Below is an example of the design process I teach in class, followed by various examples of student work.
Teaching Philosophy, Diversity Statement and Syllabi are available upon request.
In Class Design Process (adapted for an online synchronous course)
Step 1. Create a mood board that visually depicts the tone and theme of your illustration. Write a paragraph that describes how the images you have chosen relate to your overall concept or theme. Lastly, begin your thumbnail sketches to explore various ideas.
Long Time No See, 2020
Step 2. After we discuss the thumbnails, begin taking your own photography and creating your own graphics. Create a minimum of two digital drafts to review during our individual meetings.
Step 3. Comment on your peers work and receive feedback.
Step 4. Incorporate the feedback into your final illustration. Write an artist statement to read during critique.
Various Student Work
Exercise: Social Media GIF
Description: Students created a GIF for College of DuPage's or McHenry County College's Graphic Design Department. All images and graphics were created by the students.
Goals: Students designed images for use on social media channels. Students applied custom graphics to animated frames. Students created and constructed finished illustrative designs for presentation.
Deliverables: A GIF utilizing custom illustrations, textures, typography, and hand-drawn sketches with a minimum of 20 frames
Assignment sheet can be found here.
Exercise: Current Events Poster
Description: Students created a poster based on a current event that has happened within the past two years. All images and graphics were created by the students.
Goals: Students successfully utilized a variety of Photoshop CC tools, specifically the lasso tools, quick select, magic wand, select by color range, blending mode and color replacement tool. Students also verbally expressed how their images connected to their theme and visually represented their unique viewpoint.
Deliverables: 16" x 20" poster, personal photographs, scanned in images, and custom graphics/illustrations
Assignment sheet can be found here.
Exercise: FrankenMonster
Description: Students created a body from at least 15 parts of personal photos and/or images found online. In addition to the body, students included a background, created a shadow and used a filter.
Goals: Students further investigated layers including their ordering in the layers palette and how to modify/transform content within a layer. Students implemented various selection tools they learned in class. Students implemented their understanding of copyright law as discussed in class.
Deliverables: 15 to 20 body parts and/or accessories, adjusted colors/brightness, appropriate background, shadow and use of at least one filter
Assignment sheet can be found here.
Exercise: Movie Poster Genre Switch
Description: Students created a movie poster based on an existing movie title and tagline. They then created a movie poster for the film in a new, creative genre.
Goals: Students successfully utilized a variety of Photoshop CC and Illustrator CC tools. Students verbally expressed how their images connect to their theme and visually represent their unique viewpoint. Students critically analyzed the work of their peers.
Deliverables: A 16" x 20" poster, tagline, title and typography
Assignment sheet can be found here.
Exercise: Figure Movement
Description: Students used selection masks, layer masks and custom brushes to create a composition that emphasized the movement and motion of a central figure.
Goals: Students successfully utilized a variety of Photoshop CC tools, specifically the lasso tools, quick select, magic wand, select by color range, blending mode and the color replacement tool. Students also verbally expressed how their images connected to their theme and visually represented their unique viewpoint.
Deliverables: Movement within the piece, central figure with a selection mask, subtracting and adding to layer masks, various brushes and custom brush, blend mode(s) and thematic background
Assignment sheet can be found here.
Exercise: Illustrative Animal
Description: Students created a narrative of an animal in a specific scene or setting.
Goals: Students experimented with various Adobe Illustrator tools including the type tool, gradient tool, pen tool, brushes and
color picker. Students gained familiarity with Adobe Illustrator. Students created and construct finished illustrative designs for presentation.
Deliverables: A traced animal and at least one traced object (use the pen tool), gradients, a background, a symbol, text with a graphic style effect, two different brushes and the color picker
Assignment sheet can be found here.
Exercise: Educational Phone App
Description: Students created an informational app, including a name, slogan, icons and an Adobe XD prototype.
Goals: Students designed graphics to be used on a digital platform. Students were introduces to UI/UX concepts. Students applied custom graphics to digital mockups. Students created and construct finished illustrative designs for presentation.
Deliverables: A name, slogan, app description, custom icons, mockup and Adobe XD prototype
Assignment sheet can be found here.
Exercise: Type Specimen Poster
Description: Students designed a type specimen poster that advertised, and promoted a specific typeface, highlighting the history and purpose of the typeface.
Goals: Students will explored and researched different typography styles. Students developed systems of visual organization. Students critically analyzed the work of your peers.
Deliverables: An 11” x 17” poster including the typeface name, designer, character set, quote and information regarding the history of the typeface.
Assignment sheet can be found here.
Exercise: Book Sleeve Mash Up
Description: Students choose a book and changed the genre to create a new concept. Students created a template, digital and physical mockup of the book sleeve.
Goals: Students utilized inDesign templates. Students created handcrafted works of packaging design. Students created and constructed finished illustrative graphic designs for presentation.
Deliverables: Book sleeve template and mockup included custom illustrations, title, author, tagline, bar code, quotes, publisher logo, writing about the book and author.
Assignment sheet can be found here.
