Northeastern University Online

College of Professional Studies

Course Syllabus

Digital Media; DGM6105 Visual Communication Foundation

Fall 2017 CPS Quarter, full-term: 12 weeks

Dates: September 18 – December 16, 2017

CRN: 70001

Course Format: Blended

Mondays: 5:40-7:40, Ryder 403

Instructor: Mary Sherman

Contact Information: phone: 617.413.0967 (Between 10 am – 10 pm)

m.sherman@northeastern.edu; msherman@transculturalexchange.org (Phone calls

preferred.) Office Hours in 405 Ryder: Mondays by appointment.

For questions about the program, please contact Cyndi Baron at

c.baron@northeastern.edu.

Suggested Textbook (Not required): Art Fundamentals: Theory and Practice by

Ocvirk/Stinson/Wigg/Bone, published by McGraw Hill, ISBN-10: 0072878711

Additional Suggested Readings:

Arnheim, Rudolph, "Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative

Eye," Berkeley, CA: U. of California Press, 1974.; Berger, Arthur Asa, "Seeing is

Believing: An Introduction to Visual Communication," 2nd ed. Mountain View, CA:

Mayfield Publishing Company, 1998.

Required Materials

Pad of 14”x17” paper

Black construction paper, black acrylic paint (gouache), ink, markers Glue: white,

rubber cement or glue stickOptional: tracing padpencils: 4b-6b, 4h and 8h and an

ebony pencil; pencilsharpener vine and compressed charcoalerasers: pink pearl and

kneadedscissors or mat knife (compass)fine and broad line markers (includingblack)

A ruler.

Course Prerequisites: None.

Course Description

DGM6105 Visual Communication Foundations is an introductory

Blended/lecture/studio course designed to provide the students with the principles

of design and to introduce them to the basic terminology and concepts that

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underlie all the visual arts. Students will also be practicing hands-on studio skills

that are the foundation of any design profession. Students also will consider how

the arts grow out of and respond to particular cultural contexts and ideas.

Illustrations, lectures, demonstrations, discussions and the examination of actual

works will provide the students with examples of the ways in which other artists

have dealt with the same issues with which they will be challenged. Above all, we

will be getting closer to understanding the visual language with which artists use to

communicate ideas. Student projects focus on visual problem solving with an

emphasis on the understanding of context, content, and the development of

original forms. Fundamentals covered include visual perception, composition,

spatial relationships, color, form, repetition, representation, structure, abstraction,

figure-ground relationships etc.

Classes will consist of critique and discussion of students’ work, and discussions of

lecture topics. Lectures and required vocabulary will be posted online (Blackboard).

Students should expect to spend at least 6-8 a week on outside class work not

including listening to lectures.

Course Learning Outcomes

By actively participating and satisfactorily completing all the assignments students

will have the opportunity to

• Define and utilize the principles of design to create and critique art works

• Explain the basic terminology and concepts that underlie all the visual arts

• Demonstrate various technical skills, such as how to work with different media and

to render objects in charcoal, pencil and Photoshop and

• Demonstrate the ability to think both critically and visually

• Demonstrate the ability to organize visual elements into compelling compositions

In addition, students will have the opportunity to produce a portfolio of work that

demonstrates their understanding of the concepts learned in the class. (See: “The

basis of your grade”.)

Course Methodology

Each class will begin with a critique of the students’ homework, followed by a

discussion (and examples when appropriate) of the issues to be dealt with that

week and the assigning of homework for the following week.

Each week, you will be expected to:

1.Review the week's learning objectives.

2. Complete all lecture materials for the week.

3. Participate in the Discussion Board.

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4. Complete and submit all assignments and tests by their due dates. 5. Keep an

on-going sketchbook/diary

The bulk of your homework will be your ‘hands-on” assignments, which you should

allow 4-5 hours to complete and another 1-2 hours for the online review of the

week’s vocabulary, concepts and participation in the discussion board.

Participation/Discussion Board

Each week’s lecture and assignment is available online. You will need to read the

lecture and do the assignments prior to coming to class in order to be prepared to

both discuss the issues covered and have the necessary vocabulary for critiquing

your projects. The discussion board is optional.

Note: This is a blended course. It is set up this way so that the lecture portion of the

class is primarily online. In this way, the bulk of the class time is devoted to hands-

on work and critiques. It is therefore crucial that the lectures are looked at prior to

each class. Your weekly quizzes and final exams will be based on this content, which

will account for 40% of your grade.

Communication/Submission of Work

In the Assignments and Lecture folders, click on the View/Complete Assignment link

to view each assignment for the upcoming class. As noted above, by Saturday you

should email me and post on the class blog your progress and any concerns. I am

available by phone or email to discuss anything you wish to ask me about. I will

answer within 24 hours/48 hours on the weekends..

In addition, you will need to prepare a report on a historical figure in the history of

design. (I will assign each of you a designer to research.)

Attendance Policy/TardinessStudents are expected to attend all classes, be on time

and stay for the duration of the class. Any unexcused absences or excessive

tardiness will result in a grade deduction at the discretion of the instructor. In the

event of legitimate and unavoidable situations, such as personal illness, urgent

family or work-related issues, students should reach out to the instructor before

class.

Grading/Evaluation Standards

1. Class room attendance: Attendance is mandatory. 2 unexcused absences result in

a failure.

2. The serious completion of every assignment, including your homework. Not

doing your homework is equal to missing a class. It is not acceptable.

3. The ability to give and receive constructive criticism as evidenced by your

classroom critique participation.

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4. The quality of your final portfolio, which needs to include demonstrative proof

that you can accurately render what you see, work in a variety of media and create

compelling compositions.

5. Quizzes and final exam.

40% of your grade is based on the quality your studio work as demonstrated by

your portfolio (see below); 40% on your final and tests (demonstrating your grasp

of the course’s concepts and vocabulary). The remaining 20% is based on your

online and in-class classroom participation, including your online

report/presentation on a historical figure in the world of design.

Your portfolio should include:

1. a piece from the first week (of your choosing) – Positive/Negative Space Exercise

2. Line exercise

3. Grid drawing

4. Pencil drawing (Still Life)

5. Charcoal drawing (Still life)

6. Color/Texture exercise (Photoshop Collage)

7. Research Presentation

Class Schedule / Topical Outline

(Following page.)

All In-class Lectures meet in the classroom on Mondays.

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Academic Integrity Policy

The University views academic dishonesty as one of the most serious offenses that a

student can commit while in college and imposes appropriate punitive sanctions on

violators. Here are some examples of academic dishonesty. While this is not an all-

inclusive list, we hope this will help you to understand some of the things

instructors look for. The following is excerpted from the University’s policy on

academic integrity; the complete policy is available in the Student Handbook. The

Student Handbook is available on the CPS Student Resources page > Policies and

Forms.

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Cheating – intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials,

information or study aids in an academic exercise

Fabrication – intentional and unauthorized falsification, misrepresentation, or

invention of any data, or citation in an academic exercise

Plagiarism – intentionally representing the words, ideas, or data of another as one’s

own in any academic exercise without providing proper citation.

Unauthorized collaboration – instances when students submit individual academic

works that are substantially similar to one another; while several students may have

the same source material, the analysis, interpretation, and reporting of the data

must be each individual’s independent work.

Participation in academically dishonest activities – any action taken by a student

with the intent of gaining an unfair advantage . Facilitating academic dishonesty –

intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to violate any provision of this

policy

For more information on Academic Integrity, including examples, please refer to the

Student Handbook, pages 9-11.

Northeastern University Online Policies and Procedures

For comprehensive information please go to http://www.cps.neu.edu/online/

Northeastern University Online Copyright Statement

Northeastern University Online is a registered trademark of Northeastern University.

College of Professional Studies Policies and Procedures For comprehensive information, please see the Registrar University Catalogs page as well as the

Student Resources page of the Northeastern University College of Professional Studies website.

Student Accommodations The College of Professional Studies is committed to providing equitable access to learning

opportunities to students with documented disabilities (e.g. mental health, attentional, learning,

chronic health, sensory, or physical). To ensure access to this class, and program, please contact The

Disability Resource Center ( http://www.northeastern.edu/drc/) to engage in a confidential

conversation about the process for requesting reasonable accommodations in the classroom and

clinical or lab settings. Accommodations are not provided retroactively so students are encouraged

to register with the Disability Resource Center (DRC) as soon as they begin their program. The

College of Professional Studies encourages students to access all resources available through the

DRC for consistent support.

End-of-Course Evaluation Surveys Your feedback regarding your educational experience in this class is very important to the College of

Professional Studies. Your comments will make a difference in the future planning and presentation

of our curriculum.

At the end of this class, please take the time to complete the evaluation survey at the NEU

EvaluationKit website . Your survey responses are completely confidential. Surveys will be open for

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the last two weeks of the class. An email will be sent to your HuskyMail account notifying you when

surveys are available.

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