HS Communication Design Course Descriptions

Examine the ways that visual imagery persuades, educates, and informs us, and explore careers with advertising agencies, graphic and corporate communications firms, department stores, art studios, and publishing companies and in freelance graphic design.

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HAD 101 The Principles of Design
It all starts somewhere! In order to succeed in majors such as Communication Design, Advertising, Graphic Design, Packaging Design, and Visual Presentation and Exhibition Design all students must know the Principles of Design. In this beginner course, students learn by executing a variety of fun projects that teach the principles of design – composition and layout, color, texture and typography. In addition, industry professionals teach students about the different areas of study that require these skills, as mentioned above, and students create a sample project from each of the disciplines. Gallery 

HAD 102 So, You Want to Be in Advertising?

Students will learn to create the whole "advertising package": from the development of the product name, to what it should look like, to the appropriate modes of advertising (print, television, promotional items, internet advertising, guerilla advertising), combined with creative, attention-getting writing. The class works within the classic art director/copywriter creative team set-up. Students will brainstorm ideas and develop an advertising campaign for a unique product.

HAD 109 Drawing in Adobe Illustrator (formerly known as: Illustrator for Beginners)
Adobe Illustrator is a vector-based software used to create illustrations and logos for the commercial art industry. Students will learn the powerful drawing and type tools in Illustrator, and are encouraged to use their creativity to produce original artwork and graphics. A mini portfolio of class projects is produced during this course.

HAD 146 Typography for Visual Designers (formerly known as: Typography for Graphic Design)
Learn the basics of Typography, the cornerstone of contemporary Graphic Design. You'll learn the history of typography and its role in communication. Typographical approaches by such designers as Marion Bantjes, David Carson and Neville Brody will be discussed. Topics will include the anatomy of letterforms, and the influence of technology on the development of different fonts. You'll create hands-on projects in a variety of media to create expressive type-driven design solutions and sophisticated portfolio pieces. Gallery

HAD 149 Advertising and Graphic Design Portfolio
Improve your art and design work so that it accurately represents your talent and discover what colleges are looking for in your portfolio. You'll develop your art and design sensibilities while creating new projects to strengthen your existing portfolio and learn how to incorporate more typography into your work so it is more graphic. This class will enable students to take their existing pieces and revise them so that they are targeted to the Advertising and Graphic Design college-level programs. This course also teaches you the best way to present an online portfolio. Students will learn scanning, basics, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, as well as PDF file formats.
Previous basic art experience required. Please bring samples of work to the first class session.

HAD 150 Magazine Design
Produce your own original magazine using professional industry software: Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Emphasis is placed on creativity as you use your own photographs, artwork, poems and essays to express your point-of-view. Skills to be learned include layout design, image enhancement, scanning photographs, and manipulating typography. Your finished magazine may be used as a portfolio piece when applying to college.
No previous computer experience needed. Gallery               

HAD 153 TV and Viral Video Ads
In the Advertising Industry many people go into the making of a TV commercial. Concepts for TV, viral videos and web videos are developed by the creative team in an ad agency, who then hire a production company to film or tape the spot. A post-production company is then responsible for the editing and finishing of the spot. Simulating the actual production flow in the advertising industry, students will go through the process of concept development, creating storyboards, completing pre-production books, and eventually shooting and editing the video.