Produced by Henry Machtay, Galileo Academy, SF
Summer Externship with Tom Eliot Fisch, Architects
Sponsored by BuildSF & Career-Tech Ed Dept, SFUSD

LINKS:
Sample Ad Campaign
Sample Web Pages

On a Meta Level

Based on experiences at Tom Eliot Fisch, Architects:
• In businesses they SOLVE PROBLEMS and TAKE ON CHALLENGES. Instead of assignments and projects, my students will be given Problems and Challenges.
• All COMMUNICATION TELLS A STORY. Before undertaking a graphic design challenge, my students will consider "What story are you trying to tell?"
• San Francisco is a beautiful city – we should appreciate it and communicate that appreciation.

Theme for 2012–13: Exploring San Francisco
• Semester 1: Celebrating San Francisco (also could be: Selling, Promoting, Appreciating)
• Semester 2: Improving San Francisco: What could make our city better?

Exploring SF Fall Project

Unit: Celebrating San Francisco
• Challenge 1:Students will understand audience and purpose of advertising campaigns.
• Challenge 2: Students will create 3 advertisements (ad campaign) in Photoshop.
• Challenge 3: Students will select a location in SF and create a PowerPoint presentation that includes specific information.
• Challenge 4: Students will take the content from their PowerPoint presentations and package that information into web pages.

Unit Plan: Celebrating San Francisco / Henry Machtay, Galileo Academy, SF

Goals: Students will be able to...

• Distill and communicate information using words and images in a variety of media
• Write persuasively and understand the purpose and the language of advertising
• Work cooperatively with a team to complete a creative project

21st Century Standards: Students will learn to...

• Communicate Effectively
• Solve Problems Creatively
• Collaborate Constructively

Materials

• Internet Search (Google)
• MS Word
• Cameras
• Photoshop
• Dreamweaver
• HTML, CSS (for advanced class)

Lesson Introduction

Students will be shown advertising campaigns for tourism followed by class discussion about what techniques are used and what points are highlighted.

Students will then investigate Google World Wonders to see how information about world monuments is "packaged" (conveyed, communicated) in a variety of media.

Class will then compile a list of positive points about our city, and a second list of notable (beautiful, important, interesting) sites around our city.

Challenge 1: Identifying Target Market for Ad Campaign

Advertising is geared toward specific markets. The target market for XBox is not the same as the target market for golf clubs or for Cover Girl cosmetics.

An advertising campaign is created with a goal/purpose in mind. A campaign for San Francisco could be created to:

• Encourage Tourists
• Encourage Businesses
• Encourage People to Move to San Francisco
• Encourage San Franciscans to Participate Actively in City Life

The market for this ad campaign could be:
• Families or Singles
• Younger or Older
• Female or Male
• Specific Ethnic or Demographic Group

Each student will select a target market and goal and then create a list of three questions for Market Research. Students must interview 3–5 different people in their target market. The answers in this Market Research will help guide student choices in designing their ad campaigns.

Challenge 2: Ad Campaigns

What makes something an AD CAMPAIGN (and not just a series of separate ads)?
• Consistent Typeface(s), Logo(s)
• Same/Similar Catchphrase & Wording
• Same/Similar Layout
• Similar Images/Treatment of Images

Each student will use Photoshop to create a set of 3 advertisements for San Francisco. Images must be original (re: lesson on Copyright). Along with the completed artwork, students will hand in a short explanation of the market and purpose for their ads (100 words) — this should reference their Market Research in the previous assignment.

Challenge 3: PowerPoint Presentations

Each student will select a location in San Francisco. This could be a monument or major attraction (Coit Tower, Golden Gate Bridge); it could be something smaller in a neighborhood (pocket park, branch library, Boys & Girls Club); or a piece of a neighborhood (a block of stores or of renovated Victorian homes). They will research their location and prepare a PowerPoint presentation to share with the class. This presentation will include:

• When was the selected location built? Who built it? (Who designed it? Who paid for it?)
• What was its original purpose? How has this location been used/changed over the years?
• What materials were used in the construction?
• Describe the location in detail.
• Find two interesting anecdotes/details about this location.
• Include original photos of the location.

Challenge 4: Web Pages

Students will use the content and images from their PowerPoint presentations on their web pages. Their site must be at least two pages and include a link back to a central main page.

WEB DESIGN STUDENTS will be placed on teams. Instructor will determine whether teams are based on geography (e.g., all sites in northwest quadrant of the city) or on theme (e.g., parks, historic buildings, etc.). Each student will create a webpage design in Photoshop. The team will then work collaboratively to select a final design for their section of the website. Tasks will be divided among team members (coding, graphics, project management) to construct the site using Dreamweaver (students have already learned the basics of HTML and CSS). At the end of the project, students will provide self assessment and teammate assessments using Workplace Rubric.

FRESHMEN COMPUTER ART STUDENTS will be given web page templates and step-by-step instructions. They will then resize their original images in Photoshop and use Dreamweaver to enter their content into the templates.