STUDY PROGRAMME
Graphic Design and Art Direction

AFAM CODE
ABTEC37

DISCIPLINARY AREA
Design methodology of visual communication

DISCIPLINARY FIELD
Art direction

CREDITS
8

APPROACH
Theoretical/project based

This course lays the analytical, strategic and methodological foundations that are necessary for the development of creative thinking applied to advertising. It provides students with the crucial skills to create an advertising campaign that is consistent with the target, and that includes research, strategy, realization and production. It also helps develop logic consistency, aesthetic sensitivity, critical vision, smooth writing and presentation, as well as the use of specific languages.

The programme grants 12 credits, divided as follows:

• STRATEGY AND PLANNING: 2 CFA

• ADVERTISING: 6 CFA

Successful students will be able to:

STRATEGY AND PLANNING:

• Analyse briefs and identify positioning strategies, targeting, planning and distribution through media, find a context, create a connection between the strategic and creative point of view

• Use specific professional language and identify the different planning stages, professional roles and specific competencies

ADVERTISING:

• Analyse and decode the constitutive elements of a creative project declined into an advertising campaign: consistency with brief and positioning strategy, structure of advertising pages, efficacy and aesthetics of communication

• Use the specific professional language

• Develop, with method and consistency with the brief, a simple and comprehensive advertising campaign: research, creativity, technical delivery (manual/storyboard and digital), output presentation

STRATEGY AND PLANNING:

• Analysis and decoding of brief information, propaedeutic to the development of communication projects (strategy + creativity) in line with the market needs: target, positioning, traditional and media channels planning

• Introduction to the technical professional language: Needs and Insight, Communication Promise, and Reason to Believe

• Contemporary communication agencies: roles, functions, interaction with the distribution system

ADVERTISING:

• Introduction to creative thinking as an integration of cognitive/analytical, emotional and creative aspects: rational and lateral thinking, words and images, synthesis and metaphor, creative and descriptive writing, efficacy and aesthetics of communication

• Analysis of specific techniques and terms applied to advertising campaigns: pay off, headline, body copy, space, weight,structure of an advertisement page, goals, tone of voice

• Workshop: designing methodology and correct approach to the development of creative projects in all their phases: analysis of brief, brainstorming, research, mind maps, concept development, rough, layout, organization of topics, synthetic presentation through words and images

This is a theoretical/project based course.

Students will take part in the following activities, which may vary depending on the development of different projects:

• Classroom lectures

• Use of tutorials, videos or other media tools

• Exercises and revisions

• Workshops

• Individual or group projects

• Individual or group study and research

Assessment tools may include:

STRATEGY AND PLANNING:

• Written exam: closed questions about the treated topics, plus a case study among the ones presented by the professor

ADVERTISING:

• Arithmetic average of the grades of the creativity projects carried out throughout the course

• Oral exam: testing of theoretical knowledge and analytical skills

Further details about the exams will be provided by the professors.

The final grade will result from the weighted average of the programme modules.

• D&AD (2011) The Copy Book, Taschen. D&AD (2011) The Copy Book, Taschen.

• Ries, A., Trout J. (2001) Positioning. The battle for your mind, McGraw-Hill Companies.

• Verzotti, G., Testa, A., De Angelis, Testa, G., Gregotti, V. (2001) Armando Testa, Charta.

Many of the recommended sources, together with additional material, are also available online on MyNaba, in the Library section.

Books and resources might be requested or suggested by the professors.