California University of Pennsylvania
Guidelines for New Course Proposals
University Course Syllabus
Approved: 2/4/13
Department of Art and Design
A.

Protocol
Course Name:
Course Number:
Credits:
Prerequisites:

Graphic Design Studio 2
ART 327
3
ART 127, Intro to Graphic Design, ART 119 Design 2-D
and ART 227, Graphic Design Studio 1
Maximum Class Size (face-to-face): 22
Maximum Class Size (online):
(Choose which one is appropriate or both if applicable)
B.

Objectives of the Course:
Students will be able to create designs based on movements based on the
fundamentals of design history, theory and criticism.
Students will be able to use 70%-90% of the Adobe Illustrator program.

C.

Catalog Description:
This course will provide the student with an understanding of graphic design
history, theory and criticism. The student will demonstrate this knowledge
through projects utilizing previous computer skills while developing an advanced
knowledge of Adobe Illustrator.

D.

Outline of the Course:
A.

Graphic Art to Design 1890 to 1914
1. The Art Poster
a.
Japanese Woodblock Prints
b. Fine Art Poster Design-Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Pierre
Bonnard
c.
The Poster Advertisement-Leonetto Cappiello
d. Italian Poster Design-Adolfo Hohenstein
e.
German Satire-Thomas Theodor Heine and Simplicissimus
f.
American Poster Design-Will Bradley

2.

3.

g. Glasgow School of Design
The Beginnings of Design in Europe
a.
Arts and Crafts Movement-William Morris
b. Art Nouveau-Aubrey Beardsley and Walter Crane
c.
Decorative Type in the Service of Art-Rudolf von Larisch
d. Graphic Expressionism-Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka
e.
Early Advertising and Packaging-Peter Behrens
War and Propaganda 1914 to the 1920’s
a.
The Wartime Posters (warring nations)-France, Great Britain,
Italy, Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, and United States
b. The Power of the Slogan
c.
Uncle Sam-James Montgomery Flagg

B. The Avant-Garde and the Origins of Modernism 1914 to 1940
1. Futurism and Italy
a.
Influence of the WWI
b. Design, Poetry and White Space-Mallarme and Guillame
Apollinaire
c.
Antithesis of the Museum Culture
d. II poema del vestio di latte (Poem of the Milk Suit) Marinetti
and Munari
2. Soviet Russia
a.
Influence of the WWI
b. Communism and Mass Communication
c.
The Division of Art and Labor
d
Constructivism and Suprematism-El Lissitzky and Kasimir
Malevitch
e.
The Grid and Collage
3. Germany
a.
Influence of the WWI
b. Dada Movement
c.
Design as a Social Revolution
d. Machine Illustration
e.
Bauhaus Typography and Graphics-Gropius and Moholy-Nagy
f.
Photography as a Weapon-John Heartfield and Adolf Hitler
4. The Netherlands
a.
Graphic Geometry-Piet Zwart
b. De Stijl (The Style)-Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg
c.
Dada Movement-Theo van Doesburg
d. Industrial Design-W.H. Gispen
C. National Tendencies until 1940

1.

2.

3.

Switzerland
a.
Grasset, Steinlen and Felix Vallotton
b. Words and their influence
c.
All Roads Lead to Switzerland –Herbert Matter
d. Graphis Magazine
France
a.
Paris as the Center of Cultural Life and Fashion
b. Art Deco, Cubism, and the Machine Aesthetic
c.
Eating, Drinking, Smoking and Entertainment-A.M. Cassandre
d. Parisian Graphic Design and Advertising-LeCorbusier and
Brodovitch
Britain
a.
Commercial Art Magazine-Tschichold
b. Back to Serif-Plantin, Caslon, Garamond and Baskerville
c.
Writing, Illuminating, and Lettering-Edward Johnston
d. Early British Advertising-Ashley Havinden

D. The Designer and the Art Director
1. The United States in the 1930s
a.
“America sounded so wonderful, so virile”-The Designers
Meltingpot
b. America’s Dynamic Commercialism
c.
Vogue, House and Garden, Vanity Fair and Modern LifeMehemed Fehmy Agha
d. Harper’s Bazar-Alexey Brodovitch
e.
Fortune Magazine and Illustration-Leger, Diego Rivera
and Ben Shahn
f.
American Pragmatism-Paul Rand
2. War and Propaganda 1920s to 1945
a.
Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin
b. The Documentary Role of Photography
c.
Political Art-Kathe Kollwitz (Germany) and Ben Shahn
(America)
d. The French “3C’s”-Cassandre, Colin and Carlu
e.
Photographic Manipulation
f.
Talk Kills-Abram Games
g. Advertising in Totalitarian Regimes
h. The Decline of the Poster as a Means of Advertising
3. The United States 1945 to the 1960s
a.
Thoughts on Design-Paul Rand
b. Changes in Print Technology-Relationship Between
Design and Industry

c.
d.
e.

Designers Go to the Movies- The Man With the Golden
Arm (Rand)
Esquire Magazine-Henry Wolf and George Lois
CBS-William Golden

E.

Variants of Modernism in Europe
1. Switzerland and Neue Graphik
2. Italy and Milanese Style
3. France
4. Northern Europe

F.

Psychedelia, Protest and New Techniques
1. The Late 1960s

G. Electronic Technology
1. The United States 1970s
2. The United States 1980s
3. The United States 1990s
Da.

Detailed Topical Outline of the Course: Adobe Illustrator
A. Basic Concepts
1. Opening and Closing Documents
2. Saving Documents
3. Setting Preferences
4. Using the Toolbox
5. Controlling the Window Display
6. Using the Status Bar
7. Using the Zoom Level Display
8. Using Palettes
9. Using the Info Palette
10. Using Context-Sensitive Menus
11. Using Online Help
12. Correcting Mistakes
13. Reverting to an Earlier Version of Your Document
14. Using Plug-in Modules
B. Viewing and Setting Up Documents
1. Viewing Documents
2. Using Rulers
3. Changing the Artboard Size

4.

Aligning the Artboard With the Printed Page

C. Working With Graphics and Color
1. About Vector Graphics
2. About Bitmap Images
3. About Color Models and Gamuts
4. Managing Color in Adobe Illustrator
D. Drawing
1. About Paths and Anchor Points
2. Drawing With the Pencil Tool
3. Drawing With the Pen Tool
4. Selecting Objects
5. Adjusting Path Segments
6. Drawing With the Paintbrush Tool
7. Drawing Rectangles and Ellipses
8. Drawing Polygons
9. Drawing Spirals
10. Drawing Stars
11. Tracing Artwork
E.

Moving and Aligning Objects
1. Moving and Copying Objects
2. Deleting Objects
3. Rotating
4. Stacking Objects
5. Using the Transform Palette
6. Using Guides and Grids
7. Grouping and Ungrouping Objects
8. Locking and Hiding Objects

F.

Modifying Shapes and Applying Special Effects
1. Using the Transformation Tools
2. Rotating
3. Reflecting
4. Scaling
5. Shearing
6. Distorting
7. Blending Shapes
8. About the Ink Pen Filter
9. Using the Pathfinder Commands to Modify Shapes
10. Converting Strokes to Filled Objects

11.
12.
13.

Cutting Objects
Working With Compound Paths
Working With Masks

G. Using Filters on Bitmap Images
1. About Plug-in Filters
2. Previewing and Applying Filters
3. Improving Performance With Filters
4. Choosing a Filter Effect
5. Using the Object Mosaic Filter
H. Painting
1. About Painting in Adobe Illustrator
2. Setting Paint Attributes
3. Painting Using the Toolbox Icons
4. Using the Color Palette
5. Using the Swatches Palettes
6. Painting by Dragging and Dropping
7. Using the Swatches Libraries Command
8. Modifying Colors
9. Using Filters to Modify Colors
10. Colorizing a 1-Bit Image
11. Setting Line Attributes
I.

Creating Gradients and Patterns
1. Creating and Working With Gradient Fills
2. Creating and Working With Patterns
3. Outlining Paths With Patterns

J.

Using Layers
1. Using the Layers Palette
2. Creating Layers and Setting Layer Options
3. Selecting Layers
4. Duplicating and Merging Layers
5. Moving Objects Between Layers
6. Changing the Order of Layers
7. Deleting Layers
8. Locking Layers
9. Hiding and Showing Layers
10. Displaying Layers in Artwork View
11. Choosing a Layer Color
12. Dimming Images

13.

Making Selected Layers Nonprintable

K. Using Type
1. Creating Type
2. Setting Type Attributes
3. Painting Type
4. Transforming Type
5. Changing Text Orientation
6. Modifying Letterforms as Graphic Objects
7. Working with Columns of Text
8. Formatting Columns and Paragraphs
9. editing Text
10. Using Non-U.S. English Text
L.

Using Graphs
1. Working With Graphs
2. Creating a Graph
3. Entering and Editing Graph Data
4. Adjusting Graphs
5. Selecting Graph options
6. Changing Graph Types
7. Combining Different Graph Types
8. Exporting Graph Designs to Other Documents
9. Customizing a Graph

M. Importing and Exporting Artwork
1. Using the Clipboard to Import and Export Artwork
2. Using the Drag-and-Drop Feature to Import and Export Artwork
3. Opening and Placing Artwork
4. Linking Objects to URLs for Internet Web Pages
5. Exporting Artwork
6. File Size and Image Compression
7. About Graphic File Formats
N. Printing Documents
1. Printing Artwork
2. Printing Composites
3. Setting Crop Marks
4. Setting Trim Marks
5. Printing Gradients and Color Blends
6. Improving Printer Performance
7. About the EPSF Riders File

8.
9.

Compiling Information about the Document
Annotating Objects

O. Producing Color Separations
1. About Separations
2. Calibrate Your Color Monitor
3. Checking Colors
4. Overprint Options
5. Trapping
6. Crop Marks
7. Setting Separation Options
P.

E.

Troubleshooting
1. Problems With Artwork Appearance
2. Printing Problems
3. Editing Problems
4. Importing Problems
5. Exporting Problems

Teaching Methodology:
Traditional Classroom Methodology
The course is designed to provide the student with 60 hours of studio instruction
per semester (typically four hours per week). Instruction will occur using, but
not limited to, lecture, assignments, critiques, and demonstrations.

F.

Text
Specifications for an appropriate text or supportive material will be provided by
the instructor.

G.

Assessment Activities:
Traditional Classroom Assessment
Students will be assessed using exams, quizzes, homework assignments,
individual assignments, and group assignments.
A
B
C

90 - 100%
80 - 89%
70 - 79%

D
F
H.

60 - 69%
59% and below

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities:
• Reserve the right to decide when to self-identify and when to request
accommodations.
• Will register with the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) each semester to
receive accommodations.
• Might be required to communicate with faculty for accommodations, which
specifically involve the faculty.
• Will present the OSD Accommodation Approval Notice to faculty when
requesting accommodations that involve the faculty.
Requests for approval for reasonable accommodations should be directed to the Office for
Students with Disabilities (OSD). Approved accommodations will be recorded on the
OSD Accommodation Approval notice and provided to the student. Students are expected
to adhere to OSD procedures for self-identifying, providing documentation and requesting
accommodations in a timely manner.
Contact Information:
• Location:
Azorsky Hall – Room 105
• Phone:
(724) 938-5781
• Fax:
(724) 938-4599
• Email:
osdmail@calu.edu
• Web Site:
http://www.calu.edu/current-students/studentservices/disability/index.htm
I.

Supportive Instructional Materials, e.g. library materials, web sites, etc.
No, but this class needs to be taught in a graphics design lab.
Additional Information for Course Proposals

J.

Proposed Instructors:
Graphic Designer or qualified faculty from the Department of Art and Design

K.

Rationale for the Course:

Required for Graphic Design majors to have an comprehensive understanding of
their discipline.
L.

Specialized Equipment or Supplies Needed:
No, but this class needs to be taught in a graphics design lab.

M.

Answer the following questions using complete sentences:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

N.

Does the course require additional human resources? (Please explain)
No, the course needs no additional human resources.
Does the course require additional physical resources? (Please explain)
No, the course needs no additional physical resources.
Does the course change the requirements in any particular major?
(Please explain)
Yes, it changes the requirements of the Graphic Design major.
Does the course replace an existing course in your program? (If so, list the
course)
No, this course does not replace an existing course.
How often will the course be taught?
This course will be taught once per academic year.
Does the course duplicate an existing course in another Department or
College? (If the possibility exists, indicate course discipline, number, and
name)
No, the course does not duplicate an existing course.

If the proposed course includes substantial material that is traditionally taught
in another discipline, you must request a statement of support from the
department chair that houses that discipline.
N/A

O.

Please identify if you are proposing to have this course considered as a menu
course for General Education. If yes, justify and demonstrate the reasons
based on the categories for General Education. The General Education
Committee must consider and approve the course proposal before
consideration by the UCC.
No.