This week students came to class with their final public service advertisements mounted. Once again, students went up in front of the group one by one and presented their pieces. They discussed what they had changed after the previous weeks discussion and defended their design decisions. The class seems to be falling into a comfortable rhythm. Some students who have full confidence in what they’ve created are eager to show their work off while others appear to dread the experience entirely and resolve to go last—if the must. Still as students, many of them (not all) lack the presentation skills necessary to sell their their ideas in front of a large group. They start off by apologizing for “this” and making up excuses for “that.” Reflecting on the situation I can’t help but wonder if this is the sort of thing that will come with experience or if this is a teachable skill. It sends me back to my freshman year in college when my most dreaded class was speech class. A good presentation requires preparation—a component design students have much room to improve.
For the most part the students work improved by refining what they already already had. The hours in photoshop paid off as this was the area that their original comps had needed the most work. Two students took their work to the next level—greatly improving on what they originally had created—surprising the entire class with the finish and execution. One was the student who had previously misinterpreted the classes feedback and temporarily veered off track. He brought his poster back to his original concept and created compelling illustration. The other student listened closely to the feedback and executed the illustration and final concept close to perfectly. From time to time Prof. B would interject reminders of what students should be thinking as they considered each “finished” piece. In addition he reminded them that the projects were completed as far as his grading was concerned but the real grade was their final portfolio at graduation. He asked the class numerous times, “Are we done here [with this piece]?” and “Is the message clear?” He challenged the students when they were silent about a piece as it wasn’t always easy to get feedback—positive or negative. To open up the discussion a little he would make a couple of his own design observations. His comments reflected the feedback that a creative director might provide.
In one instance I made the comment that I would recommend giving the poster a little more breathing room on the border edge (referencing the BP “we come in peace” poster). In my opinion the way it was mounted on the presentation board made it look cramped and like a mistake. I felt that giving it a thicker, more defined, intentional-appearing border would eliminate the tension. This brought up a good point by the professor that at some point it was beyond design rules and into the realm of subjective opinions where he respectfully disagreed with my comment. I was a little surprised by his comments but could see his position as well to a degree. In a compromise—which can be dangerous to do too often in one design piece—we agreed that perhaps a thicker border of a neutral color would satisfy both schools of thought.
After all 14 students presented Prof. B gave his summarizing thoughts. He was pleased with most students efforts and encouraged those who had put forth the effort. In contrast there were several students who had less than inspiring final posters. Inline with the emphasis of the program he reminded them to treat class like a real job. Two students came to class with final posters of undiscussed concepts. The posters where ineffective and in sharp contrast to the specific instructions they had received in their critique the week before. Prof. B reminded the students that had the equivalent happened in the industry they wouldn’t get off so easy. At an agency they would most likely be fired for deliberately not creating what the client or art director had requested; in a freelance position they would probably not be asked to complete the work or at least never be approached for work again. The whole point of the class critiques is to give students the opportunity to be guided and to guide each other towards the most effective design solution. If they disregard the process their work suffers in addition to their grades. A couple of the students left the group wondering what happened between the initial review and final submission.
The final submission included the final mounted piece, layered and unlayered digital files (submitted before the beginning of class) and a envelope with their process notes within (brainstorm/sketches). While the envelope was not discussed in great detail in class it appears to be a standard procedure at VCC as each student was prepared to submit their work appropriately.
Before the end of class the next project was discussed. The assignment is to create either a three poster or three magazine ad series for a beauty and hygiene product of their choice. Other than that there were no guidelines. Students are expected to take over the design process from here, outlining their design problem and their market, differentiating their target audience details and concepting a minimum of 15 campaigns for the next class. In addition they were asked to keep their sketches to one concept per page with the full campaign showing. The question came up about what magazine dimensions would be appropriate which the prof responded by saying it depended on their audience and where it made the most sense. In addition the students were allowed to choose up to two different products within the 15 campaigns if they so chose to do so.
After class Prof. B asked me to lead out the upcoming class discussion. Although I had expected to take the lead at some point during the semester I wasn’t sure I was quite ready. Sensing my apprehension he reassured me that my input thus far in the class had given him the confidence to hand the reins over and that everything would be fine. I agreed and have been decidedly rereading certain portions of “Tools for Teaching” by Barbara Gross Davis. The chapters in Part III: Discussion Strategies have been an excellent source in preparation.