Details and a PDF download are in an earlier post (below), but for those who would like more direct access I have also published the questions on Google Docs, here:
Project Assignment: Playing Cards/Chess Set
fdecomite via flickr
Below is a link to the project assignment for History and Theory of Design. Your goal will be to create selected elements of either a deck of playing cards or a chess set. Those opting for the chess set will have the opportunity to have a piece printed on the 3D printer in the formLab.
Draft due: March 25, 2010 — Final due: April 22, 2010
Mid-Term Questions
I will update this with the questions as I get them; so far I have questions from:
- Team Brainstorm
- Team Indecisive
- Team Command-Z
- Team Pangea
- Team Cave Creatures
- Team Mystery
- Team Dirty 1/2 Dozen
- Cobra Commanders
Edit: All the questions are in now…but please note that these questions are exactly as I received them–some have no answers, some have incorrect answers. There are typos, misspellings and strange formatting: caveat lector! (it would be a Good Idea(tm) to research the answers on your own or in your teams).
I will choose 50 of these questions to make up the multiple choice/fill-in-the-blank portion of the mid-term exam, but will be asking for the correct answer. Remember that you are also responsible for “font anatomy” and typeface recognition.
Open-Source/Crowd Source Mid-term
We are all undertaking a small experiment together this semester. Instead of me trotting out one the dusty mid-term exams from my test folder, I am calling on the H&T teams to each collectively come up with 16 candidate questions for the exam (that’s two or three questions per person) for a total of 128 from which I will pull 50 for the actual exam. Questions should cover Meggs chapters 1-13.
The format of the questions must be either fill-in-the-blank (without an answer bank) or multiple choice (four choices) and must include correct answers (and plausible incorrect ones for the multiple choice, too!) Please use this template (cut and paste):
1. The printer ______ Manutius was known for printing small economical versions of classic texts. (answer: Aldus)
-or-
1. Hamurabi's Code was recorded in what writing system? A) hieroglyphics B) hieratic script C) cuneiform D) linear B (answer: C)
These questions will be due to me from each team in the body of an email (not an attachment) before midnight Wednesday March 3rd, 2010. Only one email to me per team.
I will release an archive of all the questions (and answers) I receive to the class before Spring Break. The (increasingly inaccurately named) Mid-term exam will then be given on Thursday March 18.
Team Presentation Topics/Dates
Looks like a great line-up!
Pangea
March 30, 2010
The Pencil
Indecisive
Tuesday March 25, 2010
3D Animation
Brainstorm
Tuesday March 16, 2010
The Typewriter
[Midterm Exam, Thursday March 18]
Command-Z
Tuesday March 23, 2010
Photoshop
Mystery Team
Tuesday March 23, 2010
Paper
Dirty ½ Dozen
Tuesday March 25, 2010
The Polaroid
Cave Creatures
Tuesday March 30, 2010
The Paintbrush
Cobra Commanders
Thursday April 15, 2010
Topic Under Discussion
The Industrial Revolution + Team Proposals tonight…
Team presentation proposal forms are due at the beginning of class tonight; also, please have chapter 9 read.
Reminder: class not meeting tonight or Thursday
I will be at CAA/points east until late Wednesday. Please meet with your teams to help prepare for your proposals. If you have not heard from people on your teams, now would be a good time to track them down.
Formal Team Presentation Assignments and Schedule
- What: Formal proposal for team presentations
- When: Proposals are due Thursday, February 18, 2010 (the first class period I am back from CAA/Baltimore)
Work as a team to fill out the PDF form below, including each team member’s signature, and have it ready to turn in at the beginning of class Thursday. You may ask questions as they arise via the contact form, or, preferably, the comments section on this post.
TeamPresentationOutline
Each team should download, print and fill out
TeamPresAssignment
Formal Assignment
Time to start thinking about team presentations…
I will post the formal assignment with details Tuesday, but you may want to talk informally with your team about a topic before then. Each team’s presentation will deal with a particular technology (high or low) and the impact it has had on design as we currently know it. Some examples might be: the laser printer, the Cartesian grid, Photoshop, the automobile, the halftone screen, paper, digital typography, etc.
Any tool or technology which has altered the production, consumption or contemplation of designed messages and objects is fair game.
The format is completely open: slide presentation, web site, short film, pamphlet, computer game, performance, etc. Just make sure your presentation covers:
- The cultural and political context in which the tool/tech was developed
- The ways in which he use of the tool/tech has changed with time
- The influences the tool/tech has had on what we now consider design
- The distinctive “marks” the tool/tech leaves on work produced with it
- Make a case as to why the tool/tech should or should not continue to be used by designers
Details to follow…
Remember we are touring Small Craft Advisory Press tonight
…so that’s where we are if you showed up and we’re not here. Kellogg Research Building basement–across from Panchero’s.
