Graphic Design for the Enterprise

Educational objectives

The course will be carried out through frontal lessons, supported by PowerPoint presentations, dedicated to the main artists, art movements and key issues of the hiistorical-philisophical-artistic events that characterized the period that went all the way to The Renaissance and to Neo-Classicism.

Skills acquired

The student must show knowledge of disciplinary contents, must be able to analyze works, authors and art periods in a coherent and articulate way, historically contextualizing them, expressing  a correct and motivated critical evaluation ( also personal ones) also referring to the study career and the experience acquired. Therefore, the student must be able to place the work both in the correct timeframe and recognize style and technique .

Methods of evaluation

The final test shall verify the degree of knowledge of the main protagonists of Art History, from the end of the fifteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century, of the main artistic movements and of the historical-aesthetic aspect of art language.

The student will have to prove that he can place the work in the appropriate historical-artistic context, within the personal experiences and relationships of the artist ( commissions, work contents and finality, technical-formal characteristics) i.e. he must show that he can properly read and understand the style of the work itself.

Bibliography

C. Bertelli, G. Briganti, A. Giuliano, Storia dell’arte italiana, Milano, Electa Mondadori, vol. 3, unità 15, 16, 17 18; vol. 4, unità 19.

Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich: Storia dell’arte racconta da E. H. Gombrich, Einaudi, dal capitolo XII al XXIII.

Other books must be agreed with the professor.

The finality of this course is to deepen the knowledge of contemporary artists developing their artistic path and placing it in the context they had lived in.

We will also analyze the dynamics that govern the world of art, mainly of contemporary art.

Students will be placed in groups and a research on a specific artist will be assigned to each group.

Members of each group shall illustrate their research to all lesson participants, explaining it in a correct and professional way.

Curiosity and question asking are welcomed and kindly expected.

This is an Academy therefore a place where philosophy is pursued. Plato started his activity in the garden of an Academy. Please do the same….

Educational objectives
This course  requires active student  involvement in research, analysis and discussion of graphic design “stories” : stories of projects , of styles, of tools and techniques- but also of facts about men, authors planners and clients – that lived and worked in the length of time that spans from the typographic revolution to computer science.
These are some of the themes of discussion: manual and artificial writing;  typography from Gutenberg  up to the present day: the origins of graphic design; graphic design from the mid-nineteenth century to the end of the last century; product design and graphic design.

Skills acquired
Research capacity, collection, organization and elaboration of information and iconographic material, creation of an orderly and usable archive.

Bibliography:

Baroni D., Vitta M., Storia del design grafico, Longanesi, 2003
Testi di supporto:
Heller S., Il libro del graphic design, Vallardi, 2016
Heller S., Ilic M., Icone della grafica, Logos, 2009

Methods of evaluation
– written test, to testify the student’s  degree of theoretical understanding  of themes discussed during courses together with his capacity to historically contextualize them;

– portfolio, to testify the level of research carried out and the student’s ability to identify critical issues and relate them to each other

Educational objectives
The purpose of the course of Chromatology  is the study of colour in its many aspects: historical, scientific, technical,  symbolical.
Colour seen as the expression of an idea, of a shape, of a space, of a feeling, of a message.
The objective is to provide analytic and critical methods for planning.
Course contents
Starting from history of colour, we will then go on with the study of single colours,  symbolism of colour, colour perception, with particular attention towards their use in the world of ancient  and contemporary art, graphic design, publishing, interior design.

Teaching methods
Each class will be part of the deepening of some essential theoretic elements. During practical and Lab classes, exercises and graphic executions will allow deepening of covered topics.
Periodic  individual and collective reviews  will help verify the learning process.

Methods of evaluation
Evaluation of graphics and drawings, a final theoretical-graphic thesis focused on the interaction of colour applied to the world of painting, of graphics, of interior design- according to the different  academic choices made by the student-together with a deep historical, technical and compositional analysis.
Oral evaluation of themes covered and resumed in the handouts, will give students a chance to show their preparation.

Basic Bibliography:

• I. Newton, Scritti sulla luce e i colori, a cura di F. Giudice, Milano, BUR, 2018.
• J. W. Goethe, La teoria dei colori, Milano, il Saggiatore, 2017.
• J. Itten, Arte del colore, Milano, il Saggiatore, 2019.
• J. Albers, Interazione del colore, Milano, il Saggiatore, 2018.
• M. Agnello, Semiotica dei colori, Roma, Carrocci editore, 2019.
• C. Oleari, Misurare il colore, Hoepli, 2019.
• M. Vignelli, Il canone Vignelli, Milano, Postmedia srl, 2018.
• M. Pastoureau, Verde, storia di un colore, Milano, Adriano Salani editore, 2018.
• M. Pastoureau, Rosso, storia di un colore, Milano, Adriano Salani editore, 2017.
• M. Pastoureau, Blu, storia di un colore, Milano, Ponte alle Grazie, 2018.

Educational objectives

The Course of Theory of Perception and Psychology of Form wishes to illustrate the study of different  theories concerning  the mechanisms of perception, with particular reference to the perception of vision.

Issues on psychophysics of vision and anatomo-physiological aspects of the visual system will be analyzed, underlining how they are closely connected to our perception of the real world.

Birth and development of the main theories and models that characterized visual perception, will be studied, focusing on the fact that they are based on physical, physiological and psychological  principles, with a particular reference to the concept of experimental phenomenology of the Gestalt school.

Particular attention will be given to analysis of differences between physical world and phenomenal world, especially with regard to knowledge and application, during design, of specific regulations defined by the philosophy of perception.

Skills acquired

The concepts of sensation and perception ; the visual system and the psychophysical chain; development of main  perception theories ( from  associationism to Gibson’s ecology theory); the Gestalt school and formal unification systems; illusion and ambiguous figures; perceptive consistency; the psychological bases of perception of the physical world and of the phenomenal world.

Methods of evaluation

The exam includes  a written multiple choice and open response test .

Bibliography:

Stefano Mastandrea – Psicologia della Percezione – Carocci 2017
Silvia D. Ferraris – Vedere per progettare, Basic Design e percezione visiva per il disegno industriale -Franco Angeli 2014
Manfredo Massironi – Fenomenologia della percezione visiva – Il Mulino 1998
Materiale didattico delle singole lezioni e articoli di approfondimento verranno forniti dal docente.

Educational objectives

Make the student acquainted with the main methods of drawing, study and application of tools and imaging techniques, indispensable for understanding and communication of the project itself;
make the student acquainted with  traditional representation techniques and offer a basic knowledge of elements needed for the bi-dimensional and tri-dimensional  vector representation of the project;
make the student analyze vector design processes , highlighting automation implications in the project;
supply the skills needed for the creation of digital models and drafting on paper of graphic tables of the project with the application of digital representation tools and of specific study cases.

Skills acquired
Understanding the use of terminology of traditional and digital design.
Control of traditional and digital tools in project representation.
Analysis,  creation and representation of a case study.

Comprehension and communication of project idea.

Programme

Introduction:  course presentation.
Design coding in project communication.
Orthogonal projections, prospect design, section,  dimensioning.
Introduction to digital design: use of software in project representation.
The bases of digital design: bi-dimensional vector representation and file management.
Setting and printout of a digital table.
Laboratory exercises.

Examination procedures

Students must submit a portfolio with all exercises done during the course together with a project representation  to be agreed with the teacher.

Bibliography

M. Docci, M. Gaiani, D. Maestri, Scienza del disegno, Città Studi, Novara 2011.
C. Florian, Rappresentazione vettoriale e disegno di architettura, Liguori editore, Napoli 2008.
S. Boraso, Il linguaggio grafico nel disegno industriale, Armando Editore, Roma 2004.
W. J. Mitchell e M. Mc Cullough, Digital Design Media, Mc Graw Hill, Milano, 1996.

Objectives and contents

The course helps the student reach knowledge and understanding of tools put at his disposal by the Adobe package: Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Particular attention will be given to understanding which is the most suitable software for the creation of an elaborate and for file management while using different kinds of software. Students must be able to manage correctly the colour space, resolution and technical settings to develop an elaborate for printout and a web layout.

The course supplies the knowledge for the complete use of Adobe graphic software: Photoshop to manage photographic images and the creation of a graphic bitmap, Illustrator for creation of illustrative graphic elements, typographic elements in vector environment and InDesign for layout.

Methods of evaluation

Individual testing, where course output will be evaluated, giving specific attention to coherence of materials chosen and the quality of the production process; basic knowledge and peculiarities of the each software will also be verified.

Educational objectives

The student will learn the fundamentals of graphic design, the structural bases to approach the project theme with critical ability.  The student will be geared toward conscious realization and the attribution of meaning to artifacts realized during Lab classes. He will be able to choose, decode and realize signs, symbols, codes. He will compare cultural contexts and relationship among disciplines. He will be able to understand weight and hierarchy, rhythm and space, relationship between form and content. The course will lay the foundations, ‘directing’ with a multidisciplinary approach, towards communication design.

Programme

We will examine: the graphic field, space organization, symmetry and asymmetry, positive and negative, rhythm and repetition, patterns, hierarchy of the elements, proportions. Typography, comprehensions of elements and function, digital typography, typesetting, use and development of expressive concepts, readability.

The concept of sign and symbol. From pictogram to trade mark. The definition of colour, additive and subtractive colours, rgb, cmyk, the Pantone system. The anthropological concept of image, photographic framing techniques, cutting, the choice. The elements of a pagination cage, developing ability to synthesize, the bases of corporate image. Materiality, paper, formats, typologies,  folds, packaging and binding. Digital components, printing and pre-printing, main printing techniques.

Teaching methods

Participatory teaching,  practical exercises and real-world design. Vision in class of  particularly interesting contemporary project examples (screenings and material related to production of important protagonists of design and communication). Some guests will talk about their activity to bring a direct experience and involve all students. Visits will be planned to discover work in typographies and to see exhibitions and/or significant design projects.

Assessment methods

During the didactic period, all practice exercises must be done, completed and submitted within the time specified.  A written test in the second half of the teaching period  shall verify the knowledge of subjects proposed. The test will consist of a final vision of the personal book containing all exercises and a discussion with the final grade. The exchange phase is a constant feature during Lab classes both with a one-to-one and  a collective approach. Project quality, participation intensity and group work availability are positively evaluated.

Recommended texts:

—  Falcinelli: Guardare, pensare, progettare. Neuroscienze per il design, Stampa Alternativa

—  Falcinelli: Critica portatile al visual design. Einaudi

—  Ambrose, Harris: Il libro del Layout. Zanichelli

—  The Vignelli Canon disponibile in rete gratuitamente in inglese o in forma cartacea in italiano / Postmedia / Lars Muller

—  Simon Garfield. Sei proprio il mio typo. La vita segreta dei caratteri tipografici. Tea

—  Sergio Polano, Pierpaolo Vetta: Abecedario. Electa

—  Frutiger: Segni & simboli. Stampa Alternativa

—  Munari: Arte come mestiere. Laterza

—  Ellen Lupton: Caratteri, testo, gabbia. Guida critica alla progettazione grafica. Zanichelli

—  Kinross: Tipografia moderna. Stampa Alternativa

—  Pastoereau: Il piccolo libro dei colori. Ponte alla Grazie

Educational objectives

Photography is essentially an analytical discipline. A painter starts with an empty canvas and builds an image, a photographer faces disorder of reality and must choose an image. A photographer, standing in front of some houses, streets, people, trees and artifacts, imposes an order on the scene in front of him. He simplifies chaos giving it a structure and imposes this order choosing a point of observation, a frame, a moment for the right shot and a focusing plan.
Stephen Shore, Photography lesson. The nature of photography.

Skills acquired

The students shall gain a full understanding, a certain minimum mastery, in critical use of the elements of photography through specific, technical exercises assigned by the teacher.

Bibliography

Robert Adams, La bellezza in fotografia. Saggi in difesa dei valori tradizionali, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2016
Lewis Baltz, Scritti, Johan & Levi, Monza, 2014 Roland Barthes, La camera chiara, Torino,
Einaudi, 1980 Walter Benjamin, L’opera d’arte nell’epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica, Torino, Einaudi, 2000
John Berger, Capire una fotografia, Roma, Contrasto, 2016
John Berger, Sul guardare, Milano, Il Saggiatore, 2017
Henri Cartier-Bresson, L’immaginario dal vero, Milano, Abscondita, 2005 Eugene Delacroix, Scritti sull’arte, Milano,
Se Studio Editoriale, 1986 Vilém Flusser, Per una filosofia della fotografia, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2006
Gigliola Foschi, Le fotografie del silenzio. Forme inquiete del vedere, Milano-Udine, Mimesis, 2015
Caspar David Friedrich, Scritti sull’arte, Milano, Se Studio Editoriale, 1989
Ando Gilardi, La stupidità fotografica, Johan & Levi, Monza, 2013
Luigi Ghirri, Lezioni di fotografia, Macerata, Quodlibet, 2010
Simon Ings, Storia naturale dell’occhio, Torino, Einaudi, 2008
Krauss Rosalind, Teoria e storia della fotografia, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 1996
Claudio Marra, L’immagine infedele. La falsa rivoluzione della fotografia digitale, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2006
Sergio Polano e Pierpaolo Vetta, Abecedario, Milano, Mondadori Electa, 2002
Ferdinando Scianna, Lo specchio vuoto. Fotografia, identità e memoria, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2017
Steven Shore, Lezione di fotografia. La natura delle fotografie, Londra, Phaidon Press Limited, 2015
Susan Sontag, Sulla fotografia. Realtà e immagine nella nostra società, Torino, Einaudi, 1992
Mary Warner Marien, 100 idee che hanno illuminato la fotografia, Modena, Logos, 2012
Italo Zannier, La fotografia italiana. Critica e storia, Milano, Jaca Book, 1994

Examination procedures

The exam will take place through an interview  based on a discussion on topics covered during the course, starting from a topic chosen by the student.  The student shall also submit a portfolio with all practical exercises made during the course.

Programme

Proliferation of digital devices and their continuous daily use in the most different areas, calls for an indispensable basic knowledge of computer use and of computer tools in approaching the artistic, graphic, illustration world.

This course wishes to supply basic knowledge on the use of personal computer and, specifically, to illustrate the main functions of the most popular digital processing  programs for rastel and vector images (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator) and basic knowledge for digital publishing (Adobe InDesign).

TOPICS COVERED:

Management of file dimensions, colour  methods and formats.

Adobe Illustrator:

• complex and simple vector forms manipulation and combination
• use of the “pen” tool (Beziér curves)
• text management and manipulation
• image tracing operations bitmap.

The finality is to acquire basic technical knowledge to realize text compositions and vector drawings.

Adobe InDesign:

• creation and management of multipage documents
• master pages management  and simple  text automatisms
• creation of styles and interaction between text, graphics and images.

The finality is to acquire basic technical knowledge to realize simple printed products.

Adobe Photoshop:

• use selection tools
• make proper adjustments, tonal correction and selective edits.
• Create and use levels and masks
• use level styles, filters and blend methods.

The finality is to acquire basic technical knowledge to realize simple photo editing and photo-montage.

Some useful exercises will be suggested during classes to become familiar with program functions and iconographic examples taken from the art and communication world, emphasising ductility of image processing media and, consequently,  of the signifiers and the meaning inside of a fluid system.

Students will be invited to a personal approach to this discipline, keeping in mind rules and limitations as well as their particular inclination, wishing to stimulate them to develop their own artistic research using digital tools, both individually and with group work.

Educational objectives

The student will be able to know and recognize the main communication models through media history of the twentieth century and the main experimental paradigms based on the influence of media on society. He will also be able to analyze the main characteristics of  creating a community and of on-line communication, to distinguish digital cultures and capture their philosophical aspects and the main artistic, aesthetic, economic and sociologic implications.

Skills acquired

The course aims to form a consciousness on kinds of influence and of socio-cultural changes and on the development of mass media through history.

Through analysis of the social fabric related to media influence,  the student will acquire the knowledge needed to understand communication dynamics, relationship and persuasion put in action by the media system and will mature a critical sense towards collective contemporary scenarios.

Examination procedures

The exam will be conducted in oral form, and will cover the concepts learned during classes, the study of text books and discussion of practical activity linked to project work.

Bibliography

Exam texts (compulsory):

– Paccagnella Luciano, Sociologia della comunicazione, Milano, Il Mulino, 2010 (frontespizio verde)

Further reading:

– Architetture digitali e comunicazione digitale – di E. Zuanelli – edizione 2016 – Aracne

– Lo spettacolo della merce. I luoghi del consumo dai passages a Disney World, di Vanni Codeluppi, maggio 2000, Edizioni Bompiani

Educational objectives

The course deepens the knowledge of the English Language through explanation, review and consolidation of linguistic and communication structures in order to reach a B2- Upper Intermediate- level  of mastery as provided by the Common European Framework of Reference for languages.

Theoretical explanations will be followed by practical exercises: structured exercises- translation of texts and sentences from the Italian language into English and, from English into Italian-reading and comprehension-written work.

Methods of evaluation

Translation of a general language text from Italian into English;

Multiple choice exercises to verify  knowledge of the B2 Level grammar;

Comprehension / Production of a  general language text.

Bibliography

Lesson notes and handouts supplied by the teacher.

Further bibliography will be supplied during classes.

Objectives and contents

The course helps the student reach knowledge and understanding of tools put at his disposal by the Adobe package: Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Particular attention will be given to understanding which is the most suitable software for the creation of an elaborate and for file management while using different kinds of software. Students must be able to manage correctly the colour space, resolution and technical settings to develop an elaborate for printout and a web layout.

The course supplies the knowledge for the complete use of Adobe graphic software: Photoshop to manage photographic images and the creation of a graphic bitmap, Illustrator for creation of illustrative graphic elements, typographic elements in vector environment and InDesign for layout.

Methods of evaluation

Individual testing, where course output will be evaluated, giving specific attention to coherence of materials chosen and the quality of the production process; basic knowledge and peculiarities of the each software will also be verified.

Educational objectives
To lead students, during the whole course, towards a careful and deepened project procedure, we will, first of all, operate to make fully understandable the different characteristics of the two main kinds of Graphic Design, from which all following variations and combinations originate: the informative one and the one with strong attractive(or narrative) characteristics . All well organized visual communication systems ( such as building a corporate identity and  promotion campaigns for products, services and technology) are essentially based on use of different techniques and strategies  related to these two different and substantial macro-themes.  One has to know them well to understand all the variants, seen as combinations of the two typologies.

The main educational objective is to offer students the possibility to develop a critical design concept with a technical-practical knowledge , also feeding their power of observation, the ability to compare and verify reaching the conscience of methods (systems) of approach to design. Further attention shall be given to awareness building towards  shape, colours, composition and organization of the graphic field.

Contents

1. Recognition of visual communication codes (acquired stable meaning and their contemporary value. )  Language of signs, used and usable forms of writing.
2. Study of dialectic relationship between image and text seen as the focus of all problems linked to graphic design.
3. Principles and methods to be applied in order to transform a message from a condition of disarray to a condition of order.
4. Research of simplicity and development of ability to synthesize.
5. Regarding points 2 and 3, definition and put into practice of a planning method in 5 basic, fundamental steps.
6. Meeting contemporaneity. Incursions into several disciplines close to the one that determines graphic language, understood as a fundamental link and a connection with other study subjects.
7. All of the above shall contribute to the formation of capacity of construction of a visual identity system for a company, an advertising campaign or a (cultural and not cultural) public entity.
8. Development of  team work abilities. Also assigning some small and fast exercises (instant works).

Teaching methods
Frontal lessons, practical exercises. Developing power of observation and ability to compare. Simulation of design projects paths and direct imaging of the same, establishing  the proper process. Research, analysis and design  will first be individually done and then by a group (final project). But the core  of every indicated procedure will be the system of ongoing review of works gradually produced (individually and not.)

Methods of evaluation
Final test. Written test. Final exam with quick review of all things produced during the study period.

Educational objectives

Learning and developing conceptual tools to be able to adopt a design method that will enable the student to put in order, organize, structure and support the realization of a publishing object.

Skills acquired

The course on Editorial Graphics  is aimed at:

• Supplying the technical tools needed to face an editorial graphic project.
• Recognizing the characteristics that compose the different editorial products (books, picture books, editorial series, magazines, newspapers, catalogues…)
• Structure analysis: format, grid, characters, iconography (illustration, photography etc), foliation, paper, colours.

The course involves practical exercises, with analysis of contemporary and historical projects using grids and modular systems according to the Fibonacci numerical sequence and the systems of  Jan Tschichold, Josef Müller-Brockmann, Karl Gestrner, and subsequently, some editorial aspects of the years from 1963 to 1973, Massimo Vignelli, Wim Crouwell and Tony Brook, up to the present day.

Methods of evaluation

Individual and collective reviews to verify student skills and preparation.

Educational objectives

The primary objective is to shape a graphic designer on the Web, using cultural and technical tools needed to master the correct language for a professional dialogue with a  developer.

Aspects linked to graphic interface( layout, fonts, responsiveness) and usability.

Skills acquired

At the end of the Lab students must be able to comprehend contemporary web site basic mechanisms; master basic knowledge to be able to develop a web site starting from analysis of client needs, the correct wireframe, CMS setup and realization of a personalized interface.

Methods of evaluation

Delivery of exercises done during the year and written test.

Bibliography

J. Duckett, HTML and CSS Design and Build Website, JoHn WiLey & SonS, inc.
J. Duckett, JavaScript & JQuery. Sviluppare interfacce web interattive, JoHn WiLey & SonS, inc.
D. Norman, La ca#ettiera del masochista. Il design degli oggetti quotidiani, Giunti Editore

Educational objectives

This course, integrated with graphic designer’s  enterprise, communication, and culture techniques, wishes to help students have the knowledge and the needed tools to better interface with those who have a defined, strategic, enterprise general plan: exhibition design is an effective interaction between communication and architecture, carried out through a design culture of volumes, spaces, floors, materials;  concepts, planning and strategies to supply an unprecedented and functional project to the purpose of a brand.

Skills acquired

From brief to strategy, from concept to production: with project implementation, students will face every phase of the creative process, where graphic design, inside of a defined tri-dimensional space, is of fundamental importance.

Lesson will be structured into two modules:

a Module) historical/cultural deepening  – exhibition design technician

relationship between graphic and built environment/architecture; design method and visual communication; space study, circulation, fluxes; function and perception of objectives; definition of “mood board” and “color scheme”; space through bi-dimensional and tri-dimensional elements; technical design and different relief textures; horizontal and vertical building materials; lights, shades, textures.

b Module) project for an exhibition design

synthesis of an expanded planning: representation of a tri-dimensional visual narration that, together with a coherent and enthralling graphic communication, may be able to interpret, in a transversal way, the project theme.

Project tables must express, in a clear way, the defined will of the Designer using mood board, video images, sounds, key words, technical design, renderings. (plan – sections – prospects and details).

The course includes some didactic visits to fairs and museums as practical exercises for the survey and study of space ( to be defined).

Methods of evaluation

The final exam includes presentation of the papers developed in the Module b.

During the oral exams we will have the theoretical (Module a) and the graphical and oral presentation of the project developed during  Module b.

Textbooks and reference bibliography:

Exhibition Design, Philip Huges, Laurence King Publishing Ltd London
Graphic Design + Architecture A 20th Century History, Richard Poulin, Rockport Publishers.
Exhibition Design nelle organizzazioni, Guido Muneratto, Francoangeli Editore
Rassegna, Allestimenti/Exhibit Design, n°10; giugno 1982.
Sergio Polano, Mostrare, l’allestimento italiano dagli anni venti agli anni ottanta. Edizioni Lybra
Siti web, Social e Blog di settore.
Ulteriori indicazioni verranno fornite durante il corso.

Educational objectives

Image literacy;  supply reading codes of illustrated images and capacity to analyze them. Supply the cultural bases to access the use of contemporary images and stimulus for a constant updating of our conscience using different channels, both digital and paper ones. Recognize the universal language of drawing, get acquainted with it to be able to read it and understand it. Constantly search for project “accomplices”: Literature, Music, Art and  cinema.

Skills acquired 

Practice illustration according to predisposition, graphic synthesis and pictorial-illustrated.  Be able to face different commissions:
Publishing – newspapers, magazines and books
Graphic Design – Advertising and communication

• Bases to collaborate with institutions for care of exhibitions.
• Laws on copyright.
• Language to face illustration professionals on various topics:
• Illustration in the service of publishing
• Illustration  with social themes
• Illustration for design and communication

Programme

Theory:
1) History of contemporary illustration

• Masters of the 20th century that created the alphabet of images.
• Masters who adopted painting techniques and others that chose synthesis.
• Professional Masters and unaware Masters: how much has illustration been influenced by Contemporary Art and how much has it influenced artists in different ways.
• Contemporary illustrators who inherited from the past and re-invented communication.
• Synthesis,  gazing and the immediacy of communication.
• Complete expression and the deliberate unfinished.
• The disciplines of removing and accepting a result.
• Different approaches for the same theme.
• Illustrations that move: lay the foundations for image animation.

Pratice:
2) Imaging techniques and materials:                                                                                                                   Composition and formats.
The pure sign, graphite, Indian ink and pencil.
Colour illustration with ancient techniques for contemporary representation:
Crayons, water colours, acrylic paint and oil paint.
Colour illustration with mixed technique.                                                                                                                         Fittings, digital work and executive presentation.

Research:
3) Identify illustrators suitable for the chosen themes:
Prepare written and illustrated cards where the chosen professional may be compared with various contemporary colleagues. Historical reference is identified together with the Masters that inspired him.

Bibliography

Historical Illustration:
Saul Steinberg,
Illuminatioss
Published by Yale
University Press, 2005
Saul Steinberg,
Riga 24 (autori vari)
Marcos y Marcos, Milano, 2005
Illustrators 51
by Society of Illustrators, 2010
Complete Book of Covers
from the New Yorker.
Baci da New York
Art Spiegelman
Nuages, Milano, 2003

Contemporary Illustration:

Letture sul disegno:
Sul guardare
John Berger
Editore
Il Saggiatore,2017
Questione di sguardi.
Sette inviti al vedere
fra storia dell’arte e quotidianità
John Berger
Editore
Il Saggiatore, 2015
Sul disegnare
John Berger
Editore
Libri Scheiwiller, 2007

Final exam criteria

Presentation of all work carried out during the course of illustration in the form of a bound booklet.
Presentation of a written  and illustrated booklet on the research of one or more illustrators with comparison of themes.

Presentation and discussion of a work chosen among all themes covered during the course.

Educational objectives

Widen your knowledge through research in the context of history of communication and analysis of present projects.

Supply practical basic elements useful for professional activity.

Offer a range of different approaches to design.

Skills acquired

Autonomous construction and declination of a brand/logotype.

Better understanding of all phases of the design method (research, creative process/experimentation, design and definition).

Ability to develop powers of observation, research and analysis, fundamental for the formulation of design solutions.

To be able to define, design and submit the visual strategies of a product, a company or an entity based on communication requirements.

Methods of evaluation

The exam interview will be on the work done in the Lab.

The final exam will be based on the evaluation of the two exercises that require the production of a paper report where projects realized will be submitted and paginated.

Bibliography

M. Docci, M. Gaiani, D. Maestri, Scienza del disegno, Città Studi, Novara 2011.
C. Florian, Rappresentazione vettoriale e disegno di architettura, Liguori editore, Napoli 2008.
S. Boraso, Il linguaggio grafico nel disegno industriale, Armando Editore, Roma 2004.
W. J. Mitchell e M. Mc Cullough, Digital Design Media, Mc Graw Hill, Milano, 1996.

Theoretical part:

1.1 – Definition and analysis of the term Packaging.

“Packaging is that branch of marketing where study activity is carried out together with design and the creation of packages ( in English, package ,or, more simply, pack) aimed at product differentiation in order to make it easily recognizable by the consumer” ( Daniele Cocuzza). A guided comparison between the correct interpretation of “packaging” and its graphic aspects allows students to get acquainted with application fields, analysis phases and creative phases, technical topics and design topics.

Suggested bibliography:

Il buon packaging – Laura Badalucco;
Good design – Bruno Munari.

1.2 –Basic Semiotics.

Semiotics are used as a “sign” analysis tool. A good understanding of the perceptive relation that takes place between the message and the user is fundamental in planning packaging design for a product; both  while defining a message and when selecting the correct graphic and technical applications.

The intention is to supply students with the main fundamentals of semiotics and the possibility to identify and manage semantic elements within the on-going projects.

 Suggested bibliography:

Oggetti in azione. Semiotica degli oggetti: dalla teoria all’analisi – Michela Deni;
Elementi di semiotica – Stefano Gensini;
Semiotica Marketing e comunicazione visiva – Jean-Marie Floch.

1.3 – Basic marketing

Marketing works on which is the best possible way to position a product in the market. Packaging is that branch of marketing that works on which is the best way to preserve and dress a product conveying its identity. By comparing them,  guided by case histories, we wish to supply students the bases for preventive analysis and reasoning needed for any graphic project.

Suggested bibliography:

Il posizionamento. La battaglia per le vostre menti – Al Ries, Jack Trout;
Homo consumens – Zygmunt Bauman.

1.4 – Packaging materials, production techniques, production ethics  (recyclability), regulations.

Facing the condition of production in their territory, puts students in the position to have the necessary bases to deepen, also autonomously, the technical and productive topics inherent to packaging. The intention is to put students in touch with professionals in that area with visits to companies, visualizing artifacts elaborated during the on-going creative project. A physical support turns inevitably into waste and it must be a fundamental principle of a graphic designer, an ethical principle on production themes, of recycling and of sustainability of what we are about to design.

Suggested bibliography:

Eco-design e prevenzione per l’imballaggio cellulosico – AA.VV.

Design part

2.1 – Projects for approaching the subject

The first exercises require formulation of brief “casuals” their analysis and the graphic project of connected packaging. The practical tests are used to expose students to particular project themes. They will be supplied with briefs combined at random, that must be developed in class during the 4 hours required by the course and completed  with a graphic project during the following weeks. It will be necessary to discuss together with the students on the main points to be developed in a “type” project and on which will be their order of relevance. The  test limited time  helps to improve the knowledge of personal instinctive project ideas and to elaborate them following a coherent and logical thinking. Presentation of projects will be done in class after the test.

2.2 – Product or service packaging design

The course will cover contemporary merchandising topics. Formal and ethical product packaging aspects will be analyzed as well as formulation of contents to be communicated. Ethical production and container recyclability will be fundamental themes, as well as re-use and after-sales dynamics. We wish to show students a project process that indicates a path, point by point: project analysis, brief drafting, container creative and technical elaboration, graphic design, project communication. A practical approach of all themes covered is fundamental; creativity shall also build a mockup. By the end of the course students must be able to formulate a packaging project with understanding, knowledge of topics and project path. Project representation for the final exam is a key component of graphic design and third year students must be well trained on this topic.

Methods of evaluation

Project topics will be decided together with the students. Each group shall submit a subject based on a general merchandising topic that will be defined by the teacher and that will be the same for everybody. This project will start after the completion of the previous one and shall be evaluated together with the final exam at the end of the course. Projects will be guided and reviewed during class and elaborated during the following week.

Educational objectives

Broaden student’s knowledge through research in the history of communication field and analysis of current projects.

Supply  basic practical elements useful for professional activity.

Offer a range of different project approaches.

Skills acquired

Autonomous construction and declination of a brand/logotype.

Better understanding of phases that make up the design method (research, creative project/experimentation, design and definition).

Develop observation skills, research and fundamental analysis for the formulation of design solutions.  Knowing how to define, design and submit visual strategies of a product, a company or of an entity based on communication requirements.

Methods of evaluation

An interview covering work done in the Lab.

The final exam will be based on evaluation of two exercises that call for production of a paper where carried out projects will be layered.

Bibliography

Design e comunicazione visiva, Bruno Munari
Arte come mestiere, Bruno Munari
L’impero dei segni, Roland Barthes
La camera Chiara, Roland Barthes
Palomar, Italo Calvino

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

Supply a general understanding  of painting techniques and of the main theoretical and practical dynamics of the use of colour, as well as management of image tones and chromaticity.

SKILLS ACQUIRED

Knowledge of oil and non oil painting techniques in their main performing dynamics.

Handling painting materials and possible interaction.

Image geometric and spatial decoding.

Understanding  image tonal and chromatic values.

Image re-elaboration ability based on skills acquired.

FINAL EXAM

The final exam will evaluate work done by the student during the course.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Philip Ball – Colore – Una biografia – edizioni BUR
Mauro Matteini, Arcangelo Moles – La chimica nel restauro – I materiali dell’arte pittorica – Nardini Editore
Maria Bazzi – ABECEDARIO PITTORICO – Neri Pozza Editore