Visual Communications is not only the study of how we communicate visually, it is also the study of our fixation on images. In this class we will explore  how images operate,  how they influence our lives and our opinions, how they incite our imagination or aggravate our fears. With the aid of technology, students have an opportunity to create visual artifacts of their own as well as understand and analyze the visual images created by other artists.

We will study images and symbols that are all around us and that appear in advertisements, art, logos, magazines and books. Students will have an opportunity to explore the mayor principles of design as they relate to digital graphics and semiotics, the study of symbols and meaning.

This course meets the CSU/UC Visual and Performing Arts requirement (F) and/or the College Prepatory Elective requirement (G). This class is an R.O.P. course.

Course Objectives:
By the Completion of this class students will:

• Be able to define Visual communications and explain their role in a modern world.
• Be able to define and recognize the elements of design used by artists today (Balance, Contrast, Color Harmony, Rule of Thirds, White Space, Order, etc)
• Be able to engage in the basic functions of exploration: defining, describing, elaborating, analyzing, engaging in critical thinking, etc.
• Be able to analyze instances of visual communications (ads, magazine covers, pictures, paintings) by breaking down their elements and explain how they create meaning.
• Be able to define the role of visuals in changing people’s perceptions (by way of propaganda, social and political statements, advertisement, art)
• Be able to transfer ideas into images by means of sketching, designing or plotting in a computer.
• Be able to use computer programs (Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, GoLive, InDesign, Final Cut, Motion, etc) to create visual statements.
• Be able to create products, art, advertisements or political statements and justify their choice of elements.