Students in Graphic Design II will learn to analyze design problems, brainstorm ideas, identify audiences, create comprehensive sketches, refine communication concepts, and present their thought processes and solutions articulately to the class during critiques. Emphasis is on visual expression: learning to produce creative solutions for the communication problem at hand, and learning to develop ideas through a process that involves imagination, visual sensibility, research and critical skills. Moving back and forth between the hands-on studio environment and the high-tech computer lab, students keep their ideas fresh and their creative juices flowing. Issues covered include the difference between designing for a specific “client/audience” and designing/creating as a means of personal expression using the same tools. Desktop publishing, image creation/manipulation, and illustration/typography software will be utilized to create sophisticated solutions to actual design problems. Students will also scan images and use a digital camera. Other topics covered will include continued exploration of composition in two-dimensional space, typography as a visual tool, image making, the language of color, design history and presentation skills.