Module 4 · Someone Else’s Brand: City of Milwaukee · Design History checkpoint

Design History: Research and Verification Log

Objectives

1. H.1 Describe the major movements, designers and visual language of one period of design history, with citations. (Course Competency 1; Understand)
2. H.2 Organize research on a design era into four to six categories, and verify five claims against library databases. (Course Competency 4; Analyze)

This assignment measures Module Objectives H.1 and H.2, which support Course Competencies 1 and 4.

Overview

Gather and organize your research, then check it. AI is a fast first step and an unreliable last one: designer names, dates and publication titles are where it makes mistakes.

Instructions

The AI rule for this project. Design History is the one project in this course where AI may design. You use Gemini with your Maricopa account for research and to build the presentation, in Gemini Notebook or by describing the presentation to Gemini and having it build it in Gemini Canvas (vibe coding). You must confirm facts in library databases and reflect on what the AI got right and wrong. Historical artwork in the presentation is always real and sourced, never AI-generated.

1. In Gemini Notebook or Gemini, ask for an overview of your period. A strong prompt has a role, a task and a format: “You are a design historian. Give me an overview of the major graphic design movements between [your years] in the United States and Europe, and note significant work elsewhere. Name specific designers, schools and publications. Use bullet points.”
2. Organize at least two pages of notes in a Google Doc into 4 to 6 categories (movements, designers, themes), each with 3 to 5 real examples and a paragraph summary. Keep a link to every source.
3. Find examples in Wikimedia Commons, the RISD Picture Collection, The Met Open Access and Library of Congress Free to Use.
4. Verification log. Check five claims from the AI output against the GCC Library databases. For each, record the claim, the database record that confirms or corrects it, and the result. Ask a Librarian reaches a real librarian.
5. Write three or four sentences reflecting on the AI’s accuracy: one error you found, and what it tells you about using AI for research.

If you are under 18, Deep Research is not available on your account. Use Gemini Notebook or the standard Gemini chat; the assignment does not require Deep Research. Do not enter personal information (name, student ID, phone) into any AI tool.

Post a link to your Doc (shared to anyone with the link) and one finding to #avc183-graphic-design-1 by noon the day before the due date, and comment on three classmates’ findings. Submit the Doc link and your AI-use log row.

AI use

Assigned AI use: Gemini or Gemini Notebook, Maricopa account, for research. Every claim you keep is verified in a library database. Record every use in your AI-use log. Gemini is used only with your Maricopa account.

How it is scored

Due