*photo courtesy of Smithsonian
*photographer Esquire Standerson, Senior Trip to NYC, 1910
*no one was hurt or injured during the poor Photoshopping of this archive photo
Professional Practices in Graphic Design
The Course Description:
Professional Practices in Graphic Design. Prerequisites: GrD3200 with grade of C or higher, or concurrently, and consent of graphic design coordinator or instructor. Practical client-based professional experiences: field trips, presentation techniques, implementation of projects through supervision of printing process or appropriate media; principles unique to the business of graphic design. (GSU Catalog Description)
Overview of the Course:
The course is designed to create an atmosphere of where the academic world meets the professional world. This particular class is geared more towards the professional corporate world than smaller design studios or independent creative businesses. Throughout the semester each designer is expected to grow not only from the work created individually in the classroom but also to grow from listening to “those in the know” and to be affiliated with the larger graphic design corporate world. You will have the rare opportunity to hear and learn from individuals who have had great success in their working and professional lives. Their stories will be their own however, you will be able to ask questions and relay situations that you perhaps have already encountered as a graphic designer.
This semester you’ll be working with various graphic design vendors; varied presentations to clients; legal and ethical observations as they relate to the field of graphic design. Students are expected to conduct Q&A sessions in-class and relate to particular in-class sessions. Speakers will include many professionals from the private and corporate sectors of the graphic design business industry.
Speakers will range from Corporate Graphic Design Headhunters, Corporate Human Resources Departments, Corporate Presidents, Freelance Photographers, Corporate Graphic Design Recruiters, Founders and Creative Directors from Design Studios, Marketing and Advertising Professionals, Owners of Offset printing, and Designers who have started their own successful businesses. You will be immersed in the business aspect of graphic design while still creating work for yourself and your portfolio.
SIDE NOTE: Please remember that all Graphic Designers do not work for other graphic designers. In fact most designers seldom work for other graphic designers and are considered seriously lucky if they even get a chance to work with an individual who even understands what their design process actually involves. Designers usually design for a mass audience not individuals. Designers usually work in tandem with copywriters, musicians, marketing and advertising executives as well as many other individuals in a corporate environment. Designers are usually only a part of the collaborative creative team.
Graphic Design used to be considered “commercial art” and more of a trade than art. Graphic Design is a business the corporate world does not make a differentiation between the two factions. The corporate business grows and the graphic design department grows along with it; the business looses growth and the graphic design department is downsized. The ebb and flow of the graphic design business mostly revolves around the economy that is what we’ve seen recently.
Inside a corporate environment, believe it or not, the graphic designer is more insulated from layoffs and pink slips” since the environment has a larger audience and perhaps more clients or more satellite entities. The income is usually better but the work can become more collaborative.
The rewards are tremendous however and the possibility of growth inside the corporate world is more feasible and quicker.
The Course Objectives
1. Gain an understanding of the various paths that a graphic design job search might take.
2. Exposure to working professionals from various support fields auxiliary to the design field.
3. Familiarization with the client designer direct relationship, and ethical practices.
4. Practice and improve interviewing skills.
5. Familiarization with terms used in design environment involving interaction with printers, paper suppliers, professional photographers, prepress departments, illustrators and creative managers and clients.
6. Exposure to reproduction processes and overview of print vs. web graphic project production.
7. Learn to balance a project’s creative scope with the realities of production techniques.
8. Develop a firm understanding of a project workflow from concept through delivery.
9. Work directly with a modern “design client” on a project that will be showcased.
Attendance
Students are allowed 3 absences.
“Absences” defined by the Instructor as arriving late and leaving early each day.
When the student has reached their maximum number of absences the Instructor will notify the student via email as the their status. After 3 absences (unless approved by the Instructor) the student’s final grade will result in being reduced by a letter. There are no excused or unexcused absences, so it is wise to save your allowable absences in anticipation of emergencies.
Students who fail to attend the first week of class will be dropped. Attendance at all classes is mandatory.
Read this section again so we are on the same page. You are responsible for any material missed due to absence.
*No credit will be given for work turned in after its due date.
* Students must sign a release form at beginning of semester to cover field trip and independent study trips.
You must provide an email address and phone number where you can be reached in the event that the instructor must contact you. Each student will be responsible for checking email each day before class.
Class Policies on cell phones, the internet (other than assigned use), text messages. The use of any of these will require that the student leave the classroom and will be counted absent for that entire class. Also, iPods and other inner ear music devices will not be permitted during the class.
Academic Honesty: By taking this class you are consenting to the University’s policy on academic honesty published in The Undergraduate Co-Curriculur Affairs Handbook. Please read and the section on plagiarism and understand how it relates to images and words used in your class projects. If this is not clear, speak to instructor.
Non-Discrimination Policy: Georgia State University stipulates that no person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, sex, religion, creed, age, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or national origin, be excluded from employment or participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity conducted by Georgia State University or any of its several departments now in existence or hereafter established.
Disabilities: will only be accommodated with a letter from the Office of Disability Services. This letter is not retroactive.
Sexual Harassment Policy Statement: Sexual harassment of any member of the university community is prohibited and will subject the offender to possible disciplinary action after compliance with due process requirements. Sexual harassment is also prohibited by the University System of Georgia and by state and federal law
E-mail: Information regarding assignments, schedules, and other course-related matters will be sent to your GSU e-mail address. You are responsible for checking your GSU e-mail account. When e-mailing the instructor, you must include your first name, last name, and course TITLE in the subject line of your e-mail.
Recommended textbooks:
-AIGA Professional Practices in Graphic Design, Allworth Press Second Edition 2008; edited by Tad Crawford, Paperback: 320 pages, ISBN-10: 1581155093,ISBN-13: 978-1581155099. (Amazon)
The definitive guide to professional business practices in graphic design now fully revised and updated for the digital age. Up-to-the-minute coverage of web, interactive, and motion graphics; green design; potential repercussions of legislation on Orphan Works; protection of fonts and software; managing creative people; using professional help such as lawyers; and much more. Each in-depth chapter, covering such topics as professional relationships, fees, contracts, managing large projects, copyright and trademark issues, electronic uses, and more, has been written by an authority in the field. The newly revised AIGA Standard Form for Design Services is included for the convenience of readers, along with a complete resources section. No designer should do business without this comprehensive, authoritative book.
-Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines (Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines) (Paperback) by Graphic Artists Guild (Author); 352 pages, ISBN-10: 0932102131, ISBN-13: 978-0932102133
Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical guidelines, 12th Edition is the industry bible, containing information all graphic artists and their clients need to buy and sell work in a totally professional manner. This edition has been revised and updated to provide all the information you need to compete in an industry moving at lightning speed.
Disclaimer: The course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary.
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