SESSION ONE - INTRODUCTION:
1. Start a conversation about the differences between art and design: Many students are not familiar with the fundamental differences between art and design and will need to be reminded that good design is about serving a client, getting their ideas across, and not strictly self-expression. While their experiences as students and members of the NYC public school system and their personal style will be extremely valuable, they must remember that they are designing to meet the needs of their client and their audience (in this case, the NYC Department of Education who will be publishing this catalogue, and the students and parents who will be receiving it). Consider showing examples of fine art works and design side by side and ask the class to speak about their different approaches, purpose, goals, and audiences.
2. What is graphic design? Ask your students to identify different examples of graphic design; websites, logos, printed materials, advertising, etc. Leading questions: What purpose does graphic design serve? Does graphic design affect consumer choices? If so, how?
3. Show your students several examples of book cover design (novels, text book, non-fiction etc.). Ask your students to look at each book cover design and guess what type of book it is, what the book might be about and who is the audience. What about the cover design, font, color, subject matter, etc., influenced their response and why?
4. After you have lead this discussion, show the attached Cover Design Basics PDF presentation by Ellen Lupton, which will show several different examples of book cover design (end on slide 40 and continue with further slides later in this session). Remember to note that successful designs are simple, easy to identify, have a focal point and most importantly show consideration for and provide space for text. Explain to your students that they will be designing the cover of the 2009 - 2010 Directory of the New York City Public High Schools. Print and pass out copies of the official brochure (attached).
5. Describe the design competition guidelines and objectives. Each student will be asked to create a design that fits these specifications
- Students must design the front and back of the catalogue. The front and back designs must each be 8 ½” x 11” in portrait orientation. Wraparound designs are permitted but students will not be designing the spine of the book.
- Submissions can be sent digitally or in print. If submitting in print, do not submit original artwork but retain your original design should it be selected as a finalist.
- Designs must demonstrate awareness of the intended citywide audience of students and parents.
- No text. The design must include an open space or framed area for text, but must not incorporate text into the design. Submit final designs without text. In other words, don't use any hand lettering or concepts in which the text and image are intertwined. This is because the cover will be reproduced in several languages and may be used in a number of different applications (supplemental publications, postcards, etc.). Although the final design should not include any text, students are encouraged to work with text during their design process in order to leave appropriate space for the future title. Once the students have determined the proper placement, they can remove the text from their final design. Techniques such as the use of acetate for non-digital designs and the use of the layer function in programs such as Adobe Photoshop will aid students in composing their design without permanently imprinting text in their final design. Titles of the publication will be added at a later date by the NYCDOE to the winning designs. Past catalogues have used the title “Directory of the New York City Public High Schools.”
- Submission deadline is Friday, February 13, 2009.
The Department of Education also strongly discourages the cliché use of the following imagery:
- transportation (taxis, subways, etc.)
- apples
- Statues of Liberty
- sharp objects
- bridges
- text-only images
- Manhattan-centric images (Times Square, Central Park, etc.)
- faces
The Department of Education prefers designs that:
- contain school-based imagery
- work for all ethnicities and genders
- work for all boroughs
- can be reproduced at different scales and in different colors
Explain to the students that an early part of the design process is understanding your client. The NYCDOE has these restrictions and preferences because the catalogues will be distributed to a diverse audience of students and parents in their system. Not everyone lives in or goes to school in the same borough, so the catalogue cannot feature one specific place. A design cannot feature a face, because it will automatically reference a specific gender, age, and ethnicity. The focus of the design should be a reflection and celebration of the New York City Public School System and not the city of New York as a whole.
6. Brainstorming. Tell students that through an early step of the design process, brainstorming, you can work through more obvious ideas to get to more creative solutions. Return to the attached Cover Design Basics PDF presentation and finish the slide show (slide 43-46). Review the brainstorming examples in the slides and discuss the creative results reflected in the designs. To help steer students away from the discouraged NYCDOE images and clichés, lead a rapid group brainstorm slam with your class. Go around the classroom and ask each student to think one word or phrase that reflects the schools in the city of New York. Record these answers on a large piece of paper. Save this paper for the next class meeting.
Some guidelines for a brainstorming session:
- go for quantity
- one person speaks at a time
- there are no bad ideas
- encourage wild ideas
SESSION TWO - GENERATE IDEAS:
1. Book cover brainstorming. Refer to session one’s brainstorming activity and tell students they have five minutes to brainstorm five to ten different concepts on their own (time and quantity may be varied depending on your students abilities). Remind them that they are only generating ideas and concepts right now, and will have opportunities to develop and refine these ideas later. They can write or make quick thumbnail sketches of their ideas.
2. Refining their ideas. Next, give your students two sheets of 8 ½” x 11” paper. Have them fold the sheet of paper in half vertically and horizontally, so the paper is divided into four equal rectangles. These rectangles will be in proportion to the final size of cover, and can be used as thumbnails for sketches. Tell your students to identify two of their strongest brainstorming ideas and they will now have ten minutes to sketch out variations of these designs. Remind them that these small sketches should only be used to plan out their designs, and that they do not need to worry about rendering imagery perfectly. Tell them to think about the major issues: where the text will go, where the images will go, where large areas of lights and darks will be placed, and determining a color palette if they have time. Tell the students they should have a few examples to present to the class the next day. Prototyping is an essential part of the design process. This step allows the designer to generate ideas and test their solutions with a focus group.
SESSION THREE - EVALUATE AND ARTICULATE:
1. Presenting design ideas. A critical part of the design process is evaluation. Your students have the unique opportunity to have their designs evaluated by the audience of the book cover, their peers. Give each student two minutes to talk about one or two their cover designs. They must articulate how these ideas address the needs of the Department of Education and how it relates to their audience. The class will have three minutes to respond with their feedback, encourage students to describe why or why not they like the designs and how they could improve them if they do not. Remind the class to articulate what they think is successful or not effective.
2. Working on their final design(s). Students should choose their media carefully. Photography, painting, digital? What media choice reflects and enhances their design idea? Students should keep in mind the class responses and suggestions and make any changes they feel are appropriate. Remind students that if they choose to use photography or create digital work it must be done at at least 300 dpi in order to be reproduced properly. They must also use original material (no photos that they haven’t taken themselves). Remind students to keep it simple, have a focal point and have appropriate space open and available for the cover text that will be later added by the NYCDOE.
If your students are having trouble generating ideas consider having them visit a few of the websites suggested in the resource section.
SESSION FOUR - IMPLEMENTATION:
1. Students should continue to work on their final designs. This is a good time for students to review a check list: A. Did they address the client’s needs? B. Did they avoid the discouraged clichés? C. Did they leave appropriate space for title text? D. Is there a focal point? E. Did they keep in mind the multiple uses of this design for multiple publications? F. Did they compose the front and back to work together? Is the digital or scanned image at a high resolution (at least 300 dpi at 8 ½” x 11”)
This may continue as time allows at discretion of the teacher. Remember submissions are due on Friday, February 13, 2009!
SESSION FIVE - PRESENTATIONS AND SUBMISSION:
1. Lead a class presentation. Students should present their design to the class as if they were speaking to the jury of the NYCDOE. Have each student present their final design and describe why this design has met the needs of their client and audience. Also ask them to describe the process that led them to their final solution, including early sketches. If they had more time, what else would they do or change? Allow time for the class to respond and remind them to thoroughly articulate their feedback.
2. Submission. Have each student fill out and follow the directions on the submission form for sending in their applications (see attached rule guidelines).