STUDY PROGRAMME
Graphic Design and Art Direction

AFAM CODE
ABPR17

DISCIPLINARY AREA
Design

DISCIPLINARY FIELD
Project culture

CREDITS
8

APPROACH
Theoretical/project based

With the integration of the historical and semiotic (reading of cultural images and objects) approach, this

course is an introduction to the disciplinary language and critical analysis of the basic elements of the design and creativity culture: cultural, visual and conceptual. It is therefore propaedeutic to all design activities that are transversal to the various fields of communication (graphic design, advertising and visual design).

The programme grants 8 credits, divided as follows:

• SEMIOTICS: 4 CFA

• GENESIS AND CULTURE OF COMMUNICATION: 4 CFA

Successful students will be able to:

SEMIOTICS:

• Depict the theoretical framework of semiotics with reference to the main theoretical contributions.

• Carry out a critical and independent analysis of cultural objects, using the technical language of the subject

• Interpret communication phenomena, establishing connections between semiotics and graphic/advertisement culture

GENESIS AND CULTURE OF COMMUNICATION:

• Depict the historical evolution of communication in its establishment as a discipline

• Analyse historical communication campaigns using suitable professional language

• Interpret communication phenomena, establishing connections between graphic/advertisement culture and semiotics

SEMIOTICS:

• Introduction to the semiotic discipline within the scope of the relation among human sciences

• Reference to the fundamental contributions in the history of the discipline (Pierce/Saussure, Greimas; Fontanille)

• Introduction of all the useful conceptual tools for the interpretation of communication phenomena, to create a project culture that is mindful of signification problems: language, semantics/syntax, enunciation, narrativity, expressions/contents, figurative/plastic/figural, rhetoric

• In-depth monographic study of visual languages and promotional communication, with an analysis of communication strategies, exploitation and differential positioning of brands and products

GENESIS AND CULTURE OF COMMUNICATION:

• Historical and cultural development of graphic and advertisement design that, since its first establishment in the twentieth Century, has contaminated the commercial, institutional, and social communication

• Historical origins of the professional specialisations and terminology with their contemporary development

• In-depth study and monographic examples of the most prominent designers in the design culture

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

SEMIOTICS:

• Mid-term written exam: open questions on the treated themes (with reference to the mandatory textbook/lecture notes), and semiotic analysis of a case among those presented by the professor

• Oral exam: exam on the final part of the programme (with reference to the mandatory textbook/lecture notes), and questions on an elective text (monograph) among those suggested by the professor

GENESIS AND CULTURE OF COMMUNICATION:

• Mid-term written exam: open questions on the treated themes (with reference to the mandatory textbook/lecture notes), and analysis of a case among those presented by the professor

• Oral exam: exam on the final part of the programme (with reference to the mandatory textbook/lecture notes), and questions on an elective text (monograph) among those suggested by the professor

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

The final grade for this course consists in the weighted average of its modules, plus questions asked at the oral exam to test theoretical knowledge and analytical skills.

SEMIOTICS:

• Lecture notes provided by the professor, that replace the manual and the monographic part.

For non-attending students, in place of what above:

• Floch J.,-M. (2001) Semiotics, Marketing and Communication. Beneath the Signs, the Strategies, Palgrave.

• Manovich, L. (2002) The language of new media, MIT Press.

• Manovich, L. (2012) Software takes command, MIT Press (see http://lab.softwarestudies.com/2008/11/softbook.html.

GENESIS AND CULTURE OF COMMUNICATION:

• Study material provided by the professor.

For non-attending students, in place of what above:

• Floch J.-M. (2001) Visual Identities. London: A & C Black.

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.