Art 125A at CCSF has been approved by the current C-ID system for California Community Colleges, and will articulate to four-year universities that have approved articulation with the same C-ID designation. Credits transfer to UC/CSU. In addition, Art 125A is approved for CSU GE Area C1 and meets the requirements for Art and related majors at many CSUs as well as UC Santa Barbara. (For up-to-date information about student transfer in California, you can visit ASSIST at http://www.assist.org/)
There are no prerequisites for this course. Art 125A is an advisory for all studio art courses and is a required core course for AA-T (Associate in Art for Transfer degree) in Studio Arts. It is recommended that Art 125A: Basic Design be taken concurrently with Art 130A: Basic Drawing.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course a student will be able to:
Apply design elements and principles of visual organization to create unified two-dimensional compositions that communicate a specific idea, feeling, and/or intent.
Evaluate a range of creative methods and platforms to examine how people communicate through art within the larger system of global art culture.
Analyze visual dynamics in artwork from diverse eras and cultures to illustrate the interdependence of content, form, and context.
Infer and apply ideas and methods from contemporary and historic art as a catalyst for creative expression.
Analyze the dynamic interrelationship between a whole and its parts that lead to the construction of well-designed and sound structures.
Presentation of each week's overview and tasks
Once weekly virtual class meetings online with CityZoom will be recorded and archived. (Office hours before and after the virtual meetings.)
Assigned readings online and in the textbook
Slide shows of related artworks and web galleries of previous student projects
Project descriptions
Links to related websites (including museums and galleries)
Discussion forums (earn you participation points)
Virtual critiques online with interactive tools.
Email correspondence among students and instructor
Field Trips (In the online section, we have virtual gallery tours.)
Field trips are optional in the in-person sections. Online sections include many virtual gallery tours via the course site.
Grading involves the following categories:
Design projects with scoring rubrics that provide specific feedback per expected student learning outcomes
Short chapter/topic review quizzes online (open book)
Final exam project (weighs twice as much as a regular project)
Overall class participation (includes your attendance score, points earned through participation in online discussion forums and other online learning activities)
Individual projects will be graded per the following criteria:
Demonstrated understanding of the visual problems studied. (Approximately 60% of the grade)
The amount of exploration, creative energy, thought, skill, craftsmanship and the overall effort you put into the assignments, as well as cumulative growth conceptually and technically. (Approximately 20% of the grade)
The quality of the overall presentation of your work (the degree of completion and appropriate craftsmanship put into finishing), timely submission and your engagement/participation in activities surrounding the project. (Approximately 20% of the grade)
All design project submissions need to include images documenting student's work process for verification of authenticity to receive a passing grade!
A rubric which specifies grading criteria for each project will be posted on the project page at the time of its assignment so students are provided with clear guidelines on how their work will be graded before they start a project. Students are always required to document development stages of their work. All students are graded individually for their own progress and not in comparison to one another! Students come to Basic Design from different backgrounds and have varying degrees of preparation, all the way from true beginners and those in pursuit of degrees in other subject areas who take Basic Design as a general education elective, to those who need to prepare a strong portfolio for transfer to an art college or ones who already have professional experience in the field but want to update their skills and knowledge for various reasons. The class is designed to embrace students from all backgrounds and help them with their individual goals. In Basic Design, we introduce concepts artists have explored throughout history. As a result, the projects are wide open for different levels of interpretation. However, prior experience or skill level does not guide a student's grade in the class— individual engagement and growth do! Our classroom environment is comfortable for all students to share and learn from one another. The course content is rigorous but is taught in a manner that allows students to advance individually and not in competition with one another, building upon each experience they gain during the semester. Most importantly, students learn by participating. Students who attend regularly, follow the lectures and readings and complete the required weekly tasks tend to do very well! In fact, good participation in all learning activities in the class is the most important factor in the grade you score.
Good attendance and participation online and on a regular basis is important for your success and can impact your grade. Two weeks of inactivity online without an excuse and/or communication with the instructor may result in a withdrawal from the class or a lower letter grade.
Students are required to login to the course site on Canvas at ccsf.instructure.com at least twice weekly, engage academically, and follow through the tasks assigned. (The site is password protected and accessible upon registration in the course. Enrolled students login with their RAM ID. The online sections provide the same course content as the regular sections that meet face-to-face on campus, but allow the students greater flexibility in scheduling their learning activities, however the course is not self-paced. There are tasks with due dates every week and we meet via real-time video-conferencing every week. There is good flexibility if a student needs to be absent occasionally or take longer on projects, as the course is designed for students who have time limitations due to work or family obligations, but we do cover an excellent amount of content in a 16-week semester, so it is critical that students are well connected and keep up with the pace of the class throughout the semester. Communication with your instructor is always the key when you need more time on projects.
Students in section 982 meet synchronously via CityZoom during their scheduled meeting days in the evening from 6:40 - 8:30 PM. Students are strongly recommended to attend the meetings online but meetings will be recorded and archived for all. Students gain participation points for their academic engagement online.
Students are expected to attend the class regularly, login to the course site at least twice weekly and complete their assignments by their due dates. Per FERPA regulations, students who are not engaged academically for two or more weeks need to be removed from online classes. However, if at anytime you decide to not continue with the class, please know it is the student's responsibility to file for a drop. If a student becomes inactive for a period of two weeks or more, the instructor will contact the student, using Canvas Inbox to check with the student. If no reply is received within a week, the instructor will need to withdraw the student from the class. (If you are ill or have a legitimate excuse, please communicate with your instructor promptly so that she may work with you individually to help you achieve your course requirements.)
Students are expected to complete their assignments by their due dates. In general, late work is accepted without a penalty up to one week after the original due date. Assignments turned in later than one week may be marked down unless there is an agreement for an extension with the instructor or the late work is due to illness or other legitimate excuse. (Absence, late submission due to illness or other legitimate excuses are exceptions, which do not count against the grade. In those cases, late work will be accepted without any penalty, within a reasonable period of time. Extensions will also be given when a student needs more time for successful completion of a project, but students do need to communicate with the instructor in those situations and inform on their progress and needs.)
Academic integrity and AI use
Academic integrity is essential in this course. The work you submit must be your own and reflect your personal effort, choices, and skill. AI tools are widely available and may be used in limited ways as a tool or assistant (e.g., brainstorming, idea exploration, planning) only when permitted by the assignment. However, submitting AI-generated or otherwise externally produced images or text as if they were created solely by you—especially without clear disclosure and proper citation—constitutes plagiarism and/or cheating. Any AI use must be disclosed (tool, how it was used, and what portions were affected) and must follow assignment-specific rules. Violations may result in a zero on the assignment, automatic failure in the course, and/or referral to the college’s academic integrity process.
Documentation of work process and participation in class critiques and in the online learning forums are required. In sections that offer once weekly virtual class meetings with CityZoom, attendance at the meetings is required, however all Zoom meetings will be recorded for students to be able to review later if they cannot attend during the scheduled two hours every week. Exploration, creative input and effort towards good craftsmanship in design projects is expected. Textbook (earlier and used editions are fine and can result in major savings!) and materials are required, and class kits will be available through our college bookstores, which can be picked up curbside or sent to the student's address for a small shipping fee.
Information Regarding Withdrawals and Not Passing Grade Notations
In the recent years, the State eliminated general repeatability, however, students can still petition to repeat a course when a repeat might be deemed necessary, and more petitions have been accepted since COVID due to extenuating circumstances. There also are limitations on the number of attempts a student may make to take the course for a passing grade. *"W" "D" or "F" grade entries on the transcript all count as attempts to take a course. Courses are now grouped into families and a maximum of four attempts are allowed within each family. If a student fails or withdraws from a course— as long as the student has not exhausted the maximum four attempts allowed within that course family— a student may have up to two more opportunities to take the course for a passing grade, but needs to petition after a second attempt, and will not be allowed again if fails or withdraws at his/her third attempt even if the student has not exhausted all four attempts allowed for that family. Therefore, if you feel that you will not be able to commit to a course in a given semester, it is best to plan ahead and drop the course before a "W" (withdrawal) may be recorded for the semester. (Drop without a "W" notation comes rather early in the semester. Please check the important days and deadlines for all classes. International students should be aware that they need a minimum of 12 academic units throughout any given semester in order to maintain their student visas. For international students, withdrawing from a class and the subsequent loss of units may result in the loss of a student visa to the United States.)
"W" is a withdrawal with a "W" notation on record and regular fees are charged. "W" does not have a grade value and does not impact a grade point average, however, as explained above, it will count as an attempt within a family, and you are allowed a limited number of attempts— up to four— within each family.
"EW" is an excused withdrawal the State created during COVID for when a student may need to drop a class due to extenuating circumstances.
"FW" indicates that the student stopped attending a course after the last day to withdraw/ did not participate in the final exams.
"F" indicates that a student attended, participated and completed the course assignments but failed to master course content.
All the above count as attempts for taking a class and are recorded against the maximum four attempts allowed within a course family.
Please note that the information above is given with the intent to empower the students with knowledge. Our goal for all our students is successful completion of their studies.
