AVC 248 Design Self Promotion
Overview
AVC 248 is the capstone career course for graduating Digital Media Arts, Animation, Photography, Graphic Design and Fine Arts students. Over 15 weeks you build a resume, cover letter, identity package, leave-behind and portfolio; practice interviewing from a written answer to a full mock interview; and build a career agent in Gemini that keeps working for you after the course ends.
This course uses generative AI tools (Google Gemini) in assignments, as recommended by our industry advisors. Students use AI for research, writing and feedback, and create their own design work. Read AI in This Course.
Course Objectives
By the end of AVC 248 you will be able to:
- Evaluate the appropriateness of your personal goals and objectives to market needs.
- Develop a self-marketing plan, including a resume and business card.
- Develop a leave-behind.
- Use networking skills in the classroom.
- Identify the appropriate markets to target.
- Identify points of discussion for a standard operating contract with a client.
- Demonstrate the ability to interview and communicate with clients, including professional interview etiquette.
- Develop a portfolio for online and printed presentation purposes.
Every module objective is written to the revised Bloom’s taxonomy (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001) and sits at or below the level of the course competency it supports. Every graded assessment has had an AI-exposure check using Oregon State University Ecampus’s Bloom’s Taxonomy Revisited, so that the graded evidence shows your own thinking, decisions and work. The Competency Alignment and Time Budget page lists every objective with its level and the assignment that measures it.
Course Pages
- Start Here
- AI in This Course
- Meet Your Instructor
- Discord
- Adobe Software
- Netiquette
- Zoom
- Canvas
- QR Code Generators
- Course Schedule, Spring 2027
- Competency Alignment and Time Budget
- Portfolio Platforms
- Employment Landscape Survey
Modules
| Module | Weeks | Graded work |
|---|---|---|
| Module 0: Getting Started | 1 | 2 graded items |
| Module 1: AI Primer | 1 to 3 | 1 graded items |
| Module 2: Goals, Resume and Cover Letter | 2 to 4 | 10 graded items |
| Module 3: Identity and Self-Presentation | 5 to 7 | 9 graded items |
| Module 4: Midterm Portfolio | 8 | 3 graded items |
| Module 5: Freelance Business | 9 to 10 | 7 graded items |
| Module 6: Networking and LinkedIn | 11 to 12 | 7 graded items |
| Module 7: Interview Skills | 13 | 3 graded items |
| Module 8: Final Package | 13 to 15, and finals | 5 graded items |
| Module 9: Build Your Career Agent | 14 to 15 | 4 graded items |
Your Job Search Loop
A job search is a loop you run once for every role you pursue. This course teaches it, and your career agent keeps it running after you graduate.
- Target. Choose a real job and set goals around it.
- Build base materials yourself. Write your first resume and cover letter draft yourself, in a plain document.
- Find roles. Search the boards for your field and confirm each posting on the employer’s own site.
- Tailor and apply. Tailor your materials to the posting, check every claim, and never submit a first AI draft.
- Follow up and network. Send a short, specific follow-up and keep relationships active.
- Prepare to interview. Practice questions drawn from the posting.
- Track and adjust. Log every application and change one thing when the search stalls.
See Tailoring With AI: The Iteration Loop.
Your Instructor
Message your instructor through Canvas Inbox or ask in the course Discord channel (#avc248-design-self-promotion). Messages receive a reply within one business day. Questions about course content are best asked in Discord, where classmates benefit from the answer; questions about grades or personal matters go to Canvas Inbox.
Assignments are graded with written feedback within one week of the deadline, and resume drafts within five days. Optional Zoom check-ins are announced in Canvas Announcements and Discord; see Zoom. Read Meet Your Instructor for an introduction.