in at least 8 pieces, and these pieces should be substantial, unique projects. (For example, a piece that was done to learn principles of software  (like vector drawing) in which everyone achieved the same result should not be a portfolio piece unless there was significant room for expressive interpretation of that project.)

We will together look through your work and decide what pieces you should include in your portfolio, and choose at least 4 that could benefit from either improvement or expansion. You might include more than 4 existing pieces in your portfolio ultimately, but we are going to pick 4 that you will work on for this class.

New Projects

We will also decide on 4 new projects that you will create from a list of project types. This will be based upon your own strengths and weaknesses, and what is not well-represented within your existing portfolio items. The specifics of these projects will be left up to you, subject to instructor approval. These new projects are to be the result of this class, not brought from another class.

Choose from the following:

Collateral set (at least 4 items)
Invitation (more than simply a double-sided card)
Product package design
Website of at least 3 pages
Original animation, 2D or 3D
*Typeface Design (presented as a type specimen)
    (A-Z in one case and 0-9: a working font isn't required.)
Event Promotion (Poster and 1 swag piece)
Hand-lettered typographic poster
Illustration of a Children’s Book (Front and Back Cover only)

*If you choose to create a Typeface Design, be aware that this is extremely time-consuming, but also rewarding and a solid portfolio piece. You will likely spend more time on this than other projects, so plan accordingly.

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Again, you may include projects from other classes in your portfolio if their quality warrants it. But for this class, you will be working on 8 pieces, at least 4 of which will be new.

You will submit a plan for the semester and the current version of the projects you will be improving/expanding by the second day of class. This plan may be changed during the semester, but you must first get approval.

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Final Portfolio

Each student will submit a self-promotional final portfolio near the end of the class. This will include at least a resume and a physical portfolio (which is or contains a storage device with digital files) to be turned in and kept by the instuctor. The best versions of your work that you've completed in this class and others should be included in this portfolio. There should be a consistent visual theme across the portfolio, including your resume, and through the presentation of the materials within.

Grading Schema:

A: 90 or above
B: 80-89
C: 70-79
D: 60-69
F: 59 or below

Attendance

Absences

You are allowed one week of absence from class. In our case, one week equals one class.

1 absence: no penalty
2 absences: loss of letter grade
3 Absences: loss of 2 letter grade
4 absences: failure of class
 

Tardiness

Up to 2: No Deduction
After 2: Each tardy after 2 results in 5 points taken from your Activity/Participation grade.

Tardiness of 30 minutes or more, or early departure from class of 30 minutes or more, will be counted as an absence. On days designated for individual consultation, you will be counted as absent if you leave without first meeting with instructor.

If you are tardy, you should still come to class, because you need the work and the feedback. You may have to wait to come in if we are in the middle of a discussion, so as not to be rude to another student.

Calendar

Additional Information

Instructional Website: http://thedesignlab.us