Module 0 · Getting Started
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Objectives
- 0.1 Set up and verify every account and piece of software the course uses, and record and share a short narrated screen recording. (Course Competency 3; Apply)
- 0.2 Describe the audience and goal of two pieces of your own past work in a Discord introduction. (Course Competency 1; Understand)
Overview
Welcome to AVC 183 Graphic Design, the first graphic design course in Digital Media Arts. This course is fully online and asynchronous; there are no scheduled class meetings. It runs 15 weeks, January 16 to May 9, 2027, with spring break March 15 to 21.
Where to begin. Read this page, then Course Information and Policies and AI in This Course. Then complete the three Week 1 assignments in Module 0, all due Thursday, January 21, at noon. The full calendar is on the course schedule.
How a module works
Every module follows the same order: Objectives, Overview, Watch, Read, Practice, the assignments, Critique, and the due dates. Every assignment page opens with what it measures, gives the steps, shows the rubric, and ends with a date box.
How a deadline works
Everything is due at noon, Arizona time. Nothing is ever due at midnight.
There are two deadlines a week, Thursday and Sunday; Week 1 has one, on Thursday. Projects and project steps (Process Work and Projects) are posted to the class Discord by noon the day before they are due, and you leave three critique comments on classmates’ work by the due time. Exercises, readings, quizzes and reflections have no Discord step. Late work is accepted for 24 hours after a deadline with a 10 percent deduction. Nothing is accepted after noon the day after the due date. When a holiday falls on a deadline or its hard close, the deadline moves a day earlier, so nothing is due when campus is closed.
Comments on classmates who post during the 24-hour window are encouraged and ungraded. They are good community citizenship, not extra credit.
What you will make
- Word/Meaning. Make five words look like what they mean, using only type.
- Recipe. One recipe, eight designs, a 12-column grid and one typeface at one size; hierarchy tools unlock one at a time.
- Someone Else’s Brand. A welcome package inside the real City of Milwaukee brand guidelines, including the brand loaded into Figma.
- Your Own Brand. Name a business, build its mark, a press-ready business card and a three-panel Instagram campaign, then a three-page website in Figma.
A Design History project runs alongside from Week 7, and you finish with a Behance portfolio.
Two rules that hold all semester
- Sketch by hand before you touch the computer. Every project. Photograph sketches flat, full frame, in even light.
- Never stretch or distort type. It is scored on every project.
AI in this course
The AI rule in this course. Use Gemini with your Maricopa account only, never a personal account. When you need a notebook built from your own sources, use Gemini Notebook, not Gems. Gemini writes, it never designs: it helps with research, writing, feedback and planning, and every mark, layout and visual decision is yours. The one exception is the Design History project, where Gemini also builds the presentation from requirements you write, and you verify every fact in library databases. Every use goes in your AI-use log.
If you are under 18, your Maricopa Google account blocks some Gemini features (for example Deep Research and image editing). No assignment requires a blocked feature. If Gemini refuses a step, post in Discord or send a Canvas Inbox message and you will receive an alternate step that meets the same objective.
Technology you will need
- A computer that runs Adobe Creative Cloud (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop), with reliable internet. Students without a computer or reliable internet can borrow a laptop or hotspot through GCC’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) Student Technology Request.
- A phone or camera to photograph sketches, and a microphone (a phone or laptop microphone works).
- Basic file skills: saving, naming, exporting PDF, PNG and JPG, and taking screenshots.
- Your MEID, the Maricopa student ID and login, signs you in to Canvas, your Maricopa Google account and Adobe Creative Cloud.
- Where you participate: Canvas for every submission; Discord for critique and questions. If Discord is unavailable to you, tell your instructor in Canvas Inbox and you will post critique in a Canvas discussion instead.
Critique guidelines
- Name one design principle (or, in Module 4, one brand rule) and point to where it appears in the work.
- Say what works before what to change, and suggest a change, not only a problem.
- Disagree respectfully and about the work, never the person. Screen names are allowed.
- Add alt text to every image you post, and a caption or transcript to every audio or video post.
Make your work accessible
Video gets accurate captions: start with automatic captions, then read every line and correct names, terms and timing by hand. Audio gets a corrected transcript. Every meaningful image, including images posted in Discord, gets alt text of one or two sentences on what matters. Documents use real headings and readable contrast; PDFs are exported with tags. Media rubrics include captions and alt text.
Your instructor and help
| For | Use | Response |
|---|---|---|
| Software and project questions | The #avc183-graphic-design-1 channel on the Digital Media Arts Discord, so everyone benefits from the answer | Within one business day; classmates often answer sooner |
| Grades, accommodations, anything private | Canvas Inbox (Inbox in the left Canvas menu) | Within one business day |
| Live help | Office hours on Discord are posted in the welcome announcement. | During the posted hours |
Your instructor is a practicing graphic designer and Digital Media Arts faculty member; the welcome video in Module 0 introduces their work and how critique runs. If software will not open or will not license, say so on Discord or in Canvas Inbox the day you find out, not the night before a deadline. Adobe licensing usually takes about a day to fix.
Process Work is graded within three days of the due date. Projects are graded with written feedback within one week.
Student support
- Tutoring: Free tutoring, including writing help for rationales and reflections.
- GCC Library: Research guides, library databases and course reserves.
- Ask a Librarian: A real librarian, by chat or email.
- IT Service Desk: Problems with your MEID (your Maricopa student ID and login), Canvas or other accounts.
- Adobe Creative Cloud for students: How to sign in to the district Adobe license.
- Disability Resources and Services: Accommodations, including for recording and media tasks.
- Counseling: Personal, career and academic counseling.
- GCC Cares, basic needs: Food, housing, emergency support and other basic needs.