Time-based Design

The course introduces undergraduate graphic design students to time-based design in a studio setting. The focus is on kinetic typography and visual/aural narratives. The course enhances previous knowledge of typography and visual language while examining how temporal structural elements such as rhythm and simultaneity affect visual communication in a dynamic medium.

Class activities include presentations, discussions, software tutorials, one-on-one meetings, class critiques, and readings. Studio practice is supplemented by examination of historical, theoretical, and perceptual aspects of motion graphics. Historical and contemporary time-based work from different fields are presented and analyzed during the course.

The coursework consists of three assignments that examine principles of communication design in a time-based medium. The purpose is to explore how to effectively communicate messages along time. All projects require a significant amount of experimentation and work, from content definition, research and storyboard to production of the movie/message.

Learning Objectives:
• To investigate the nature of time-based media;
• To learn the fundamentals of time-based design;
• To explore relationships between visual, aural, and kinetic vocabularies;
• To develop strategies and methods for solving time-based design problems;
• To develop and use objective critical language for analyzing and communicating messages over time;
• To explore effective solutions for communicating in a time-based medium.

For description and student work prior to 2009 please visit previous archive, which requires Quick-Time Plug-in.