Who are these people?

Luckily for all of you, you have a teacher who is a history nut. :)

Seriously, though, in the study of graphic design, I think it's very important that you learn as much as you can about the field's present, but also — especially — its past. Often you will discover that a current trend in the graphic design world has had more than a few ties to trends of previous decades. Not only that, but to study past trends is to see how someone else has approached the same problem that you may be working with, and thus it may give you some ideas — not to slavishly imitate, of course! — but to incorporate into your own work.

To that end, I am providing this list of notable visual communicators and graphic designers for you to read about from the American Institute of Graphic Arts’ website, at this link:

http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/medalists

I would like you to choose a person from this list and write a short paragraph about him or her, using the information in the bios, but I also want you to take it one step further and find several examples of that person's work to include with your paper.

The AIGA site itself is also worthwhile to bookmark, as you will find much good information there. You may also want to consider joining the AIGA as a student member. There is a local chapter in Pittsburgh which has sponsored some very interesting workshops and events over the years, and while you don't have to be a member to attend, membership in this organization does have many advantages.

First assignment for Graphic Design 110

Hello, everyone!

This first assignment is something I adapted to enable you to learn how to use the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator. You may already be familiar with this tool from using Photoshop. If you are, that's good — you will know your way around using it. However, there are some subtle differences with the pen tool in Illustrator that you will need to know, so that's why I'm posting these exercises.

This is probably the most powerful tool you can learn to use, as you can not only use it in Photoshop and Illustrator, but also with InDesign.

If you have any questions, please ask. That's why I'm here.