Module 4 · Someone Else’s Brand: City of Milwaukee
Milwaukee Step 2: Poster and Instagram Ad
Objectives
- 4.1 Apply the City of Milwaukee brand rules to a coordinated poster, Instagram ad and two welcome-kit mockups from the provided brief and copy. (Course Competency 2; Apply)
- 4.2 Integrate downloaded brand assets at correct size, color mode and clear space, and produce a press-ready poster PDF with bleed, crop marks and CMYK color. (Course Competency 3; Apply)
This assignment measures Module Objectives 4.1 and 4.2, which support Course Competencies 2 and 3.
Overview
Develop your strongest sketch into the poster, then adapt the same layout into one Instagram ad. You revise both in Step 5 from critique.
Instructions
Poster specifications
- 18 by 24 inches, 0.125-inch bleed on all sides
- CMYK; any image at 300 ppi effective resolution
- Press-ready PDF with crop marks (InDesign: File, Export, Adobe PDF (Print), Marks and Bleeds)
- Step 1 copy, exactly as written
Instagram ad specifications
- One feed post, 1080 by 1350 pixels (4:5), RGB, PNG or JPG
- The poster layout, simplified, with this text: Welcome to Milwaukee / Lake Michigan Freshwater Research Fellows / Welcome Reception · Thursday · 5 to 7 p.m.
- Logo and text at least 60 pixels from every edge
Caption, posted with your Discord submission and not on the image: Researchers from around the world are spending the semester studying our Great Lake. Stop by Thursday and say hello. #WelcomeToMKE
Beneath your Discord post, list five rules from the brand guide that your poster follows, with the page number of each.
Turning it in
- Post your work to #avc183-graphic-design-1 on Discord as PNG or JPG, with alt text, by noon the day before the due date.
- Comment on three classmates’ posts. Each comment names one brand rule from the guide and points to where it appears in the work.
- Screenshot your post and your three comments and compile them on one Miro board.
- Submit the Miro screenshot, the poster PDF and the Instagram PNG or JPG to Canvas by noon on the due date.
AI use
No AI use for the design. Log “No AI used.” Record every use in your AI-use log. Gemini is used only with your Maricopa account.
How it is scored
| Criterion | Objective | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Poster to spec: 18 by 24, bleed, CMYK, crop marks, PDF | 4.2 | 2 |
| Logo used correctly: downloaded file, clear space, minimum size, unaltered | 4.2 | 2 |
| Only brand colors and approved type; headline and reception read first | 4.1 | 2 |
| Instagram ad to spec, same layout simplified | 4.1 | 1 |
| Five brand rules listed with page numbers | 4.1 | 1 |
| Discord post with alt text, three comments that each name a brand rule, compiled in Miro | 4.4 | 2 |
| Total | 10 | |
Due
Post to Discord for critique: Wednesday, March 10, 12:00 p.m. Arizona time
Due in Canvas: Thursday, March 11, 12:00 p.m. Arizona time
Hard close: Friday, March 12, 12:00 p.m. Arizona time. Work submitted after the due time and before the hard close loses 10 percent. Nothing is accepted after the hard close.