Projects

While not a required course within the School of Print Media curriculum, Technology of Organic Materials class, offered through the College of Liberal Arts, offers students an exceptional experience in the technologic, historical, and cultural applications of 19th century printing and photography to help them better understand the importance of these processes in the development of modern printing and photography. Taught by Elizabeth Goins, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Cultural Materials Sciences and Fine Arts in the College of Liberal Arts, the course offers a lecture and studio-lab combination which allows students to use materials, tools, and techniques in order to support the creation of art on paper and other organic art materials.  The class offers students the chance to study and attempt to recreate early photographic processes and experiments including: physautotype, heliochromy, calotypes, salted paper prints, and albumen.

Having taken this class, I really enjoyed the ability to freely experiment with early techniques to find the best mix of chemicals and substrate to produce a rendered image. In this class I was able to sit through a lecture about a process, put that lecture in to process in the lab, and then go outside to expose all sensitized papers in the sun. It was interesting to learn the base history of a technology I am constantly involved with everyday within the School of Print Media. While sometimes it may feel like your schedule is set in rigid requirements, remember there is always a chance to take a class that is truly interesting and worth your time. I would recommend this class to anyone.

Popularity: 29% [?]

During this past winter quarter, students in the New Media Team Project (NMTP) course had the opportunity to put their skills to the test with various projects including: a 100-page magazine, a redesign of the Print Application Laboratory (PAL) website, PDF testing with variable data, developing a website for homeless children in Rochester, and creating tools to be used in a teaching kit. Students within the class formed groups based on several criteria including skill, experience, and interest. They were also responsible for managing themselves throughout the quarter.

The 100-page magazine production team joined together with Denis Defibaugh’s Editorial Photography class of 17 students and Lori Frear’s Editorial Design class of 18 students to create a seamless publication. This has been an ongoing annual publication for the last three years that highlights some of the best photography work by students at RIT. During the span of ten weeks, several meetings took place between the students to ensure everyone was on track while complying with standards in order to complete the magazine on time. The magazine was printed at the Printing Applications Laboratory (PAL) on the HP Indigo 5500 and the covers were printed on the Heidelberg SM 74.

Two groups worked on developing websites for organizations. The PAL website team was responsible for the redesigning of the website to help better reflect PAL, as well as the services they have to offer. Several meetings took place between the group and individuals from PAL to help plan the best possible way to present information and represent PAL through a website. Another group of students in the class were given the opportunity to create a website displaying homeless children in their daily lives who line in the Rochester community. The goal of this site was to inform the community of this epidemic and hopefully find parents for the children.

Some students worked with the Portable Document Format, better known as a PDF. The PDF has helped everyone from the business world to the publishing industry standardize the way information is shared and used. Variable Data technology is a fast growing market that uses information of individuals to personally connect with them. PDF’s are capable of supporting variable data, but standard compliances have not been set until recently. Students within the class were given the opportunity to do extensive testing on this new compliance. As absurd as it sounds, their goal was to break this system. The reasoning of this was to find any faults, so they could be fixed.

Lastly, all students in the class were required to create tools that a teacher could use to help with teaching various topics of printing and publishing to an audience. Students were able to work alone or within a group to help achieve this task. Since the class was filled with a wide variety of talent, the outcome consisted of a spectrum of teaching tools that can help a range of people understand some of the core concepts within the industry.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Bookbinding is a professional elective offered by the School of Print Media that teaches a variety of hand binding and sewing techniques including: stab bindings, coptic sewing, long stitch sewing, concertina folds and bindings, and cased-in bindings. Taught by Scott McCarney, bookbinding allows RIT students to experience the hands on creation of physical books, keeping traditional techniques alive and relevant.

Kati Kreiser, a 4^th year Graphic Media student in the School of Print Media, recently completed the bookbinding class offered during the 2008-2009 winter quarter.  Kati states, “I really enjoyed the various forms of book binding and found out that it is not as easy as it looks. It takes time and concentration to ensure that the binding as well as the book is successful.”  Kati stated her favorite among the various techniques she learned and books she created was her coptic binding.

The supplies needed for the coptic binding included 2 boards, thread, 8 sections of regular paper, 2 end sections of contrasting paper, cloth, and decorative paper for the cover. After folding down sheets of paper to create sections, two separate covers are created out of the board, being the same height as the sections and 1/8” larger then the sections at the fore edge. The two boards are covered with 3/4 of their width with decorative paper and 1/4 of their width with cloth. Next, “sewing stations,” or the holes we sew through, are created, with the first station 1/2″ from the head and a second 3/8” from the tail. Two other sewing stations are placed at equal distances between the first and last stations. Once the sewing stations have been made in the sections and covers they can then be sewn together with a chain stitch linking across the spine.  First sew one cover and a section together.  Then keep adding sections until the second cover is sewn and tied on.  The book is then finished.

Kati said, “I really enjoyed the coptic binding because the binding, once completed, looked like it was braided. I also liked the colors that I chose and the decorative paper that I picked for this type of book. If I had to do this type of binding again I would make sure my tension was as tight as possible because if the thread was not pulled tight enough during the sewing the binding can move and the book can split.”

The bookbinding class allowed students to use their hands, creativity, and design skills to produce a collection of books and broadened their understanding of the traditional processes that developed into modern day book creation.  Kati concluded, “I would recommend this class if you are interested in learning more about different binding options and want hands-on experience crafting projects from start to finish.”

Popularity: 11% [?]

Typography and Page Design is a course that explores the history, aesthetics, and technical aspects of type relating to digital media.  For the final project, Professor Charles Bigelow asked his students to demonstrate the typographic skills they acquired during the quarter.  Students chose a novel from a list, and were required to use their typographic skills to layout the selected book.  They were encouraged to experiment with different typefaces and text styles to find a solution that reflected the tone of the novel.
Chris Little decided to work on the novel Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen.  He chose to use elegant typefaces to match the style of the book.  A major challenge was that the text had to be legible as well as visually appealing.  Overall, Chris enjoyed working on the project and looking at his various classmates’ interpretations of different books.  He thought it was a great learning experience and an opportunity to better understand the process of book design from concept to finished product.

Popularity: 12% [?]