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Graphic Design Style
Define what graphic design is and the
role of graphic designers in contemporary Australian culture
Outline graphic design style and its application
Discuss the ethos of today's successful graphic designer
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Origins of Communication
Examine the origins of communications
Look at the early alphabets and discuss the growth from pictographs to letter forms
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Typography
Define typography
Trace the history of typography and its development from scribe to graphic artist
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Font Families
Look at the two major font families (Serif and Sans Serif) and understand their characteristics and applications
Define the 8 font categories:
Old Style
Modern
Slab Serif
Sans Serif
Script
Decorative
Web
Symbols
Examine font usage in modern graphic design
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True Type, Type 1 and Open Type Formats
Outline true type and type 1 fonts and their uses
Discuss the benefits of each file format
Type Fundamentals
Define and apply through examples, a number of commonly used typographic techniques. These include:
Text alignment
Typeface weights
Porportional or monospaced
Body vs Display
Leading or Line Spacing
Kerning or Tracking
Paragraph Spacing
Indents and Tabs
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Choosing an Appropriate Typeface
Discuss the theory behind different typefaces - their emotional impact, communicative abilities and tone.
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Typographic Rules
Maintaining a type hierarchy and experimenting with fonts.
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Type-fitting Tricks
Apply typefitting tricks to help increase space and decrease verbiage.
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Typographic Terms
A glossary of commonly used typographic terms
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Grammar and Style Glossary
A detailed and helpful mini-dictionary of useful grammatical and style rules.
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Paper
Examine the birth of paper making and its influence on society.
Look at paper-making methods including recycled paper
Define printing stock and its characteristics.
Outline paper budgetary concerns.
Understand paper sizes.
Glossary of common paper terms.
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Design Principles
Outline the design process
Discuss principles that are the foundation to effective graphic design
Examine a typical design project sheet
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The Message
Discuss the purpose of a graphic design project - the message.
Outline the audience and how to tailor your communication.
Prepare and edit text for a target market.
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Page Layout Theory
Consider the Gutenbern Diagram and its application in page layout theory.
Look at the black-white ratio.
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Layout Devices
Outline and examine the four C's of design:
Contrast
Continuity
Connection
Closeness
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Look at page layout devices including:
Pull quotes
Columns
Headlines
Visual hierarchy
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Colour
Investigate colour usage in a variety of media with particular focus on advertising, corporate identity, the Internet and presentations.
Define the CMYK and RGB colour models
Discuss Pantone colours and discuss their usage.
Outline complimentary colours and their "emotional" impact.
Colour reproduction - the pitfalls
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Graphics
Define graphics usage - their role and power.
Use symbols as pointers and focus pullers
Examine techniques of effective graphic placement
Use graphics to compliment text and vice versa
Control clipart and how to use it to the designer's advantage
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Graphic Design with a Corporate Focus
Examine how to prepare corporate documents with graphic design punch.
Define Infographics and their effective use to highlight figures.
Examine effective presentation techniques
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The Internet
Discuss the Internet and its role as a carrier of advertising, information and marketing
Examine how to make the most of the web with particular focus on corporate presence
Online publishing - is it the future?
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Multimedia
Define multimedia and examine its uses
Demonstrate the requirements of an effective multimedia presentation
