jill225

First Design-Centered Project! About potatoes!

 

It will be... a 12-panel story about potatoes!

Project brief: The Idaho Potato Commission has approached us as a class because they heard we were studying potatoes, and they're interested in finding new ways to drum up public interest in potatoes, and how to appeal to different generations of possible potato lovers at once. 

Our first assignment is to develop an exploratory 12-panel story about potatoes. The idea is to create a series of 12 consistent images that work together as a story. The story, the images, and story format will be up to you. Formats that worked well last time with apples included a postcard collection/campaign, a poster campaign, a magazine ad campaign, a cookbook, a children's book, a 2-page comic book panel, or a 12-panel storyboard for a 30-second commercial. These are just suggestions, feel free to use another format not on this list. This is your opportunity to create the kind of project you'd like to do to showcase your strengths and interests as a designer, the only stipulation being that it has to be about potatoes and for the Idaho Potato Commission.

As you're watching the film on potatoes, take notes on what you find interesting. Think about 3 different stories you'd like to tell / show / develop. Think about what you've learned about the potato as an object, a living thing, and as an object of history and culture. 

Think about everything we've learned about the potato so far, and pick 3 elements that interest you to explore and expand on. Do additional research if necessary. Find similar stories or histories [about potatoes or otherwise] that have been told/shown before that are similar to the ones you're interested in telling. 

For homework [due Monday 5/3], you'll be creating an 11 x 17 mood board for your three different ideas, including at least a paragraph [at least 5 sentences] of copy on each that you write yourself.  Show us similar stories to your own and the way they've been depicted. Show us additional research on your particular story, be it written or visual. Give us a list of potential format[s] that you feel would work well for your story/history.

Be prepared to give a 2 minute presentation on each story/moodboard to the class on Monday, 5/3.

Homework due on Monday, 5/3:

1. Three printed 11x17 moodboards for three different potential 12-panel stories about potatoes. For each moodboard/story:

a. include at least a paragraph [at least 5 sentences] of copy on each that you write yourself.

b. include similar stories/histories to your own and the way they've been depicted.

c. include additional research on your particular story, be it written or visual.

d. include a list of potential format[s] that you feel would work well for your story/history.

2. Upload all three moodboards to your personal Flickr page and the group Flickr page in a set called "225.08 - research."

Homework Assignment #7

 Before you leave class tonight, get together in your small group to recrit each of your 10-panel stories and gather suggestions for improvement. I'd like you to perfect your 10-panel story for Wednesday's class.

Homework:

Redo your 10-panel stories for Wednesday, 4/28. Upload these to your personal Flickr page in a set called "225.04 - redone."

What to bring to next class, Wednesday, 4/28:

An 11x17 print out of your new improved 10-panel potato story, and an 11x17 print out of your old 10-panel story for comparison.

On Wednesday, we'll crit the 10-panel stories one last time, watch a movie, and discuss the next project - your first design project!

In-Class Assignment #6

 STEP 1

Get into small groups and do online research on how to depict human emotions using inanimate objects. Think of using color or cropping as tools to help you convey the emotion. Some ideas to google search: wikipedia list of emotions, emotions expressed as color, luxo by pixar, sack of flour emotion exercises. Research together, compare notes, and brainstorm as a group.

STEP 2

Next, do a photoshoot together as a group of your potatos to depict the following emotions. You cannot draw or mutilate your potatos, or use text to explain your photos - but you can use props you find in the classroom. You can colorize and crop the resulting photos to help express the emotion. 

happy - playful - surprised

sad - angry - lonely

fearful - sleepy - serious

STEP 3 

Choose your best photo for each emotion, and make an 8.5" x 11" "emotion page" - 3 rows of 3 panels, 9 panels total. You know, like the Brady Bunch opening credits!

STEP 4

Lastly, we'll get together as a super crit group and see what we have! Those of you doing this project independently because you weren't in class today, your emotion page is due in your personal Flickr as a set called "225.06 - emotion page" by classtime on Wednesday 4/28. Also post it to the group Flickr pool.

Homework Assignment #5

[potato portraits by ginou choueiri]

1. On the Flickr group pool, look through and comment on your classmate's 225.04 storyboard assignments. Just about everyone's needed some improvement, and I bet you can help solve some of the issues! Do this by Sunday morning, 4/25.

2. Fill your potato drawing sketchbook completely and bring it to class on Monday 4/26!

3. Upload key photos of your drawing sketchbook to your personal Flickr page in a set called "225.05." This  Flickr set should contain: 

a. photo/scan of your 2 blind contour drawings

b. 8 photo/scans of your favorite other drawings

4. Bring another potato and your camera to class for 4/26. Since so many of you are interested in personifying the potato, I've developed an exercise to explore that!

In-Class / Homework Assignment #4

[heart potato from here]

 From one of your exisiting storyboards you showed us today, choose one story to flesh out into a longer 10-panel story. You can use photos you already have and flesh them out with some re-shoots, or completely re-shoot the story. You can also crop your images and colorize them. You can even add text if you really, really want to. 

Show us your 10-panel storyboard sequence on an 11 x 17 document, uploaded to your personal Flickr account in a folder called "225.04", then upload it to the group Flickr page. 

1. Personal 225.04 folder should contain:

a. the final 11x17 document

b. the previously created 3-panel or 5-panel story it was inspired by

2. Group Flickr should have:

a. Your final 11x17 document

What to Bring for Wednesday 4/21:

1. Several different black ink pens.

2. Another potato! Yessss!

3. Your final 11x17 document, printed and ready for crit.

IN CLASS PROJECT / HOMEWORK, DUE MONDAY 4/19

 

STEP 1

create a contact sheet from all the photos you took in class, upload to Flickr in a set called "225.03 - contact sheet".

take a screen grab of all your photos in i-photo, or make a contact sheet using one of these tutorials:

photoshop: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Photoshop/11.0/WS42C3020A-DAD1-4f92-8014-012263F3A51D.html 

photoshop: http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=28891

i-photo: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1385066

STEP 2

create nine 3-panel stories and three 5-panel stories on 8.5x11 files [layout examples shown above] from the raw photos you took in class - no cropping or other type of photo manipulation! use the contact sheets you just created to look over all your photos at once and select the best ones for each of your stories. Upload to Flickr in a set called "225.03 - panel stories".

BRING FOR NEXT CLASS, 4/19:

1. print out each of your panel stories on 8.5x11 paper. We’ll spend some class time together going over your choices.

2. bring another unadulterated potato

3. bring a children's book, comic book or anime book. We'll spend some classtime dissecting and analyzing them.

What to bring to class on Wednesday!

 

lego camera for all you color-lovers in class! from here!

Since 1/4 of the class wasn't in class yesterday, I'll be holding off grading the poster/postcard assignment. Those of you who still have to finish the assignment have until noon tomorrow, 4/14, to get it finished and put up on Flickr.

In class Wednesday I'll be showing you strategies for using photography as a way to help you generate ideas, and we'll be doing a series of photoshoots in class. If you're not in class, you won't be able to complete these assignments.

Here's what you need to bring to class:

1. Your Laptop.

2. A Camera - digital preferred. If you have an extra one you don't mind lending out, please bring it!

3. A way to get your photos from the camera onto your laptop.

4. A potato. Any color, any size.

Assignment: Design a Poster/Postcard set for a gallery/art show in PDX

cmyk + rgb image from here

Design an 11x17 museum exhibition poster and a 4.25x6 postcard showcasing the three visual creators you've just studied. All three visual creators should be referenced visually somehow, as the fictional exhibiton will showcase the work of all three.

The exhibition should take place in a gallery or museum here in Portland. This is your opportunity to research various art and design venues in town and choose the most appropriate one for your creators! Once you've narrowed down your venue, visit it and look at their show postcards and posters. You'll find that most venues will have a poster/postcard "formula" for you to follow/emulate.

With this project, I'm interested in seeing how you research, and how you approach your work. This will hep me tailor our future projects together!

STEP 1 - due Wednesday 4/7

Research art/design venues in Portland and narrow your search down to one venue! Visually document all your venue research in a Flickr set called "225.02_venue_rsch"

If you have time on Tuesday or Wednesday visit 1 - 3 final choice venues and document it [see step 3 below]

STEP 2 - due Wednesday 4/7

Visually document your preliminary poster/postcard thumbnail sketches in a Flickr set called "225.02_thumbnails"

Wednesday in class we'll go over your initial research and thumbnails in small groups. Bring your laptop, and any materials you need to work in class.

STEP 3 - due next Monday 4/12

Visit your venue in person, document your visit, their posters and their postcards in a Flickr set called "225.02_venue_visit." Have this on Flickr by Saturday night, so we can give you comments and help if you need it before designing your final poster/postcard.

Post working poster and postcard designs in Flickr as you work on them, so we can give you comments and help if you need it before designing your final poster/postcard.

STEP 4 - due next Monday 4/12

Final Poster and postcard due in a Flickr set called "225.02_finals" Please also print them out [doesn't have to be fancy paper or anything] so we can crit them in person.

Next Monday in class we'll go over your final posters and postcards as a class. Bring your laptop to get started on research for our next project: "Photography as an Idea-Generating Strategy."