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 cliché s, 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
cliché s? 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).