The Study of Graphic Design
Inspire your work with historical movements and designers
Great designers learn from each other and from the art and design movements that shaped the industry as we know it. In this 3-lesson course, you'll explore print design from its early 20th century beginnings to its key 21st century players. From Art Nouveau to postmodernism, book design to information design, you'll gain a foundation in the movements and fields that can influence your signature style.
As you work through hands-on design projects, you'll gain experience in research, idea-building, and production of creative concepts. You'll learn how to consider international culture in your work and you'll explore interviews with top designers, learning how they use history as a springboard for modern projects.
Tuition: $450 US
Course Instructor(s):
Requirements:
- Computer with Internet connection (56 Kbps modem or faster).
- Microsoft Word or equivalent word processing application.
- Digital imaging and/or vector illustration software and a digital camera or scanner.
- Basic experience in graphic design and the software packages needed for this course.
Prerequisites:
Course Objectives:
- Appreciate the role of research and history in today's graphic design world.
- Identify the origins of modern graphic design including Art Nouveau and other early 20th century movements, artists, and designers.
- Identify major graphic design genres and their historical foundations including poster, book, magazine, and album design.
- Identify historical contributions to typography and to niche design genres.
- Effectively research specific graphic design movements and use them as design inspiration.
- Create an inspiration board that reflects a specific topic and movement.
- Identify methods for researching design projects and identifying cross-cultural differences.
- Use case studies to identify research and influence methods used by today's designers.
- Emulate a historical designer through research and completion of a detailed design project.
Course Outline
LESSON 1 History and Timeline
Lesson One begins by explaining the importance of research in the graphic design field. You'll learn why research is instrumental to good design, and explore historical art movements, starting with Art Nouveau. Movements and key artists are examined through the 20th century, and visual parallels are drawn between art movements. In the exercise, you will report on a design movement that intrigues you.
LESSON 2 Fields in Graphic Design
Graphic design is a large field, with numerous sub-fields and niches. You will explore major areas, such as poster, book, magazine, and album design, as well as smaller niches such as stamp, currency, and ticket design. Lesson Two presents historical design trends and inspirations, and their effect on modern pieces. Past and present magazine covers illustrate how art movements affect design. You will create an inspiration board in the exercise that demonstrates your ability to research genres and fields.
LESSON 3 Research and Inspiration
Finally, having accrued inspiration amongst a host of interesting art movements, you will learn how to apply that inspiration to current projects. Research is an integral aspect of graphic design, and cross-cultural research is of particular importance to avoid embarrassing gaffs. The course will wrap up with case studies of research-intensive projects and peeks into top designers’ processes. The final exercise gives you the opportunity to design with one of the greats for inspiration.
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