Self-directed project =  300 points total.   

After having been introduced to visual communication principles and practices for print and screen, you will design a final project that will allow you to create a product that is relevant to your personal, academic, or professional goals.  You may work individually or in small groups.  This unit will consist of:

A proposal: 50 points.  

The project itself: 200 points.

Self-analysis memo: 50 points. 

The possibilities are wide-open:  design your own line of greeting cards, write/illustrate a children's story, write an illustrated essay about greeting cards or children's literature, design a killer Powerpoint presentation or Powerpoint movie, make a video or short digital film, etc., etc.

Your project needs to be substantial. We are taking approximately six weeks to brainstorm, research, and execute this project, so it needs to be a sufficiently ambitious project to meet the course expectations. 

The proposal should answer the following questions and provide the following information:

• What do you want to produce as your final product, and why?
• Who do you imagine as your audience, and what do you hope they will get from your project?
• What will your schedule be, week by week?  Identify specific tasks you will need to accomplish each week.

The recommended steps for this assignment are:

• Use your week off (Nov. 11) to brainstorm, explore, and look for models appropriate for your project.
• Write a well-developed proposal, due Nov. 18.
• Devote at least 5 hours per week to the project over the final three weeks of the semester (Nov.  25 - Dec. 9).  Some of that work time might be research and reading, some of that time might be doing more hands-on designing.
• Bring the work-in-progress, notes, or questions to class each week.
• Be prepared to show your work off on Dec. 16.

The criteria for this assignment are that you:

1. Meet or exceed the goals you set for yourself in your proposal.  You will assess this yourself in your self-analysis memo.
2. Identify where on McCloud's Big Triangle you are trying to locate your project, and design it accordingly. 
3. Demonstrate knowledge of the conventions of visual language through the execution of your project.