Course Objectives

• This course enables students to gain broad-based knowledge on a variety of design communications disciplines, including advertising, branding, visual identity, packaging and design management.
• Develops students conceptual and idea generation abilities to produce innovative and effective communication products through print and electronics mediums.
• The design management module arms the students with a serious understanding of business management thinking and deployment of business strategies in the competitive marketplace.

Course Outcomes

After completion of the course students will be able to:

CO1.   Create effective print and digital communications, and user experiences through the application of theories, tools and best practices in the field.

CO2.   Exhibit a thoughtful application of the elements and principles of visual design, colour theory, information hierarchy and typography to successfully communicate narratives, concepts, emotions and identities across a variety of media.

CO3.   Demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills for project planning, design, and creation.

CO & PO Mapping

Course Syllabus

Module - I

Communication and Graphics

• Principle and theory of Design and Graphics
• Layout: Concepts and Types
• Working with Colour: Theory of Colours
• Pixel and Resolution : Vector and Bitmap Graphics

Module - II

Digital Images

• Working with Images
• File Formats of Images
• Editing Images, Morphing and Manipulation
• Creating Special Effects

Module - III

Working with Software for Visual Imaging

• Adobe Photoshop
• Corel Draw
• Adobe InDesign
• Using Image for Motion and Video Graphics

Module - IV

Production

• Book Cover
• Posters
• Tabloid

Session Plan

Session 1

Understand the ten basic design principles: Balance, Proximity, Alignment, Visual Hierarchy, Repetition, Contrast, Colour, Negative Space, Typography, Rules.

PDF: Principle-of-Design

Session 2

Concepts and types of layout: Mondrian Layout, Circus Layout, Multipanel Layout, Silhouette Layout, Big-Type Layout, Alphabet-Inspired Layout.

PDF: Layout principle

Session 3

The fundamentals of understanding colour theory, Understand Pixels, Resolution, Differences between bitmap and vector.

Video File: Color Theory

PDF: Vector-and-Bitmap-Graphics

Session 4

Working with Images, File Formats of Images, Editing Images, Morphing and Manipulation, Creating Special Effects.

Session 5

Introduction to Adobe Photoshop: Tools, Control Panels, Opening New Files, Saving Files, Applications Bar, Options Bar, Creating and Viewing a New Document, Setting Preferences, Resizing & Cropping Images, Adjusting Canvas Size and Canvas Rotation.

Video File: Introduction to Adobe Photoshop

Session 6

Practice with Adobe Photoshop: Tools, Control Panels, Opening New Files, Saving Files, Applications Bar, Options Bar, Creating and Viewing a New Document, Setting Preferences, Resizing & Cropping Images, Adjusting Canvas Size and Canvas Rotation.

Session 7

Practice with Adobe Photoshop: Tools, Control Panels, Opening New Files, Saving Files, Applications Bar, Options Bar, Creating and Viewing a New Document, Setting Preferences, Resizing & Cropping Images, Adjusting Canvas Size and Canvas Rotation.

Session 8

Working with Basic Selections, Selecting With the Elliptical Marquee Tool, Using the Magic Wand and Free Transform Tool, Selecting with the Regular and Polygonal Lasso Tools, Combining Selections, Using the Magnetic Lasso Tool, Using the Quick Selection Tool and Refine Edge.

Video File: Basic Selection Tools

Session 9

Practice with Basic Selections, Selecting With the Elliptical Marquee Tool, Using the Magic Wand and Free Transform Tool, Selecting with the Regular and Polygonal Lasso Tools, Combining Selections, Using the Magnetic Lasso Tool, Using the Quick Selection Tool and Refine Edge.

Session 10

Getting Started With Layers, Understanding the Background Layer, Creating, Selecting, Deleting Layers, Locking and Merging Layers, Introduction to Layer Style, Blending Modes, Opacity and Fill

Video File: Getting Started With Layers

Session 11

Practice with Layers, Understanding the Background Layer, Creating, Selecting, Deleting Layers, Locking and Merging Layers, Introduction to Layer Style, Blending Modes, Opacity and Fill

Session 12

Practice with Layers, Understanding the Background Layer, Creating, Selecting, Deleting Layers, Locking and Merging Layers, Introduction to Layer Style, Blending Modes, Opacity and Fill

Session 13

Using the Brush Tool, Creating and Working with Brushes, Using the Pencil and Eraser Tools, Photo Retouching, The Red Eye Tool, The Clone Stamp Tool, The Patch Tool, The Healing Brush Tool, The Spot Healing Brush Tool.

Video File:Using the Brush Tool

Session 14

Practice with Brush Tool, Creating and Working with Brushes, Using the Pencil and Eraser Tools, Photo Retouching, The Red Eye Tool, The Clone Stamp Tool, The Patch Tool, The Healing Brush Tool, The Spot Healing Brush Tool.

Session 15

Practice with Brush Tool, Creating and Working with Brushes, Using the Pencil and Eraser Tools, Photo Retouching, The Red Eye Tool, The Clone Stamp Tool, The Patch Tool, The Healing Brush Tool, The Spot Healing Brush Tool.

Session 16

Working with the Pen Tool, Understanding Paths, Creating Straight & Curved Paths, Creating a Clipping Path, Creating Special Effects, Getting Started with Photoshop Filters, Smart Filters.

Video File: Working with the Pen Tool

Session 17

Practice with the Pen Tool, Understanding Paths, Creating Straight & Curved Paths, Creating a Clipping Path, Creating Special Effects, Getting Started with Photoshop Filters, Smart Filters.

Session 18

Practice with the Pen Tool, Understanding Paths, Creating Straight & Curved Paths, Creating a Clipping Path, Creating Special Effects, Getting Started with Photoshop Filters, Smart Filters.

Session 19

Introduction to InDesign Tools, The Document Window, Using Guides, Viewing Modes, Working with Panels, The Tools Panel, Managing Panels, Working with the Control Panel, Saving your Workspace.

Video File: Introduction to InDesign Tools

Session 20

Practice with InDesign Tools, The Document Window, Using Guides, Viewing Modes, Working with Panels, The Tools Panel, Managing Panels, Working with the Control Panel, Saving your Workspace.

Session 21

Applying Paragraph Styles, Applying Character Styles, Applying Object Styles, Working with Graphics, Placing Graphics, Positioning Graphics within a Frame, Applying Text Wrap, Understanding Layers, Applying Effects.

Video File: Applying Paragraph Styles

Session 22

Practice with Paragraph Styles, Applying Character Styles, Applying Object Styles, Working with Graphics, Placing Graphics, Positioning Graphics within a Frame, Applying Text Wrap, Understanding Layers, Applying Effects.

Session 23

Building Documents with Master Pages, Creating Custom Page Sizes, Creating a New Custom-sized Document, Creating and Formatting Master Pages, Adding Automatic Page Numbering, Adding Layout Pages, Adding Images and Text to the Master Frames, Applying Master Pages to Multiple Pages.

Video File: Master Pages

Session 24

Practice with Building Documents with Master Pages, Creating Custom Page Sizes, Creating a New Custom-sized Document, Creating and Formatting Master Pages, Adding Automatic Page Numbering, Adding Layout Pages, Adding Images and Text to the Master Frames, Applying Master Pages to Multiple Pages.

Session 25

Working with Text and Type, Adding Text to your Document, Creating a Text Frame, Changing Character Attributes, Changing Font and Type Styles, Adjusting Size, Adjusting Line Spacing, Adjusting Character Spacing.

Session 26

Practice with Text and Type, Adding Text to your Document, Creating a Text Frame, Changing Character Attributes, Changing Font and Type Styles, Adjusting Size, Adjusting Line Spacing, Adjusting Character Spacing.

Session 27

Checking and correcting spelling, Finding and changing text and text attributes, Adding words to the dictionary, Checking spelling as you type, Automatically correcting spelling, Drag-and-drop text editing.

.

Video File: Checking and correcting spelling

Session 28

Practice with Checking and correcting spelling, Finding and changing text and text attributes, Adding words to the dictionary, Checking spelling as you type, Automatically correcting spelling, Drag-and-drop text editing.

Session 29

Text frame options, Adjusting text inset, Vertically aligning text, Importing text, Using styles to format text, Creating a headline and Applying a style, Type on a path, Importing text from Microsoft word.

.

Session 30

Practice with Text frame options, Adjusting text inset, Vertically aligning text, Importing text, Using styles to format text, Creating a headline and Applying a style, Type on a path, Importing text from Microsoft word.

.

Session 31

Working with tables, Creating new tables, Copying and pasting table information, Converting text to a table and a table to text, Importing a table.

.

Video File: Working With Tables

Session 32

Practice with tables, Creating new tables, Copying and pasting table information, Converting text to a table and a table to text, Importing a table.

.

Session 33

Changing Row Height, Editing the Border, Formatting Rows and Columns, Formatting Cells and Text, Resetting the Cell Styles within a Table, Text Alignment and Inset within a Cell, Formatting Text within a Cell and saving Paragraph Styles, Merging Cells, Defining a Header Cell, Setting Column and Row Dimensions, Setting a Fixed Row Height, Setting Column width.

.

Session 34

Practice with Changing Row Height, Editing the Border, Formatting Rows and Columns, Formatting Cells and Text, Resetting the Cell Styles within a Table, Text Alignment and Inset within a Cell, Formatting Text within a Cell and saving Paragraph Styles, Merging Cells, Defining a Header Cell, Setting Column and Row Dimensions, Setting a Fixed Row Height, Setting Column width.

.

Session 35

Using Effects, Creative Effects, Applying Opacity to Objects, Drop Shadow, Adjusting Effects for Objects, Bevel and Emboss, Object Styles with Effects, Basic Feather, The Gradient Feather Tool, Converting Text to a Path, Applying Blending Modes to Objects,  Applying an Alpha Channel Selection, Applying a Path Selection.

.

Session 36

Practice with Using Effects, Creative Effects, Applying Opacity to Objects, Drop Shadow, Adjusting Effects for Objects, Bevel and Emboss, Object Styles with Effects, Basic Feather, The Gradient Feather Tool, Converting Text to a Path, Applying Blending Modes to Objects,  Applying an Alpha Channel Selection, Applying a Path Selection.

.

Session 37

Understanding the Interface, Introduction to CorelDraw Tools, Using rulers, grids and guidelines. Navigating a multi-page document, Master Layer and Page Numbering, Understanding File Formats, Starting with a template.

.

Video File: Introduction to CorelDraw Tools

Session 38

Practice with the Interface, Introduction to CorelDraw Tools, Using rulers, grids and guidelines. Navigating a multi-page document, Master Layer and Page Numbering, Understanding File Formats, Starting with a template.

.

Session 39

Understanding the tools, Using the Pick Tool, Zoom Tool and Hand Tool, Creating a basic shape, Interactive Drop Shadow, Interactive Contour, The Blend Tool, The Distort Tool, The Envelope Tool, The Extrude Tool, Interactive Transparency, The Eyedropper Tool.

.

Session 40

Practice with the tools, Using the Pick Tool, Zoom Tool and Hand Tool, Creating a basic shape, Interactive Drop Shadow, Interactive Contour, The Blend Tool, The Distort Tool, The Envelope Tool, The Extrude Tool, Interactive Transparency, The Eyedropper Tool.

.

Session 41

Understanding Color, Color Palettes, Working with object, Weld, Trim and Intersect, Grouping and Ungrouping, Aligning Objects, Setting the order, Understanding Font Types, Working with bitmaps, Cropping and resizing images. Import/Export Overview,  Export a File.

.

Video File: Creating a Color Palette

Session 42

Practice with Color, Color Palettes, Working with object, Weld, Trim and Intersect, Grouping and Ungrouping, Aligning Objects, Setting the order, Understanding Font Types, Working with bitmaps, Cropping and resizing images. Import/Export Overview,  Export a File.

.

Session 43

Book Cover: Principles of pairing fonts, Design tips for fiction and non-fiction book cover, Font effect and customization

.

Session 44

Practice with Book Cover: Principles of pairing fonts, Design tips for fiction and non-fiction book cover, Font effect and customization

.

Session 45

Posters: Making the dou tone effect, Adjusting the RGB curves, Typographic poster design guide.

.

Session 46

Practice with Posters: Making the dou tone effect, Adjusting the RGB curves, Typographic poster design guide.

.

Session 47

Tabloid: Sketch it out, Use Eye-catching headlines, Allow face tender article to modify beneath the fold, Divide Tabloid into sections, Add plateau of contents.

.

Session 48

Practice with Tabloid: Sketch it out, Use Eye-catching headlines, Allow face tender article to modify beneath the fold, Divide Tabloid into sections, Add plateau of contents.

.

Case Studies

Case Studies