Summer Course - Graphic Design

FLORENCE

GRAPHIC_DESIGN SUMMER COURSE 11-29 July 2011 th

summer course_2011

Graphic Design

IED Florence Summer Course - Graphic Design

Course structure Duration: 75 hours Language: English Qualification for admission: No specific qualifications required Course schedule: 11th - 29th July 2011

Course objective The course aims to provide an incisive experience of Visual Communication in Italy developed in three parallel paths.

The first path is a journey into the Italian graphic design in relation to the International scene.

From its prolific past to contemporary design, our mission is understand the most significant aspects of Italian graphic design. By studying the key players in the most prolific periods, we will arrive at the 1970始s and then take a look at the following generations. We will be analyse the IT evolution and the cross-fertilisation with comparable visual languages.

This journey includes studio visits, meetings with graphic designers and analysis of case histories.

The second part aims to provide and develop on knowledge of the designer始s toolkit.

We will learn how to use professional software for drawing, image management, layout and development, and interactive presentations and animation.

Participants will be guided as they rediscovered manual skills essential to the designer始s profession: relationships with objects, materials and full-scale dimensions.

The third and final part will be a design workshop featuring input from various Italian and International graphic designers on how to strategies an up-to-date theme for developing a country like Italy. We will accent communication for promoting and improving a regionanal identity; its distinctiveness, its values, its roots its traditions, its vocation and its prospects for development.

Florence, with its history, art, charm and atmosphere offers the perfect scenario.

Professional figure Graphic Designers are visual communication specialists. They work with clients to create tools for visual communication through the use of images and visual language to convey the clientʼs message and/or values to the target audience.

To be a “graphic designer” today means not just being creative, but also having the methodological knowledge to personally design and create communication tools.

Creative ability has to be combined with a myriad of other abilities: technical know-how, a sound foundation in design history, sensitivity in understanding the social dynamics of the context in which the graphic designer works, a sharp critical eye and above all the ability to express all this knowledge in the final product.

The multidisciplinary path of the course will stimulate the knowledge of the students in order to emphasize their skills and prepare them with a new approach for professional world.

Subjects Annaluisa Franco - Elements of general semiotics Semiotics is the study of “sign” or “meaning”; the essential element of every form of communication, including graphic designerʼs creative communications.

This class adds definition of the scope and range of semiotics, and delves into the unified approach to signification. Graphic design is interpreted as a story regulated by a code, making it different from every other phenomena of communication. Semiotics helps define this code.

Tommaso Colombo www.uranusweg.com

- History of Graphics and Design From the birth of graphic design, up to the present day. The course places emphasis on the links between graphic design and social-cultural contexts. We achieve this by analyzing the evolution of visual communication trough historical and critical exploration of the primary graphic movements.

- Introduction to typography and page layout The foundation in graphic design is itʼs history, design, review ,proper use of typefaces, and the composition of text, objects and images. We pass through fundamental design methodology in designing pages finding balance between all the various elements.

- Colour A key issues for graphic design is colour use. We learn to analysis colour with colour management tools as an aid to design. We concentrated on colour systems, the physics of colour, complementary colours, perception and cultural uses of colour.

Heiko Mattern www.disign.com

- Photoshop Photo acquisition, processing and modifying of images and graphics on the Macintosh platform.

- Illustrator Vector illustration techniques for producing world class illustrations and working with fonts on the Macintosh platform.

After a short overview on the tools, the students have to execute small exercises to get familiar with the program (How to use layers, use of color, use of the text tool, pencil and brushes, how to place pictures, how to print and how to export for different media etc.).

Alessandro Capellaro www.q-bic.it - Final work “Imaginary Florence” Imagining Florence the way we never did, thanks to the means of graphics and virtual reality.

A space and a visual project for free creativeness, released from the rules of weight and matter.

A creativeness that becomes game, irony, surprise, desire; a fantasy that creates another “possible” Florence.

Coordinator Arch. Marzia Lodi After graduating in Architecture at the University of Florence, Marzia Lodi founded the Cultural Association MKN. MKN is born with the scope of creating and defining cultural spaces and atmospheres. From event production to expressions of cultural creativity, MKN constantly challenges the concepts and instruments of communication that define the multiple elements of Contemporary culture. Marzia has organized many events including the MUV Music and Digital Arts Festival. She is an active collaborator with the Festival of Creativity as Coordinator of Cultural Projects. (Arsenale Armi di communicazione di massa “Weapons Arsenal of Mass Communication” 2008 and the ID project My City, New Media, New Cities 2009) www.myspace.com/mknproject Arsenale_armi di comunicazione di massa