1. Learn to identify, plan, and design cohesive brand identity systems through logo marks, typography, imagery, color, and layout.

2. Analyze the structural, conceptual, and cultural characteristics of branding systems across various touchpoints.

3. Define visual and strategic rules for creating or extending brand identity systems across print, digital, and environmental formats.

4. Explore historical and contemporary branding practices, theories, and their influence on identity design.

5. Develop brand systems in response to audience, context, scale, and medium—adapting designs for both static and dynamic environments.

6. Develop vocabulary, authorship, and storytelling strategies to articulate brand narratives and design decisions.

We come from different places, backgrounds and walks of life. Our collective is formed by individuals creating a network. Each one of us will practice patience, curiosity and sensitivity. Share your passion and perspective while making space for others. The more diverse our conversation, the better. We are in the process of building trust through giving, compassion and collaboration to create a studio culture and atmosphere that enhances our sense of belonging.

You are expected to come prepared to class. This means printing your work prior to class and being ready for group discussions. More than anything, this is about respecting our time together as a community.
Side note: printing takes time. Printers may get jammed/break/run out of toner/have a long line of students next to them/etc. When possible, help each other. Learning with others is a top priority as design is rarely practiced alone. You are expected to stay connected, respectful and communicate observations or suggestions, while staying curious about those who form our class community, as part our shared space and experience.

The studio is a playground. We play with others, test different opportunities that may present us with new challenges to aim for, to share, to celebrate. And yes, there’s a chance things might turn out different from what we’ve expected. Embrace it with wonder and explore what this taught us.

—Laptop
—Adobe Creative Cloud
—Notebook/sketchbook

Slack: Our main method for communication with each other will be via our class Slack. Please download the app to your desktop and mobile. Our Slack workplace will be used for class announcements, assignments, resources, questions, and online discussions/critiques. Email me for more formal matters. 

Google Drive: All final assignments will need to be submitted to the class Google Drive. I will let you know which files will need to be submitted in order for you to receive a grade for the assignment. 

Adobe Creative Cloud: All BU undergraduate and graduate students have free access to Adobe Creative Cloud. Learn more and request your access: https://www.bu.edu/tech/services/teaching/digital-multimedia-production/adobe-creative-cloud.  

Back Up Your Work: You are expected to back up your work, either to a hard drive or a cloud service. Backing up can be automated as a regular part of your working process. Note that you will not be excused for preventable loss of data. I recommend using Backblaze or your BU Google Drive.

This class will you require to you commit work time outside of class. You will practice applying what you learned during class time to your individual or group assignments. Plan to commit at least 4–6 hours of work for this class, outside of class time.

Over the course of the semester, you will complete three main assignments. Equal emphasis will be placed on both process and final outcomes. Your work will be evaluated through in-class critiques and online discussions held weekly. While design is often framed as a means of solving problems, this course will also position design as a method of inquiry—thinking through making. While “form follows function” remains a guiding principle, we will also explore how function can emerge through form.

Assignments are designed to support this exploration, emphasizing form-making as a generative process that raises questions and sharpens your creative process. To receive a final grade, you must complete and submit all required assignments. Revisions are welcome and encouraged—any project may be revised and resubmitted up until the final day of class.

You will receive one semester grade according to the graphic design program learning objectives and the following:

1. Professionalism
Attendance: Please make every effort to arrive punctually. You must attend all classes. 
Participation: You are expected to be an active participant in class by keeping up with assignments and thoughtfully contributing to in-class and online discussions and critiques. Arrive on time for class prepared with assignments per the weekly schedule.

2. Process
Critically engage with research and analysis of content, audience, and context to develop a personal voice. Revise, iterate, and refine concepts and ideas based on class discussions and critiques. Experiment with new forms, processes, and media.

3. Execution
Presentation: effectively communicates conceptual and formal ideas with attention to craft and detail 
Exploration: formal inventiveness, experimentation, curiosity, evolution
Composition: typographic systems, hierarchy, control of all graphic and typographic elements
Function: clarity of communication, intended understanding of information, relationship between form and content

80% Assignments (15% Exercise, 30% Project 1,  35% Project 2)
20% Attendance and Class Participation

A / You demonstrate an advanced understanding of concepts presented and are able to complete work above and beyond suggested parameters.
B / You exhibit a more than competent understanding of concepts presented and utilize these concepts in an articulate manner.
C / You demonstrate a basic understanding of the information studied and apply this information to assigned problems meeting basic expectations, but not going beyond suggested parameters.
D / You exhibit limited understanding of the concepts and complete work below the level required for satisfactory performance.
F / You demonstrate little or no understanding of course material, shown little desire, motivation or turn in incomplete projects.

Undergraduate Academic Advising and Student Support: https://www.bu.edu/cfa/current-students/visual/advising/

Graduate Advising and Student Support: https://www.bu.edu/cfa/students/academic-advising/graduate-advising/

If you are having trouble using your BUID to gain access to your classroom/studio, or if you recently had your BUID replaced, please contact the SVA office at visuarts@bu.edu or 617 353 3371 so that your access can be checked or updated.

SVA Technical Associate, Graphic Design: Jesse Finkelstein jrfinkel@bu.edu or (617)-655-2155

I will be available to meet with you outside of class during my weekly office hours via Zoom. Please sign up through my Calendly. You can attend by yourself, with a classmate or as a group. I am available to discuss your projects, brainstorm together, and to chat in general!

You are welcome to use the studio space to work in when there is no class in session. Please be respectful of the space and clean after yourself each time you print or use the equipment. Remember that this is a shared space, so it is everyone’s responsibility to care for the space.

Academic Calendar: https://www.bu.edu/reg/calendars/semester/

The Educational Resource Center provides assistance for undergraduate and graduate students with academic skills advising, writing assistance, and tutoring. Many students benefit from the programs that the ERC offers. Learn more at https://www.bu.edu/erc.

CFA Mental Health and Wellness Resources: https://www.bu.edu/cfa/current-students/mental-health-wellness-resources/ 

Accommodations for Students with Documented Disabilities: If you are a student with a disability or believe you might have a disability that requires accommodations, please contact the Office for Disability Services (ODS) at (617) 353-3658 or access@bu.edu to coordinate any reasonable accommodation requests. ODS is located at 25 Buick Street on the 3rd floor.

I value your health and wellbeing. In order to succeed in this class, in college and beyond, it is important to work hard and balance that with rest, self-care, and attention to your mental and physical health. I (along with you and your classmates) will challenge you in this class through assignments, activities, and discussions. However, the work in this class should not be at the expense of your wellbeing. If for any reason you are struggling to find balance in your work life and health/wellbeing, please reach out. I am here for you and am happy to discuss ways in which this class can support you in your learning and growth.  You can find more resources provided by BU CFA Mental Health & Wellness Resources.

According to the SVA Attendance Policy, unless specific permission for absence is arranged with the instructor of this course, students must attend class to receive credit for the course. Unexcused absences exceeding 1/4 of the total class hours in a given semester are considered excessive in all SVA courses.  Tardiness and any unexcused absences will reduce your course grade. Three unexcused absences will reduce your semester grade by one step (eg, A- to B+). Seven unexcused absences will earn you a failing grade for the course. You will be considered tardy if you arrive more than 10 minutes late. Three tardy arrivals constitute one unexcused absence. If you are absent, you are responsible for asking your classmates for materials and instruction.

You are responsible for completing course assignments by the due dates listed in the schedule. Submitting a project includes being present and participating during the final project critique and by submitting the required digital file to the class Google Drive by the last day of class. Late work will be penalized. Please speak with me if you are unable to meet class deadlines or need accommodations.

You are expected to be familiar with BU’s Academic Policies and the Academic Conduct Code, which includes the following excerpts.

Cheating: Any attempt by students to alter their performance on an examination or assignment in violation of the stated or commonly understood ground rules.

Plagiarism: Representing the work or ideas of another as one’s own; and/or using another’s work or ideas without crediting the source. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the following: copying the answers of another student on an examination; copying or restating the work or ideas of another person or persons in any oral or written work (printed or electronic) without citing the appropriate source; using audio or video footage that comes from another source (including work done by another student) without permission and/or acknowledgement of that source; and collaborating with someone else in an academic endeavor without acknowledging their contribution. Plagiarism can consist of acts of commission (appropriating the words or ideas of another as one’s own), or omission (failing to acknowledge/document/credit the source or creator of words or ideas).

No assignments or projects generated entirely by AI tools will be accepted unless otherwise explained in the brief for a project. Though using visual AI in the ideation stage of a project is allowed, failing to cite/explain this inspirational source when presenting thumbnail sketches (etc.) or assets will be considered cheating. Outright copying of or uncited use of an AI visual generator will cause the student to fail the project.When using any AI (verbal or visual) for ideation, student must cite use.

As artists, designers, and educators, BU CFA School of Visual Arts values honesty, brave conversation, intellectual engagement and informed artistic freedom. We ask our community to recognize individual responsibility for actions, including the fact that impact on others may differ from intent. As an artistic community and as expressed in the BU Diversity Statement, SVA strives to be inclusive of all community members in regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, gender and gender identity, sexuality, class, ability, and religion. We also commit to the importance of treating each student as an individual with intersectional, personal, lived experiences. 

In our courses, lecture series, exhibitions and library, SVA values and is attentive to the importance of showing, discussing, and including artists, designers, and writers who represent people, cultures, and aesthetics historically excluded from Eurocentric narratives about art and design.

I am committed to making sure this course best serves students from various diverse backgrounds and perspectives. It is my goal to present work, references, methodologies, activities, assignments, and resources that challenge accepted canons. I value any feedback you may have about how to improve diversity, inclusion, and equity in this course—for you, other students or groups of people.

I honor that all of us learn in different ways. If there are circumstances that may affect your performance in this class, please talk to me as soon as possible so that we can work together to develop strategies for accommodations that will satisfy both your learning needs and the requirements of the course. If you are a student with a disability or believe you might have a disability that requires accommodations, please contact the Office for Disability Services (ODS) at (617) 353-3658 or access@bu.edu to coordinate any reasonable accommodation requests. ODS is located at 25 Buick Street on the 3rd floor. Please schedule a meeting with me during the first week of class to discuss any accommodations.