This is the class page for Communication 3623: Commercial Publications, offered by the Communication Department at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Commercial Publications is a class in document design. We meet part of the time in a classroom and part of the time in the Communication Lab (MB 0.320). The class uses a mixture of lecture, discussion, and workshop.
The textbook for this class is Robin Williams' The NonDesigner's Design Book (second edition).
Class Objectives
The purpose of this course is to develop your awareness of document design while providing you with skills that will help you improve your writing and your visual communication. The objectives are as follows:
- Students will learn to use the principles of visual design in their own writing and to recognize them in the writing of others
- Students will gain experience in layout and graphic design software, as well as design elements such as typography and color.
- Students will be given the opportunity to "go beyond the template," to demonstrate original (and appropriate) design sensibility
- Students will learn to appreciate visual information as an integral, equal, and legitimate instrument of communication.
There are four assignments in this class: a display card, a brochure, a booklet, and an advertisement. There are also frequent short writing assignments ("dailies"), based on material from the textbook and from class discussions. And the course includes a final examination.
How This Class Works
This class is similar to studio courses in the Art Department: I'll usually begin with a brief lecture/discussion on some point connected to your reading or your assignment; sometimes I'll give a demonstration using Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, or Illustrator. Then I'll give you time to work on the computers. This is not free time, nor does is mean that you're free to leave; it's time for you to work on your assignments (or on your workshop assignment on the days we're working with the software in class). Here are some of the tasks you can accomplish during the studio portion of the class:
- Use the lab hardware and software to complete your assignments. The Communication Labs are the best equipped design labs on campus; they provide access to advanced software, including the Adobe Creative Suite, as well as clip art of varying quality. There are color printers, a high quality black-and-white laser printer, and a high quality scanner. Use your class time to take advantage of these resources.
- Each assignment has three benchmarks which you need to clear with me. Use your class time to accomplish these benchmarks and get my input.
- Get my feedback on your work in progress. I'll be glad to tell you what parts of your design are working and what parts aren't. Avoid unpleasant surprises; show me your work in advance!
- Get ideas for your designs. I keep collections of examples for each of your assignments in file folders on the bookcase in the lab. There are also books with examples of award-winning professional designs. It's a time-honored tradition to get ideas and inspirations for your own designs by looking at the designs of others; take time at the beginning of the assignment to think about possibilities rather than falling into predictable, "template-style" design.
- Get help with design problems. I'll be glad to make suggestions if you have something you'd like to do but aren't sure about how to do it.
If you have questions or want more information please e-mail me.