The Curriculum: Stage 1 – Photoshop

DIGITAL TECHNIQUE: Project

1. OPTIMIZING YOUR PHOTOS: Mood Board – Image capture & compositing for a future fashion line

• Self-reflection: what draws you to certain images? designs?
  • Design elements, cultural associations
• Visual research of favorite brand
  • Who is the target market?
  • What is its appeal
  • Current fashion line: How could you improve its market share or open it to a new market or make it more fresh and exciting?
  • Brand DNA
• Inspirational research: Finding inspiration outside of industry
  • What are your interests? Hobbies? Influences?
  • Are there any books, movies, games, people in your life who have inspired you and currently inspire you?
• DIGITAL TECHNIQUES:
  • Taking great photographs with your smart phone
  • Downloading from reliable sources
  • Image rights, copyright
  • Optimizing your image for print, web, and mobile devices
  • Photocompositing
• Graphic Design:
  • Creating a good layout
  • Establishing visual hierarchy
  • Iterate two divergent mood board ideas

2. COMPOSITING IMAGES: Concept Board – Choose direction that best promotes future personality of the brand

• Elements that make up a concept board:
  • Inspirational imagery from mood board (photos)
  • Titles: Fashion line name & season/year
  • Color story and indication of materials (4-6 color swatches)
  • Key looks and silhouettes (cut outs) that will be included in the line(pulled from the runway, street, or cutout garments)
  • Brand logo
• DIGITAL TECHNIQUES:
  • Masking and compositing layers
  • Employing transparencies and adjustment layers to blend page elements to background
• Graphic Design:
  • Figure ground contrast that highlights key looks and branding elements
  • Mood board elements as secondary

3. DIGITAL PAINTING, MASKING, AND COLORIZING: Brand Store Opening Postcards

• In-Class Assignment: Experimental textile handbags promotional postcard
• DIGITAL TECHNIQUES:
  • Exploring painting tools and blending modes
  • Masking selections
  • Colorizing garments
  • Clean silhouetting
  • Making pattern repeats from a transparent background motif
    • Half-drop pattern
    • Warping and hanging patterns
    • Vector objects and pattern swatches
• Graphic Design:
  • Type hierarchy: differentiating type headers from logo and messaging
  • Good figure ground contrast and legibility of all elements
  • Adequate space away around logo and margins

Next: Illustrator >>