CS391 is offered every semester, check SPIRE for CS391F or CS391S. The class usually meets from 5:00-6:15 but days of the week change semester to semester.

Instructors

Alexandra Deschamps (adescham@educ.umass.edu)
Tony Sindelar (tony@oit.umass.edu)

Official course email: cs391@nsm.umass.edu Please use “391” in the subject line of any emails sent to us.

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an understanding of computer-based design and multimedia production. The course will cover basic concepts in the areas of graphic design, animation, and designing for interactivity. These concepts will help prepare students for more advanced studies in 2D and 3D animation and in multimedia production and programming. Course work will be based around several large ongoing projects built incrementally as individual homework assignments. These projects will be presented via the World Wide Web and should demonstrate an understanding of techniques and principles learned in earlier projects. Student interaction and collaboration will be encouraged through in-class activities as well as online discussions through SPARK.

This course is roughly divided into three units:

The first unit (5 weeks) will be an introduction to principles of graphic design. Lecture topics will introduce you to the basics of layout, design elements, color theory, typography, and visual identity. Assignments will step you through planning and production of promotional materials for a fictional band.

The second unit (4 weeks) will be an introduction to animation in Flash. Lectures will cover the basics of character design, storyboarding, and principles of animation. Assignments will involve planning for the production of an animation and then animating a small section of your planned piece.

The third unit (4 weeks) will be an introduction to interface design and simple multimedia programming using Flash. Lecture topics will introduce basic principles of project planning, designing for interactivity, usability, and prototyping an interface. Assignments will involve planning and constructing a simple interactive “escape the room” game in F

Materials

Current students, please access SPARK for course materials and syllabus.