COURSE TITLE:
JMS 562, Fall 2013
Advertising Creative Development
PROFESSOR:
Prof Joel Kordyak
Office Hours: TBD
E-Mail: jkordyak@mail.sdsu.edu
MEETING PLACE:
PSFA 374
LECTURE MEETING TIME:
LAB INSTRUCTINO TIME
Tuesdays: 7:00 – 9:40
TBD
TEXT:
The Advertising Concept Book - Pete Barry
GRADING:
Scored out of 100 points:
Final Project 30% - 30 points
Campaign 10% each (40% total) 10 points each/40 points total
Participation/Completion of assignments 30% (30 points)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The goal of this course is to learn executional fundamentals to bridge the gap between creative
thinking and creative execution. The 3 primary objectives to be achieved within the class are:
1. Design/process fundamentals: creative brief, philosophy, branding, design principles,
conceptual techniques, vocabulary, etc.
2. Graphic training: education on basic design software: photoshop, illustrator, indesign
3. Execution: concept development from conceptual headlines, initial stages of sketches and
mood boards etc., to final execution
To accomplish these objectives, you will learn to work in teams and individually to effectively
conceptualize, evaluate, and create ad mockups for a variety of client types, product types and
media channels. The class is designed to simulate an actual work environment with regards to
deadlines, presentations and working circumstances. All campaign subjects will be random
assigned to ensure that fundamental processes for creating design are practiced and instilled as
opposed to working off "gut reactions" reactions to an assignment. Through constructive critic
and analysis, you will learn to thoughtfully question your work and strive to make it better.
NOTE: It will not be the professor’s responsibility to give you ideas. The purpose of this class is
learn how cultivate your own ideas and techniques to bring those ideas to life. Several
mechanisms exist within the course structures that are intended to develop creative concepts and
provide feedback on those concepts. As such, the professor will give guidance but the ultimate
decision lies with each individual student.
CLASS ATTENDANCE: (from Bey-Ling Sha, JMS 481 Syllabus)
Class attendance is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED. Class attendance involves being ON TIME
to attend ALL of the class. If you miss class, you are responsible for obtaining the information
covered in that session from your classmates. Furthermore, if an in-class exercise was assigned
on the day you were absent, you will receive no credit for that assignment, nor will you be
allowed to make-up the assignment, unless your absence was excused.
When a student does not attend class, the absence is excused ONLY IF it was caused by (1)
religious observance, (2) participation in University activities at the request of University
authorities, (3) debilitating illness, or (4) compelling circumstances beyond the student’s control.
Students claiming excused absences are responsible for demonstrating to the instructor that their
failure to attend was on account of one of these four causes. Such demonstration shall take the
form of a letter signed by a person in a position to make an authoritative determination as to the
validity of the cause of absence claimed by the student. Letters related to any planned absences
must be presented to the instructor by the end of the second week of classes; letters related to any
unplanned absences must be presented to the instructor within one calendar week of the date of
absence, regardless of any holidays during that one-week period. The instructor reserves the right
to verify the content and authority of such letters.
ACADEMIC HONESTY:
University policy provides severe penalties for plagiarism, which is defined as “any activity
wherein one person knowingly resorts to the published or unpublished work of another in order
to represent it as one’s own.” Plagiarism in the context of this class would occur, for example,
when two individuals hand in identical assignments, or when the work of professionals is handed
in. The minimum penalty for plagiarism is a “zero” on the assignment and the lowering of the
final earned course grade by one full letter grade.
EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY: (from Bey-Ling Sha, JMS 481 Syllabus)
Some people believe that we should all be evaluated on the actual outcomes of our work, i.e.,
you get the grade that you earn based on the knowledge that you demonstrate you know. Others
believe that we should be evaluated on the effort that we put into the work, i.e., you get graded
based on how hard you tried. The challenge for many college students is that college is a time
when students must transition from the “effort-based” philosophy of K-12 education to the
“outcome-based” philosophy of the real world.
The instructor of this course believes in outcome-based assessment, not effort-based assessment.
Why? Because he knows that, in the end, operating in an effort-based philosophy does a serious
disservice to college students, who must graduate to operate in the outcome-based world. What
does this mean for you? It means that you will receive in this class the grade that you earn, based
on the grading criteria outlined on page 4.
PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT POLICY: (from Bey-Ling Sha, JMS 481 Syllabus)
We will work within a climate that fosters mutual respect, dialogue, and interaction. It is
expected that students in this class will comport themselves with prudence, courtesy, and dignity
in all course-related activities. There will be no discrimination on the basis of race, gender,
ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or military/veteran status. Sexual harassment of any sort
will not be tolerated during or in association with the activities of this class. Students who wish
to obtain further information regarding the campus sexual harassment prevention policy should
consult the San Diego State University Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy in the SDSU
Senate Policy File.
ASSIGNMENTS:
During the semester there will be 5 primary “campaigns” due with assignments due within each
campaign (4 "midterm campaigns" and 1 final campaign". You will receive approximately 10
assignments. These assignments will not be strictly graded, however participation in these
assignments is crucial. Your ability to effectively interact and understand each assignment and
how they relate to specific campaigns is the primary focus. As each assignment is specifically
designed to help you complete a task within every campaign, it is of the utmost importance that
they are completed. Participation in all assignments will be worth 30% of your grade (3 points
apiece). Assignments and exercises are to be completed prior to class and you should be prepared
to discuss your experience within the class setting. Quizzes will be given to ensure assignments
are completed.
Assignments are comprised of textbook readings and design software tutorials. Assignments will
be based upon techniques learned for creative brainstorming, concepting, web tutorials, software
skills, brief development, and group sessions. All assignments should be taken seriously as they
will ultimately reflect your grade.
In some instances, it may be easy to skip an assignment and still gain credit. Ultimately the skills
taught will be reflected in your final grade for each campaign and your ability to perform within
those campaigns.
MIDTERMS:
There will be four “midterm campaigns” due. They will be based on class lecture, assignments,
and group work. Each campaign is meant to build upon the last to reinforce learned skills as well
as develop an over understanding of the process of creative development. With each campaign,
the expectation of execution is raised. It is important to note that the effectiveness in
communicating both visually and conceptually is the key. You are not expected to be
professional artists... But you are expected to show understanding and creativity.
TERM PROJECT:
Each student will submit a final campaign project that will be an elaboration upon of one of the 4
previous campaigns developed. In select your final campaign subject, it is important to
understand that it should not be a regurgitation of previous work. The goal is to take a subject
matter you have experience with and refine it for greater potential. You will be asked to expand
the selected campaign into a full creative presentation. For this final campaign, you will be
required to make a formal presentation to the class (approx. 10-15 minutes). Presentations will
take place during the last two weeks of the semester Dec 10th and 17th. The project is "worth"
30% of your cumulative grade. See more information on this below.
GRADING:
Scored out of 100 points:
Final Project 30% - 30 points
Campaign 10% each (40% total) 10 points each
Participation/Completion of assignments 30% (30 points)
Grading Criteria for course project: Excellent conceptual and executional development is
essential for succeeding in the advertising industry. This class is designed to emulate an actual
working environment where quality of presentation and effectiveness to think through ideas and
communicate those ideas are the ultimate indicators of success. To that end, the instructor will
grade lab work and assignments using the following criteria:
A (90-100) – All assignments are completed and presentations are thoughtfully presented taking
into account the spirit of all campaign projects. Shows consistently highly learning of concepts,
software and techniques in the development of a course campaign.
B (80-89) – Handled all campaigns fairly well fairly well, but missing key elements that really
push a campaign over the top.
C (70-79) – Consistent conceptual and executional issues which lead to generic and obvious
work. Concepts which are presented are disjointed and hard to understand.
D (60-69) – A poor product that indicates lack of understanding of the material and exhibits
several major flaws or problems.
F (59 and below) – A very poor product that demonstrates only minimal ability to deal with
subject matter and present them. May contain serious flaws in conceptual ideas and execution.
The work is unacceptable.
A++ (perfect)=100 - 99
A+ = 98 - 96
A = 95 - 93
A- = 92 - 90
B+ = 88 - 87
B = 85 - 83
B- = 82 - 80
C+ = 78 - 76
C = 75 - 73
C- = 72 - 70
D+ = 68 - 66
D = 65 - 63
D- = 62 - 60
F = 59 - below