COURSE DESCRIPTION:

GRA 301 is a studio course where design concepts methods, and techniques are studied. This course promotes a design process that necessitates problem definition’, research, ‘concept development’, ‘effective visualisation’, and ‘presentation of ideas.’

AIM:
GRA 301 studio basically aims to improve students’ ‘ability to design’ through expanding their practical knowledge in research & analysis, systems thinking, critical reasoning. By developing their visual literacy and skills in conducting design elements within the constraints of problem solving, students are then expected to be fluent in contemporary graphic design language. Accordingly, in order to pursuit the objectives of this course, it is necessary for the students to perform the following issues:

1. to enrich the their visual vocabulary by exploring different visual solutions in graphic design.
2. to be able to present and discuss a design solution with profound explanations concerning the governing design process.
3. to have a professional approach in executing and presenting the design solutions.
4. to develop their ability to work with various media.
5. to develop their skills in using image processing software.
6. to be able to conclude a design problem within the constraints of the real business environment.
7. to follow the proposed timetable for the project as strictly as a design professional would do.

EVALUATION OF THE PROJECTS:
During the semester, 4 projects and a final work will be completed.
The projects will be evaluated shortly after the execution juries, considering the overall effort spent for ‘research’, ‘concept formation’, ‘work progress’, ‘execution’, and ‘presentation’. Students are also required to keep sketch book, which is an essential part of the process.
Each student should present their projects during critiques. Missing more than half of the project time is not permitted. Students should work according to the time table, otherwise their projects won’t be accepted. The final project will be based on the average grades of the final jury.

DUE DATES:
All work is expected to be completed by the due dates at the announced hours. Late projects will not be accepted.
To keep in mind that official excuse does not automatically give the right to have a make up.

ATTENDANCE:
Attendance to all class meetings is of great importance for the students to be able to keep up with the fast span of this course. According to the department policy, students who miss more than 20% of the classes fail which equals to six full days in our course. Additionally, in our studio, missed classes will lower the final grade.

MAKE-UPS:
Make-ups are considered as improvements on the already existing design solutions but not as major changes that would require re design. Therefore, make-ups will be given only to projects which are executed on time and are promising for further improvement.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT:
Written assignment is an optional study. At the end of the semester students can submit the a research paper concerning ‘a subject, an issue about contemporary practice of graphic design in Turkey’
Written paper should be 10 pages 1000-1500 words and it should be governing visuals related to the subject matter.

EVALUATION IN GENERAL:
At the end of the semester, your overall performance will be calculated due to the following percentages:

Projects: %60
In Class Participation: %10
Final Project: %20
Attendance: %10
Research Paper Bonus: %10