Overview + Content

In this Capstone, we are wrapping up your four-year undergraduate training in Visual Communication Design.

As a VCD major, you've learned ‘best practices’ in two-dimensional design; typography; color theory; logo design; brand design; the basics of mass-production in print; design histories and theories; the fundamentals and principles of time-based media (including sound);  interactivity; user experience design (UX); design research methodology; user interface design (UI); and how to design services (service design).

In this final course, you'll start by reflecting on your interests, determine how you want to engage with them, and use your design skills (listed above!) to make something great. You'll use your design research methods to show user experiences, and design responses to your findings.

You'll share your ideas and show your progress in various professional settings and receive feedback from both internal and external audiences. An ideal capstone project will reflect the depth and breadth of your learning by applying it to something that is deeply meaningful to you. Remember: your capstone work will be the core of your senior show.

New this term! We will pair you in small groups with an Alumni Mentor. This person will (ideally) have ties to your project topic or approach. You will meet with them several times throughout the semester to get feedback on your project from a professional perspective.

Instructors

Aaron Ganci (HR 150) and Helen Sanematsu (HR 152)

Best contact: Via Canvas Inbox

Structure + Process

This class meets for 5 hours each week. Project expectations and milestones are articulated in the Assignments folder and the Course Schedule (below). And please note: this is all on YOU. Utilize class time effectively: meet with the instructor(s), initiate a critique of your work, pilot your solutions to try them out, ask questions, and work smart. Additional activities (lectures, tutorials, additional critiques, etc.) may be added to class sessions at your professor's discretion. You are expected to work 9-plus hours outside of class per week to achieve the class goals. You'll probably find this won't be nearly enough. So make sure you prepare for the time it takes (e.g. reduce or rearrange your schedules for work, entertainment, friends and family time, etc.)  to make you and your work really shine. You (YOU!) determine the structure and outcomes of your capstone experience.

In the first weeks of the semester, we will go through a process that will help you define your project and outcomes. We break the semester into quarters:

• 🔍Quarter 1 (8 January–21 February): Project definition and the first round of designs (culminates in an internal critique)
• 🧑‍🏫Internal Presentation (26 +  28 February)
• 🧑🏻‍🎨 Quarter 2 (4–27 March): Project/Solution Refinement (culminates in an 'external' critique with visiting reviewers)
• 🤌🏿 Quarter 3 (3–17 April): Revise/Produce (culminates in final documentation)
• 🌝 **Eclipse** 8 April 
• 💻 External Presentation (10, 15, 17 April)
• 💼 Quarter 4 (17–29 April): Package, Present, Portfolio (culminates in the senior exhibition).
• 🖼️ Bonus Round (1–8 May): Install Exhibition
• 🎓 Look/See Capstone Exhibition (8 May)

Learning Outcomes

Through this course, students will :

1. Define a problem context area that is both urgent and personal.
2. Combine visual communication and human-centered research methods together to develop a unique and appropriate research plan.
3. Use design industry terminology knowledgeably.
4. Think critically about current and emerging trends in visual communication design fields.
5. Evaluate the success of a design solution.
6. Translate a complex, messy research and design process into a succinct narrative.

Grading and Projects

We (Profs Sanematsu and Ganci a.k.a. Helen and Aaron) strongly believe that traditional letter grades hinder creativity and place too much emphasis on task completion rather than quality work and creative investigation. With this in mind, your grade will be focused on your demonstrated learning.

That said--the primary mode of feedback will be through a series of formal critiques at the end of each quarter. In between, you'll use your time in class to think, sketch, design, and get strategic and design guidance from us (Aaron and Helen) along the way. 

At the end of the semester, you'll complete a self-reflection that will facilitate a one-on-one discussion with your professors.  At that meeting, we'll discuss what grade we all believe is appropriate. With this in mind, expectations for deliverables will always be clearly communicated and your participation in those activities will be considered when determining your grade. Feedback from Helen, Aaron, your alumni mentor, and your peers will be provided in both structured (rubrics) and unstructured (critique) venues throughout the semester.

There are a series of deliverables throughout the semester that will counted in a pass/fail way. These include deliverables associated with your capstone project, the exhibition, and professional preparation material. All of these are documented in the Assignments tab.

Big fat heads up: Make sure you have backups 

Losing your computer (either from a software crash, hardware failure, theft, or otherwise) is an inevitability. Embrace this and plan for it: have a plan to backup your computer. We recommend having a two-pronged backup strategy. You should have one hard backup on an external hard drive somewhere. If you use a Mac, make sure Time Machine is connected and use it regularly. The other backup should be remote. You could use iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. or use a remote backup service like Backblaze.

Engagement Policy

Your level of engagement inevitably affects the quality of your work. There is no "attendance" policy for this class, but there is an "engagement" policy which will affect your final grade for the semester. You are expected to:

• Be on time
• Be  prepared to show your work on time for crits and discussions
• Make things thoughtfully and intentionally, bringing your *best game* 
• Meet all deadlines for handing in work and process
• Actively participate in critiques and discussions
• Demonstrate genuine curiosity about making things, both yours and your classmates
• Care about yourself & your work, your classmates and your work, this class, and your profession

This policy is adapted from a version by Meena Khalili via Mitch Goldstein (source)

Approach

There are a few principles that should define our collective approach this semester.

Be present, not perfect

"Design, as a problem-solving activity, can never, by definition, yield one right answer: it will always produce an infinite number of answers, some 'righter' and some 'wronger.' The 'rightness' of any design solution will depend on the meaning which we invest the arrangement [of design elements]."
-Victor Papanek, Design for the Real World, 1971

Outside of a few issues (spelling, craft, promptness), we will never ask you to be perfect in this class. Your daily goal should be to make your best effort, learn from your mistakes, and continuously improve (even if by very small amounts). Rather than executing perfect solutions, focus on being present and attentive in class, during critique, and in discussions and we promise that you will be a much better designer by the end of the semester.

Reevaluate your expectations for critique

Professor Mitch Goldstein from the Rochester Institute of Technology has put together a very useful guide to critique. Please review it prior to any critique to refresh your memory on the purpose of critique. One of the best quotes from his guide:

"You should walk away from getting a crit feeling empowered and excited to make the work better, not defeated and miserable from the experience. It is up to both the givers and the receivers of the critique to make this happen." 

How to Crit Guide (Links to an external site.)

Be honest and sincere

To do our best work together, we need to have a good working relationship. Trust is the cornerstone. Do your best, and if you fall short, be humble and ready to learn. If you need to miss class for any reason, just tell us. We've heard it all and that's okay.

Honesty also works both ways. If something is not going as you would like in this class, tell one or both of us. We are ready to talk about it and work through it.