Lenior-rhyne University

Adjunct Instructor Teaching
Com 140: Editing & Design

Designing and teaching a studio-style design course for Com and Art majors, focused on real-world creative process, critique, and delivery.

Course Structure & Objectives

I structured the course around the real design lifecycle — research, ideation, critique, refinement, and presentation — so students learned how to think and communicate like working professionals, not just how to use tools.

Each week included

An in-depth reading and lecture on a single design principal
Instruction in one of the course design editing tools (from the Adobe Creative Suite)
An exercise that married practice in the tool with proof of understanding the design principle
Practice critique for student peer work

The course culminated in a portfolio-level final project which taught branding while allowing the student to reflect on some of their accomplishments and learning.

See the Syllabus >

Student Work

Create Your Personal Flag We start the course with a fun activity that we'll discuss in class as a getting-to-know-you exercise. First, watch the Ted talk and consider what makes a good and bad design for city flags. Then, consider how you could represent yourself with a unique flag design. At first students use traditional media to draw their flag, and later recreate the design in Adobe Illustrator.	Line When first introduced to Photoshop, some students are very timid. We create this design step-by-step in class while discussing the properties of Line as an element of design and learning the most basic Photoshop tools together.	Form Students create the illusion of 3 dimensions when they discover how to illustrate light and shadow. This teaches the element of form while covering Photoshop shape and gradient tools.
Balance Using the 4 shapes provided (Square, Circle, Triangle, Line), students create either a symmetrical or asymmetrical composition.	Alignment Using the font of their choice, students type the word Alignment with each letter on an individual layer. At least one letter must be rotated. Another letter must be a different size. A third letter must be replaced with a glyph or black & white image that is reminiscent of the letter form. Using at least 3 vertical guides and 3 horizontal guides, they align letters in a unique way that still allows for readability.	Space Using 2 different typefaces, students write their initials using black and white only. They must alter the size, weight, and posture of fonts to create a unique design that creates an interesting positive and negative space on the page.
Type Students discover the properties of type as they create a noun or verb of their choice using the type tool. Use font effects, type on a path, the warp tool, or any other solution you desire to illustrate the word you've selected using the letters they've typed.	Color Palette Students create a color palate using an image of their choice. They are asked to import the image into Illustrator and create a vector graphic. Then, they must select 4 colors from the image and correctly identify which color scheme their selection represents.	Forced Perspective Students learn about Photography and the principle of forced perspective. Then they're asked to FAKE this principle in this fun assignment that let's them re-imagine two images of their choice. (To respect student privacy, this example is one of my own--not student work).
Event Flyer Students were asked to create a flyer for an upcoming campus event to discuss gun violence in schools. They were required to use their knowledge of page layouts and InDesign skills to come up with an original and appealing design that informs the reader and gains interest in the event.	Brochure Students create a tri-fold brochure using InDesign for the campus club or sport of their choice. Students were asked to employ their knowledge of design principles and page layout to create an appealing design.	Children's Book The final project students will complete in InDesign is a complete multi-page document illustrating their favorite children's book. This document must include a cover, chapter titles, special characters, and page numbers, all applied with Master Pages.
Personal Logo After a lecture on branding and target audiences, students have the opportunity to create their own personal logo. (This example was created in 2018. Most logo and branding has subsequently been moved to Com 240 - a follow-up course I help co-create).	Digital Ad After creating their personal logo and complete visual identity for their brand, students then apply their brand standards to print and digital ads.	Digital Showcase As a final deliverable, students create a multi-page print or digital showcase of their best work from the course using Adobe XD. This project illustrates the students’ understanding of core cores objectives and their ability to use the design software at an intermediate level.

WHAT STUDENTS SAY

What was the most helpful aspect of the course?

I enjoyed the photographer seminar, critical thinking aspects, and development of skills that can be used outside of the classroom.

What did you enjoy most?

I enjoyed doing peer work as well and having guest speakers from time to time. I definitely recommend this professor.

Other Comments

I like that it related to my major and I got real world experience out of this class.

Reflection

This work strengthened my ability to break complex concepts into teachable systems — the same skill I use when coaching product teams and developing designers.

Want to hear more about my focus on design education?

Let's Chat

Lenior-rhyne University

Adjunct Instructor Teaching Com 140: Editing & Design

Course Structure & Objectives

Student Work

Create Your Personal Flag

Line

When first introduced to Photoshop, some students are very timid. We create this design step-by-step in class while discussing the properties of Line as an element of design and learning the most basic Photoshop tools together.

Form

Students create the illusion of 3 dimensions when they discover how to illustrate light and shadow. This teaches the element of form while covering Photoshop shape and gradient tools.

Balance

Using the 4 shapes provided (Square, Circle, Triangle, Line), students create either a symmetrical or asymmetrical composition.

Alignment

Space

Using 2 different typefaces, students write their initials using black and white only. They must alter the size, weight, and posture of fonts to create a unique design that creates an interesting positive and negative space on the page.

Type

Students discover the properties of type as they create a noun or verb of their choice using the type tool. Use font effects, type on a path, the warp tool, or any other solution you desire to illustrate the word you've selected using the letters they've typed.

Color Palette

Students create a color palate using an image of their choice. They are asked to import the image into Illustrator and create a vector graphic. Then, they must select 4 colors from the image and correctly identify which color scheme their selection represents.

Forced Perspective

Students learn about Photography and the principle of forced perspective. Then they're asked to FAKE this principle in this fun assignment that let's them re-imagine two images of their choice. (To respect student privacy, this example is one of my own--not student work).

Event Flyer

Students were asked to create a flyer for an upcoming campus event to discuss gun violence in schools. They were required to use their knowledge of page layouts and InDesign skills to come up with an original and appealing design that informs the reader and gains interest in the event.

Brochure

Students create a tri-fold brochure using InDesign for the campus club or sport of their choice. Students were asked to employ their knowledge of design principles and page layout to create an appealing design.

Children's Book

The final project students will complete in InDesign is a complete multi-page document illustrating their favorite children's book. This document must include a cover, chapter titles, special characters, and page numbers, all applied with Master Pages.

Personal Logo

After a lecture on branding and target audiences, students have the opportunity to create their own personal logo. (This example was created in 2018. Most logo and branding has subsequently been moved to Com 240 - a follow-up course I help co-create).

Digital Ad

After creating their personal logo and complete visual identity for their brand, students then apply their brand standards to print and digital ads.