How I Incorporated WDYDWYD in My Art Direction 2 class at Temple University (ADV Dept) FALL '09

[Professor Sheryl Kantrowitz]

I was so excited when I came upon this site / project last summer as in my mind this was a perfect "icebreaker" / introductory project for my Art Direction 2 (senior undergraduates) students.

It gave me the ability to get to know them a bit as people as well as gave me a good baseline into their conceptual and technical graphic design abilities coming into my classroom at the beginning of the semester (use of typography, illustrations, photography, mastery or lack thereof of design principles, etc). And what was really great was that we were able to view the slideshow on the projection screen in class and have a really great group discussion the day the assignment was due!

Summary of the assignment:

CREATE visual art that uses imagery and incorporates text in a creative way and answers the question “Why do you do what you do?” The text you choose must be included in the image itself.
The following criteria will be used to grade your assignment.

1. originality/unexpected (See tips for answering WDYDWYD?)
2. relevance of imagery to the text, how well text is integrated into the image & whether the image offers additional layer of meaning to the overall message through contrast, irony or storytelling
3. visual creativity
4. choice of fonts / imagery that makes sense for the idea (you are submitting a short sentence or two about your image submission)
   

FILE SPECIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

• set up your file 8"x10"/10"x8" or 8"x8" if you want a square format at 300 dpi
• save as a JPG
• maximum file size you can upload is 10 MB
• flatten images before saving (to keep file sizes down)

FILE-NAMING REQUIREMENTS (this is very important to follow if you want to receive credit for this assignment)

Save your file as: 3053-1-F09-FirstName-Lastname.jpg
Example: 3053-1-F09-Sheryl-Kantrowitz.jpg

UPLOAD to https://wdydwyd.ning.com/photo/photo/new no later than 9:30 AM on September 10, 2009. (THURSDAY)

1. Tag your image "TEMPLE-FALL09"
2. Title image with your full name (FirstName  & LastName) & a key word or two from your image.
3. Add a caption that says a little more about why you chose the answer you did.

FAQs
Can I submit more than one? — Yes, as many as you want.

Can I create an image with someone else's answer? — Depends...
If you submit only one image, it should be your answer to "wdydwyd?". If you submit additional images, you may also create one with an answer from someone you ask. It's fun to ask other people why they do what they do.

Are there any tips for answering "wdydwyd?" — Yes, go here. 

RESULTS can be seen here in our group / class album:
https://wdydwyd.ning.com/photo/albums/1199681:Album:34306

[Professor Sheryl Kantrowitz]

UPDATE: Spring semester 2010, I assigned more or less the same assignment as described above to my first level Art Direction students as an ice-breaker assignment and I think the results overall were fabulous. Many of the students chose to use the combination of words and imagery to share something really meaningful about where they were at...or where they were coming from possibly that got them to the seat they were sitting in that day. Others chose to interpret the assignment more conceptually...overall, I learned a lot about many of their goal(s), backgrounds, sense of humor, etc...and their skill levels in many cases. (i.e. sophistication levels with typography, design software, coming up with and presenting a "conceptual" piece of work, etc). Moving forward, I think this is a great first project for my intro level art direction students. Big thanks to Tony for creating WDYDWYD and maintaining this wonderful network/community.

[Tony Deifell]

That's so cool to hear! Thanks for the update Sheryl.

[Tony Deifell]

Great to see how you assigned it Sheryl, and that you're doing it again this Spring!