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LASF and the Visual Voice

By Sandy Mouat
CORRESPONDENT

The Lafayette Arts and Sciences Foundation has found a way to ensure that the future of professional, visual communication is in good hands. The Visual Voice, a grant awarded last December, enabled Acalanes High School teacher Susan Lane to expand the innovative Graphic Design program that she designed and implemented in September.
          Her pilot program, which challenges students to be critical thinkers and to develop problem solving skills, meets the needs of college bound students as a preparatory course for higher level Graphic Design studies, as well as the needs of those who will be heading directly into the job market after their high school graduation.
          LASF provided the equipment, but Lane has put her heart and soul, as well as her many years of experience as a computer teacher, into the project. It is every inch "her baby", evidenced by the computer network in her classroom which she designed and set up herself.
          The program trains the students in the technical and creative skills necessary for an entry-level commercial graphic arts position. In meeting the current demands of the digital imaging industry, the students are introduced to the fundamentals of visual communication, including page layout, image editing, graphic manipulation, composition and typography. Students develop hands-on skills using the same computer equipment and software applications as those used in professional production shops and design studios. They design product packaging, labels, logos, advertisements, posters, and business cards, to name just a few examples. Their projects include multimedia presentations, web page design, and digital photo retouching.
           Lane’s program spans all disciplines. For a recent assignment to design a postage stamp, the students were required to create a design which incorporated a theme of prevailing social and cultural trends, such as the issues of homelessness, world hunger, and environmental concerns. The project is a clever combination of research and graphic design. The final product looks incredibly authentic and beautifully rendered. The projects were graded on several tough criterion including what special effects were applied, creativity, ability to problem solve, visual progression, appropriate use of personal style, and the deliverance of a polished product.
           Her classroom is a creative nexus for students whose favorite avocation may be their intended vocation, as well as for dabblers in the graphic arts. Her students are completely engrossed in their work, thoroughly enjoying their opportunity to learn the process, regardless of the outcome of each project. They learn from their successes, but perhaps more so from their mistakes. It is invaluable for them to discover how and why technical mishaps occur, and continuously apply each experience to the next assignment.
           The assignment to create a Web site involves a very clear cut criteria: the layout must be planned and clearly organized, the navigation must be easy and logical, all the links must work properly, the content must be factual, interesting, and creative, and careful attention to the principles of design must be apparent in the choices of colors, fonts and graphics.
           The students begin by planning the organization of their Web site. They are taught to think about their intended audience when designing their three page sites, which include an introductory "home page", a page which describes their business or product in detail, and a page containing a customer questionnaire. Once they have a clear plan in mind, they begin the mechanics of implementing their plan. This involves several steps beginning with defining the site, actually creating and formatting each page, creating a digital library to store images, and creating the interactive customer form on the final page. By the time the student has completed the lesson, they have gained a skill highly valued in the business and education fields.
           Eminently qualified to lead these students toward careers, Lane writes that she is, "teaching skills that can be applied to any industry, nurturing each student’s creativity and knowledge so that they can become successful, productive contributors to society."
           The Internet still leaves many members of their parents’ generation awestruck. Susan Lane has so skillfully integrated computers and the Internet into the total educational experience of these students that they think of both as just more tools to help them reach their goals.

To see samples of the work of Susan Lane's students, visit the website @ www.lasf.org and click on Gallery. Contact Sandy Mouat at smouat@lasf.org

3/24/99 Reprinted with permission. Visit the Contra Costa Times on the web at www.contracostatimes.com.

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