COMM 130 - Visual Media

Overview

Students in the Visual Media course will gain mastery skills in visual communication and online technology as they learn, analyze and apply principles of design, typography, color, photography and the Adobe Creative Suite software to create various design projects. These skills greatly enhance all types of business, education, church, community, and personal pursuits.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Produce effective visual media for targeted audiences using principles of design, typography, and color.
  2. Implement and document the visual design process: Understand project parameters; explore and create solutions; critique and refine drafts; and produce and present final products.
  3. Demonstrate professional skills in print productions, file management, layout, vector graphics, image capture, editing and optimization using industry-standard software.
  4. Produce projects with final draft proficiency to demonstrate diverse skills and design expertise.
  5. Become an effective visual communicator to enhance service as disciple leaders for the Savior Jesus Christ in home, business, church, and community settings.

Hybrid and Online

The campus hybrid and online Visual Media courses are closely synchronized. Students follow the same deadlines, use custom video tutorials and resources, and have access to special tutors (free of cost unless the appointment is missed) who can help with assignments in the Adobe software. Course materials are designed to accommodate both modes of delivery. All students create project drafts, find evaluators to critique their work, and showcase their finished work on a WordPress blog. Online students meet asynchronously with their instructors, but have the opportunity to meet synchronously in online office hours. Hybrid students meet once a week with an instructor and also have opportunities to meet with their instructor during regular office hours.

Required Materials

Projects

Each project is designed with a real-life situation. Students will set up a WordPress blog and post final projects with written content to describe the creation process. Students will review and comment on classmates’ work throughout the semester. Students will gather critique, then refine their projects for final blog posting.

Deadlines/No Late Work

There are two main deadlines, Wednesday and Saturday at 11:00PM MST. In accordance with Communication Department policy, late work will not be accepted. This policy prepares students to meet important deadlines in careers. Remember that projects are not complete until they are delivered before deadline in the manner requested by the client, which in this case, is the instructor.

Attendance (On-campus students)

Attendance is vital. Students who miss class must obtain the missed information from another student. Since we only meet once a week, the course grade will be dropped a full letter if a student accumulates two or more unexcused absences (coming late or leaving early will be recorded as a half absence.) three or more absences may result in course failure.

Mulligan

To help compensate for computer, personal or unforeseeable situations, students are allowed a mulligan, which allows 48 hours after the original due date without losing points. This mulligan may be used to extend the submission deadline for most activities. The mulligan cannot be used to extend the final presentation.
See the Mulligan assignment in I-Learn for more details on possible and proper usage.

Courtesy Policy

Students are expected to follow the Courtesy Policy, used in all Visual Communication courses. Courteous and professional interaction about coursework and grades is expected and rewarded. Instructors may award students up to 5 bonus points for the following:

Ethics

Students are expected to observe the BYU-Idaho Honor Code. All work must be original, and created by the student. Work from another course cannot be submitted for assignments in this course. Work from past semesters also cannot be submitted for this course. Copyright laws will be strictly observed, and violations may result in project or course failure, depending on the seriousness of the violation. For some projects students may use images they find online, but these must be obtained legally, and where required proper attribution must be made.

Preventing Sexual Misconduct Syllabus Statement

BYU-Idaho prohibits sex discrimination against any participant in its education programs or activities. Prohibited sex discrimination includes incidents of sexual harassment (including sexual violence), dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking (collectively “sexual misconduct”).

As an instructor, one of my responsibilities is to help create a safe learning environment for my students and for the campus as a whole. University policy requires that I report all incidents of sexual misconduct that come to my attention. If you encounter sexual misconduct, please contact the Title IX Coordinator at titleix@byui.edu or 208-496-9200. Additional information about sexual misconduct and available resources can be found at www.byui.edu/titleix.

Disability Services Syllabus Statement

BYU-Idaho does not discriminate against persons with disabilities in providing its educational and administrative services and programs, and follows applicable federal and state law. This policy extends to the University’s electronic and information technologies (EIT).

Students with qualifying disabilities should contact the Disability Services Office at disabilityservices@byui.edu or 208-496-9210. Additional information about Disability Services resources can be found at http://www.byui.edu/disabilities.