Courses - Art Direction

POP 501: Ideas First In today’s world, communication projects need to be media-agnostic. That is, they need to get across a consistent message in any and all media that can possibly be employed. Like no other time in our industry, a great idea must emerge before great work can be created. It’s not about creating a great print ad or tv spot or even a great Facebook page. It’s about solving a communication problem first and then finding the appropriate media to give the idea maximum impact.

POP 503: Idea Presentation In the ancient history of advertising (a.k.a. a few years ago), ideas were presented first as “roughs,” quick marker sketches tacked or taped on a wall, then explained to the group so everyone could understand what the hell the sketches represented. Those days are pretty much gone. These days you will likely present a complete Photoshop comp digitally, or you’ll have a one-sentence statement of the idea written in an email or showcased in a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation. This will take you through a whole pile of presentation formats. At the same time you’ll get the fundamentals of InDesign and Keynote, as well as iWeb for basic web design.

POP 504: Video Storytelling The ubiquity of the video camera and the global stage of YouTube have given the power of the moving image to the masses. Tell a story with motion, sound and time.

POP 505: Digital Imaging A comprehensive introduction to two of the tools you’ll need to bring your ideas to life: the digital camera and Adobe Photoshop. You’ll learn how to put this tag team to work for you.

POP 508: Thinking Strategically Understanding the importance of strategic thinking and how it fuels the creative process. In this course, you’ll learn how to make all creative ideas smart and strategically sound. You’ll learn the process of a strategic creative. You’ll learn how to approach the creative research process. You’ll learn how to uncover “insights” that will lead to writing a creative strategy statement. You’ll learn to formulate an ideal communications strategy. You’ll learn about the creative brief. And ultimately, you’ll develop solutions as a creative team based on your own strategies.

POP 502: Experiments in Digital Photography Sculpt light. Re-color the world. Magnify. Reduce. Blur. Sharpen. Capture. Release. Record a decisive moment or make one. This explores techniques in using the digital camera as a tool in visual experimentation.

POP 510: Intermediate Photoshop The mystery that is Photoshop reveals itself as you dig deeper into its capabilities and features.

POP 511: Type Journey An introduction to the art of typography. You’ll get a solid foundation in the techniques of type design as well as the history behind the type faces and the times that created them. This course is taught in conjunction with Vector Imaging POP 513.

POP 512: Short & Sweet Headlines, web banners, outdoor boards, tag lines, and Twitter posts all require precision and a certain turn of phrase. You’ll learn to be a writer of few words that carry a big message.

POP 513: Vector Imaging Adobe Illustrator, one of the three main programs of Adobe Creative Suite, is the primary application for illustrating, creating logos, designing with type, and creating layouts in media that range from the web to traditional media like billboards and print ads. Illustrator is a basic tool for every designer and art director, so it is essential to have skills in this program. As this will go further into vector imaging as it applies to the web, an introduction to Flash in this is required, as well.

POP 515: Everything is Media You’ll learn how to integrate all media––old and new, offline and online, what’s coming down the line––into the ideal conduit for your branded message. You’ll explore applications of the next technological blockbusters: touch screen, voice and face recognition, telepresence. What’s next? Teleportation?

POP 517: User Experience The science of organization of information. You’ll learn how to organize the patterns inherent in data, to make clarity out of chaos. Create the structure or road map that allows the user to find the information they are seeking. An exploration of user experience with every touch of the brand’s campaign.

POP 518: Digital Studio Working in the highly digital photo studio. How to calibrate monitors, how to use the computer in a shoot, capture issues, address storage issues. Presentation considerations. Using digital capture in reflective and transparent surfaces. How to and photograph food. Creating rawness--or not. Knowing when to use flash on camera, when to bounce the light, or when to forget the flash.

POP 519: Visual Impact Visual communication transcends language and cultural barriers like nothing else. Learn how to create symbols that interact powerfully with contradictory meanings. Create unforgettable visuals.

POP 520: Interactive Media Production has emerged as the digital skill most desired by ad agencies. This introduces vector animation and sync to sound techniques. Digital illustration, photo manipulation, and desk-top publishing will be integrated into complex multimedia projects.

POP 521: The Voice of Type Type is the “voice”of the written word. Learn to “cast” the most effective voice for your message in the exploration of how type design is used to enhance a message and elicit an emotional response.

POP 522: Interactive Concepting Students will get a crash course in digital wizardry. They’ll learn how to concept for interactive projects while learning about the medium on the way to the concept. Students will learn how to come up with interactive ideas, how to pitch those ideas to a client, and how to take the idea into production. The course will cover how to design for the web, how to think about animations, learn what makes up a digital campaign, and how to get your campaign into everyone’s inbox.

POP 526: Motion Graphics This level is all about action scripting. Get this into your system and you’re ready to do some flashy Flash. An introduction of Adobe Fireworks.

POP 527: Digital Campaigns This course will show you how an idea can be expressed across multiple online platforms in a concerted effort to reach and connect with users, regardless of digital media.

POP 528: Gaming Concepts “Video” games gross more revenue than all the Hollywood movies combined. This is an audience that can not be ignored in the quest to get your message across. Games are big. Really big.

POP 531: Social Media This course will introduce students to the use of social media for the purposes of brand communication and promotion. Beyond the buzzwords and the hype, the fact is that social media platforms are nothing but venues for communication. Some of these conversations take place between consumers and brands. How can marketers use social media to better serve their customers? How can brands achieve authentic relationships with consumers and leverage the power of these connections for the benefit of all participants?

POP 533: Final Cut Pro Suite Advanced topics in video editing using Final Cut Pro with an emphasis on the integration of other FCP Suite software into the post production workflows (Software studied includes LiveType, Motion, and Compressor.) Advanced topics include editing for multiple cameras, image compositing, and chroma key production techniques. You’ll use Final Cut Pro to produce a video autobiography.

POP 534: The Brand Called You You are a brand. But what makes You...you? It’s every bad trait you inherited from your forebears, your quirks, your likes, your dislikes, what you eat, what you drink, what you buy, what you save, what you throw away, your beliefs, your secrets, your first words to your last words. It’s what you are and what you want to be. It’s the most fun you’ll ever have because it’s all about Y-O-U. You’ll also shed a few tears because...it’s all about you.

POP 535: Product Creation As the media landscape has “morphed,” so has the role of the ad agency. Today’s leading shops not only promote products, they come up with product ideas and then develop them. This is a primer on the process.

POP 537: It’s a Mobile World You’ve seen the future and it’s in your pocket or your purse. It’s always on and always there as consumers move through their day and their night––in-store, out-of-home, on-air, or in-print. You will explore ways to tap the enormous power of mobile marketing.

POP 538: Head to Head It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, so if you want to be the Top Dog, you’ll enter your work in all the student work competitions: Cannes, CLIO, D&AD, One Show, or Whatever, and win a nice shiny statue to help you get noticed at hiring time.

POP 540: Portfolio Development This is it. This is your last chance, the walk off the end of the plank, the last word, the final curtain, the goodbye kiss, now or never...(you supply your favorite ending). Make it a good one. It’s your life all wrapped up for show and tell and hire.

POP 541: Self Promotion Using the online publishing resources of BLURB, you’ll design one or more books that showcase your work. You learn how to use Blurb templates as well as importing your own design. This will review other online publishing resources, as well. You’ll use a variety of media, including online, to promote you and your work. You’ll also produce a final website.

INT 701: Internship You’ll spend this quarter as a participating creative in some good agency somewhere in the world. You’ll be expected to perform on the same level as the other creatives, pulling all-nighters, meeting impossible deadlines while producing kick-ass work.

You may even have ideas bought by the client, or perhaps be responsible for bringing business to the agency. Our interns have done it before. But more than anything, you’ll find out why you have to be nuts to be in this business. (And you would not miss it for anything.)