EVALUATION

Formative Assessments – 50% of Grade

Formative assessments support skill development and creative growth. These may include:

• Studio Starts and warm-ups

• Adobe skill lessons

• Software exercises

• Sketches and planning

• Design analysis

• Certification practice

• Project checkpoints

• Critiques and peer feedback

• Work habits and studio participation

• File management and production preparation

​

Summative Assessments – 50% of Grade

Summative assessments demonstrate a student’s ability to apply skills independently. These may include:

• Major creative projects

• Collaborative productions

• Unit assessments and quizzes

• Formal writing and reflections

• Presentations and critiques

• Portfolio submissions

• Print, motion, and multimedia productions

COURSE OUTLINE

Creative Studio Foundations

Students begin by reviewing professional workflow, file organization, naming conventions, project planning, color modes, resolution, and output requirements. Guided lessons and certification-focused skill builders help students strengthen their Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, animation, video, and production skills.

 

Students are expected to think like artists and designers: generating ideas, solving visual problems, managing their time, accepting feedback, and revising work with purpose.

​

Collaborative Banner Design

Level 3 begins with a longstanding Interactive Media tradition: the collaborative class banner.​ Two banners are professionally printed and displayed in the Interactive Media classroom and school hallways. Through this authentic production experience, students practice:

• Art direction and collaboration

• Original illustration

• Color and visual consistency

• Large-format document preparation

• File organization

• Critique and revision

• Preflight and quality control

• Print-ready export

• Professional presentation

​Each student creates an original section that contributes to a shared theme and visual direction. The class establishes a unified color palette, composition, typography, and production plan before combining the individual pieces into one large-format design.

​​

Digital Illustration and Character Design

Students continue developing their artistic voices through original raster and vector artwork. Depending on the project, students may explore:

• Digital painting

• Character and creature design

• Stylized portraits

• Environmental illustration

• Concept art

• Narrative and sequential art

• Vector illustration

• Mixed-media compositions

• Original fantasy and imaginative artwork

Students study line quality, shape language, color, value, texture, lighting, perspective, composition, and visual storytelling. Wacom pen displays and industry-standard Adobe applications allow students to combine traditional art concepts with advanced digital techniques.

​

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Students learn how art and design communicate ideas to a specific audience. Projects may include:

• Posters and advertisements

• Typography compositions

• Logos and identity systems

• Editorial layouts

• Social-media graphics

• Infographics

• Book or album covers

• Packaging concepts

• Promotional campaigns

• Merchandise designs

Students apply visual hierarchy, alignment, contrast, balance, color theory, typography, composition, and audience awareness. Original illustrations may be incorporated into design applications, allowing students to connect personal artwork with real communication needs.

 

Branding and Identity Design

Students explore how designers build recognizable and consistent visual systems. A branding project may include:

• Primary and secondary logos

• Color palettes

• Typography systems

• Icons and graphic elements

• Repeat patterns

• Style guides

• Packaging

• Apparel or merchandise

• Promotional materials

• Motion or social-media applications

Students consider audience, message, consistency, versatility, reproduction, and the story a brand communicates.

 

Motion Design, Animation and Video

Motion and video are integrated into the creative studio as extensions of art and graphic design. Students may create:

• Animated logos

• Kinetic typography

• Character or environment animation

• Looping animations

• Promotional videos

• Campaign videos

• Tutorials

• Title sequences

• Social-media motion graphics

• Short narrative productions

Students practice storyboarding, timing, keyframes, motion paths, easing, camera composition, editing, transitions, titles, audio synchronization, and export settings. Projects may incorporate original assets created in Photoshop and Illustrator.

 

Audio and Voice-Over

Audio is used to strengthen animation, video, and multimedia storytelling. Students may learn to:

• Record clear narration and dialogue

• Edit voice-over recordings

• Synchronize audio with motion

• Mix music, dialogue, and sound effects

• Reduce unwanted noise

• Prepare audio for multimedia projects

• Credit music and sound assets appropriately

 

Print and Product Production

Students experience how digital artwork becomes a professionally prepared physical product. Projects may include:

• Posters and publications

• T-shirts and apparel

• Tumblers and mugs

• Stickers

• Mousepads

• Buttons

• Packaging

• Promotional merchandise

Students learn about document dimensions, resolution, RGB and CMYK color, bleeds, safe areas, substrates, mirroring, print-ready files, proofing, heat-press operation, quality control, and product finishing.

 

Adobe Certification and Professional Workflow

Certification preparation is embedded throughout the course rather than separated from creative production. Students practice Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator skills through authentic projects, targeted lessons, Studio Starts, demonstrations, quizzes, and technical checkpoints.

Areas of study include:

• Document setup

• Raster and vector workflows

• Layers and file organization

• Selections and masks

• Nondestructive editing

• Paths and shape construction

• Brushes, patterns, gradients, and effects

• Typography

• Color management

• Linked and embedded assets

• File formats and export settings

• Digital and print production

• Copyright, licensing, and ethical media use

Students are expected to maintain organized working files and explain the creative and technical decisions behind their work.

 

Creative Direction and Project Choice

Level 3 students experience multiple areas of interactive media while making meaningful choices within projects. Students may select a subject, style, medium, audience, or final application that supports their individual interests.

Some students may develop a stronger concentration in:

• Graphic design and branding

• Digital painting and illustration

• Character and concept design

• Animation and motion media

• Video production

• Publication design

• Product design and creative production

These interests guide project choices and portfolio development without limiting students to only one area for the semester.

 

Studio Culture and Professional Practice

Throughout the course, students work in a collaborative studio environment where they:

• Generate and develop original ideas

• Participate in critiques

• Give and apply constructive feedback

• Revise and improve their work

• Troubleshoot technical problems

• Manage files, materials, and deadlines

• Document their creative processes

• Present and explain design decisions

• Explore creative careers

• Build professional portfolios

Students are encouraged to experiment, take thoughtful creative risks, and develop work that reflects both technical growth and personal expression.

 

Portfolio and Capstone Preparation

By the end of Level 3, students begin assembling a cohesive portfolio that demonstrates creativity, technical proficiency, professional workflow, and growth. Students refine selected work, create project summaries, and prepare artwork for print and digital presentation.

​

This portfolio helps students identify a possible direction for Level 4 Capstone, postsecondary study, Adobe certification, work-based learning, or a future creative career.

​

Capstone students build upon these expectations through increasingly independent, client-based, portfolio-focused, or specialized creative work.