print production 236

© 2010 Bill Kovarik

Required: Tim Harrower, Newspaper Designers Handbook (any edition)
Optional: Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator manuals

IMPORTANT NOTE

• All student work submitted for this course should be clearly labeled with the course number and your name in three places: 1) on the subject line of an email, 2) as part of the file name, and 3) inside the file (for example, as a byline).

Learning goals:

1. History of printing & design (Lecture notes, Intro chapter, Harrower)
2. Tools, labels, typography (Chapter 1 Harrower)
3. Principles of graphic design (Story and page design, Chs 2 and 3 Harrower)
4. Use of InDesign for page layout
5. Writing headlines, cutlines and liftouts (Page design, Ch 3 and Ch 5 Harrower)
6. Principles of photo editing (Harrower Ch. 4)
7. Intro to Adobe Photoshop for photo editing
8. Intro to Adobe Illustrator and Excel for graphics
9. Design and create the mechanical layout of various forms of printed products, including advertising, brochures, newsletters, newspaper pages and other types of printed products.

This is a design course that will introduce you to the principles and practical skills involved in producing high quality printed products. Even with the rapid expansion of the World Wide Web and satellite communications, printing remains the most universal and durable form of mass communication.

The course will also introduce you to several key computer programs -- Adobe Indesign, Photoshop and Illustrator. These will be used to create advertising, brochures, newsletters, tabloid & broadsheet newspapers, a book, informative graphics

Proficiency with computer design correlates favorably with employability in some areas of the modern mass media and public relations, and if you take advantage of this course, you will enhance your job prospects. When you work on a project, keep in mind that you could include it in your portfolio, so do your very best and don't hesitate to ask questions and learn as much as possible. And dont forget to have some fun along the way!

Let's maintain a learning club environment. After introducing the topic of the day, you should feel free to ask questions. When wemove on to the exercises for the day, please feel free to consult with other students. Only on quizzes will this be a problem.

Submitting projects: All assignments should be backed up and sent in PDF form to my email. Subject line must contain COMS 236

Attendance: Dont miss class if you want to understand this material. Missing more than 20 % of classes will result in a grade reduction of one letter; missing more than 40% of the classes will result in a two letter grade reduction; and missing more than 60 % will result in a three letter grade reduction.

• In-class Exercises will be given daily to help develop your abilities (70% grade). Late assignments graded down one letter grade per week. No excuses. . Assignment information.
  
  
• Project (12% of grade) This will involve redesign of a publication or creation of an advertising/ public relations campaign. The campaign should involve a real company or publication, but hypothetical publications or companies are also acceptable. (Note: Students who are taking or who have previously taken Ad Production MSTD 473 can't use a project from that class to meet reqirements for this class)
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• Quizes -- 18 % of grade

Other issues: Please be sure to consult with the instructor about any problems you may have. Do not wait for the last minute to disclose severe financial or family strains or other kinds of personal issues that the instructor will eventually need to know about.

Disabilities: If you are seeking classroom accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, you are required to register with the Disability Resource Office (DRO). The DRO is located in Room 32, Tyler Hall. Phone is 831-6350. To receive academic accommodations for this class, please obtain the proper DRO forms and meet with me at the beginning of the semester.

Topic Areas

Assignments due Fridays