Introduction to Graphic Design by Hand, Semester Middle, High School Art

This graphic design curriculum caters to middle or high school students with varying levels of art experience and schools with limited access to computers or expensive design software. This graphic design course can be taught in any middle or high school art classroom.

A well-rounded and engaging curriculum equips students with fundamental design principles, technical skills, and creative problem-solving abilities. Students will be well-prepared to pursue a successful career in graphic design and related fields by emphasizing design principles and distilling them into projects that are easy to design by hand and understand.

Teacher Materials:

• Editable Syllabus (Bonus File)
• Visual Timeline of Lessons
• Full Semester Materials List
• Semester-Long Student Choice Framework
• Principles of Design Worksheet Packets
• Posters:
  • Color Wheel, Color Schemes Posters
  • Principles of Design Poster
  • Elements of Art Poster
  • Principles of Graphic Design Infographic
  • Hierarchy of Design Poster

• 30 Graphic Design Prompts
• Alphabet Letter Inspiration Sheets
• Editable Portfolio List of Projects,
• Final Reflection
• Written Critique Sheet and Peer Critiques
• Art Show Guidelines and Rubric for final

Here are the key highlights of the curriculum:

• Exploring Design Elements: Introducing graphic design using design principles as a foundation is essential for providing students with a strong conceptual understanding of design fundamentals. This knowledge will form the basis for creating effective and visually appealing designs. By delving into specific principles such as emphasis, contrast, color, unity, typography, and hierarchy, students will gain comprehensive knowledge of how these components contribute to effective design compositions.
  • Principles of Graphic Design & Composition
  • Emotion of Line Designs
  • Shape & Emphasis Designs
  • Contrast and Space Designs
  • Color Theory Cut Paper Designs
  • Unity: Illuminated Letters

• Typography & Hierarchy:
  • Greeting Card Designs
  • Hierarchy of Design Composition
  • Hand Drawn Typography Poster
  • Literary Quotation Poster

• Creative Problem-Solving and Process: Highlighting creative problem-solving and the creative process is invaluable for nurturing students' ability to think critically and approach design challenges with innovative solutions. Understanding and embracing the design process is vital for professional growth.
  • Brainstorming Lesson
  • Elemental Logo Lesson

• Student Choice Framework: The Student Choice Framework empowers students to take ownership of their learning journey. Allowing them to choose their own projects based on their acquired skills encourages motivation and allows for personalized learning experiences.

• Task Cards for Inspiration: Including task cards with graphic design prompts is a valuable addition to the course. These cards give students creative ideas and inspiration for their projects, encouraging them to explore new design directions.

• Final Portfolio and Art Show
  This is a great way to celebrate all the hard work students have put in over the semester. Students create their own artist exhibition, put together a portfolio of work and reflect on their attitude and approach to learning in the classroom.
  • Included:
  • Instruction Sheet for Final (Art Portfolio, Exhibition & Reflection)
  • (2) Reflection Sheets; The Hand, The Mind, The Spirit, and Practice
  • Hand, Mind, Spirit, Practice Rubric
  • Artist Statement Document
  • Theme and Title Cards Document
  • Art Portfolio List with Instructions

Why Created by Hand?: Handmade compositions have texture and depth and feel more human and interesting. Using their hands is also a more creatively satisfying process for students. They will have plenty of time in the future to work on the computer once they become working designers.