top of page

ASSIGNMENT #1: Chart Your Graphic Life

In this studio experience, you will make a poster that shows at least ten (10) examples of graphic design that you encounter every day. You will also record your personal reactions to each design encounter on the poster. This experience will help make you aware of the many designed items around you, and will help you begin to analyze and understand why you react to certain messages.

​

Before You Begin:

You will need:

  • poster board 

  • newspapers, magazines and other print materials containing major brand logos and product names

  • scissors

  • markers

  • glue sticks or tape

​

For one day, keep a record of the graphic designs you encounter in your daily life. Focus particularly on the designs of things you choose or buy yourself, or would buy if you could.

​

Examples include:

  • Identity: logos and brand identities, such as those found on clothing, handbags, personal music players, cell phones, coffee cups, and such.

  • Advertising: any advertisement that catches your eye, such as print ads in newspapers and magazines or on the tv, posters in school or elsewhere, advertising on the sides of buses, web pop-ups, web banners, and such.

  • Publications: books or magazines that you have bought for yourself or those you pick up first in a waiting room or library, and non-commercial websites that you visit by choice regularly (ex: YouTube)

  • Information: maps or timetables you use regularly, such as a bus schedule or route map, or signage that you notice every day.

​

You may have to photograph, download, and print, cut out or photocopy some of these designs in order to collect them for your poster.

​

Create It

  1. When you have collected at least ten (10) different designs, start to lay out your poster. Divide the poster into the four main categories (identity, advertising, publications and information), and sort each design into the appropriate category. Allow space beside or below each entry for your reactions to the design.

  2. To evaluate each design, ask yourself: Why is this design appealing to me, or why does it stand out from its surroundings? What is the main focus of the design? How has the design created the focus?

  3. In the vase of products that you choose, ask: Is it the product itself that I notice or am attracted to, or is it the advertising for the product? How does that advertising make me feel about the product? Use expressive and descriptive words to explain your responses.

  4. Experiment with the layout of the poster before you glue everything down. Make your poster an attractive and useful object in itself.

​

Check It

Did you collect at least ten (10) different designs? Did you arrange them in a clear and organized way? Did you use expressive language to explain your reaction to each design? What did you learn about graphic design as a result of this process? What does your poster reveal about your personality and your daily life?

​

Design Diary Connection

Use your sketchbook to record any additional logos or other graphic designs that catch your eye. You'll find that sketching the design helps you see its elements more clearly. Which designs are more complicated than they look on a quick glance?

​

RUBRIC ON WHICH YOU WILL BE GRADED

bottom of page