# Progress of the TSF Design School



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

Hi folks,
I'm wondering is there's any interest in a TSF Design Academy. Information would be split up into Graphic Design Theory, History, and application... and new threads would be made weekly or semi-weekly (once every 2 weeks), depending on how busy I am. Also, if there's anyone that knows their design history etc and would like to be a "TSF Professor" that's even better.
-Six


----------



## Grove (Jun 21, 2005)

I reckon thats a great idea. I'm all for it. I'll be able to help in anyway you'd like :smile:


----------



## Spatcher (Apr 28, 2005)

Way cool. You would be teaching us how to graphic design right? :winkgrin:


----------



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

HenryVI said:


> Way cool. You would be teaching us how to graphic design right? :winkgrin:


It would be all about graphic design, some of which would be how-to


----------



## Spatcher (Apr 28, 2005)

Cool. I'm interested.


----------



## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

My background is in art, music and computers. Not so much graphic design these days, but I'll try and help out where I can. Good luck to whoever gets to be Professor... that's quite a title to live up to. :grin: 

Whatever happened to steveybob? He's an art school lecturer. Haven't seen him around for a while.

Just wondering, has there been an increase in graphics posts?


----------



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

koala said:


> Whatever happened to steveybob? He's an art school lecturer. Haven't seen him around for a while.
> 
> Just wondering, has there been an increase in graphics posts?


Steveybob was never around much from the start... I'm sure as a college professor he's got a pretty busy schedule.
... Since you asked, we've actually been kinda slow around here, which is one of the reason I want to get the Design Academy going... still need more interest though.


----------



## jgvernonco (Sep 13, 2003)

Details, details, details....

Would this be a "behind the scenes" school, like The Academy?

Would anyone who requested it receive admission?

Would there be "live" interaction of work projects for the students?

Does anyone have any ideas on how to promote such a thing, as our promotional budget is all allocated.


----------



## JeremyC (Aug 16, 2004)

id join as a student....


you can be my sensei. :laugh: 

call me daniel-son


----------



## ebackhus (Apr 21, 2005)

Count me in.


----------



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

Would this be a "behind the scenes" school, like The Academy?
_could be, but not necessarily. Depends on what everyone thinks._ 

Would anyone who requested it receive admission?
_If it is not a public forum, then anyone who makes the request will be granted access._ 

Would there be "live" interaction of work projects for the students?
_If it's desired_ 

Does anyone have any ideas on how to promote such a thing, as our promotional budget is all allocated.
_I don't think promotion would be absolutely necessary_


----------



## Spatcher (Apr 28, 2005)

I call being the first student :grin:


----------



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

HenryVI said:


> I call being the first student :grin:


I think Grove beat you to it, but he may end up taking on the "professor" side of things, in which case you got it.


----------



## Grove (Jun 21, 2005)

I am :laugh: 

I still haven't thought of it that much. My design skills can only go a certain way but like I said, I am happy to help. 

Now to work .....


----------



## V0lt (Sep 14, 2002)

Wait, graphic design takes artistic talent right? :laugh:


----------



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

Fox said:


> Wait, graphic design takes artistic talent right? :laugh:


Artisitic talent... never heard of it.


----------



## Grove (Jun 21, 2005)

What's Art ? :grin:


----------



## devil lady (Sep 27, 2005)

I'd be interested, only spend half the day fixing and manipulating images.


----------



## E-Liam (Jan 1, 2004)

I'd be interested seeing that happen. It would be nice to have it out in a public forum though. Unlike *The Academy* there isn't the same need to keep it behind the scenes. That's set up for learning the stuff that if done wrong could seriously mess up your machine. This would be only seriously messing up your piccy.. :grin: 

I'm somewhere between beginner and novice with GIMP, :4-dontkno -razz: but I'll help out where I can. This week I'm making favicons, so that's my latest skill....???????? :grin: 

Cheers

Liam


----------



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

Hey everyone;
First of all, thank you all for expressing interest.. this response is much better than I could have expected. 

Now, I'm going to try to explain The Design School now that I have a better idea of what will be going on.
It very well may be a private forum, as the TSF site is becoming overwhelmingly cluttered. The good news is, access will be granted to anyone upon request.
Like I said, the school will consist of three parts of Design:
1: History - This will consist of brief teachings about the beginning of written communication (e.g. The cave paintings at Lascaux) and the beginning of the printed word (Gutenberg and forward) all the way to the sharply modern (pushing the limitations of the meaning of Graphic Design) and everything between. There are many that would say that you need to know where you've been in order to know where you're going. I am one of them.
2: Theory - Concrete and abstract ideas about design willl be discussed. This category will contain everything that doesn't fit into _History_ and _Application_ 
3: Application - This will consist of the process of applying your ideas, knowledge, and talent to your work. This section _will_ be the appropriate place for all of the "how-to's" -- but they won't be the only things discussed.

Any lesson could consist of only one of these three, or go in and out of all three. Some will be interactive, and some will be straightforward reading only requiring a response. Outside reading will be recommended but in no way required. The purpose of this isn't to teach you to Photoshop better (even thuogh you will be learning about some of the appropriate software). The point is that you will have a better understanding of Graphic Design, and therefore be a better designer inside or out of any software or real-world environment.
Hope all of my ramblings make sense-
Six


----------



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

For everyone that's interested in being a "professor" for the Design academy, PM me with your design background and which categories you'd be interested in (any or all), and I'll give you a better idea of what the job entails.


----------



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

OK folks, here's how everything's going to work. You should get a good idea of what will be expected of everyone.
The Design Academy will be a private forum, not because were a bunch of elitist snobs, but just to save space on the TSF page.
Access to the Academy will work the same way as Horse's academy, make a request expressing interest, and you get in. Anyone that wants to be a professor will state their case with myself and the other professors to be accepted as such. The Academy will consist of the following sub-forums (as well as any that need to be added at a later date).

*Lessons* These are lessons given by the Professors. They will consist of the three categories discussed above (Theory, Application, and History). Members will be expected to respond to lessons in some form whenver possible, even if the response is just a simple question.

*Tutorials* Any member of the Academy may post in this section. Subject matter may be objective or theoretical.

*Requests* Here, any member can request a lesson or tutorial.

*The Bauhaus Pub* This is a discussion area where all Academy members can have open discussions about design. If you don't know what the Bauhaus is, your first assignment is to look it up.

Beyond the forum, some outside will be expected (recommended, not required.. I understand that people have busy stressful schedules). There will be occassional recommended readings that I would hope any with the opportunity to read would do so. An example would be this article, which I've mentioned before. http://www.shinntype.com/Assets/Depts/Essays/DigginIt.pdf I personally disagree with a couple things that are mentioned (as does the Chicago Manual of Style v. 15), but it is good for spurring discussion.

I have probably left alot out, but this is all for now. More news to come soon.
—Six


----------



## Grove (Jun 21, 2005)

Excellent. It is happening then. Well I am looking forward to it. :sayyes:


----------



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

Grove4Life said:


> Excellent. It is happening then.


No promises yet, but things are looking, umm... promising?


----------



## Grove (Jun 21, 2005)

Sounds Promising :grin:


----------



## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

This is an edited version of a PM I sent to Six which I thought might be useful to post here.

The Academy idea is coming along very nicely, should be an interesting addition.

I like the ideas you've come up with, the Bauhaus pub in particular. I think this will be the most popular area to start with, where people can get to know each other and contribute their thoughts on how the academy should expand. Are you planning on launching with lessons already planned, or are you going start off with a chat area and wait to see what people want first?

Do you think there will be an overlap between the academy and the rest of the Arts section? Like, would Photoshop and AutoCAD questions be answered here or directed to the other sections?

What length would you expect aticles to be, and how often would we need to post new ones? I've written some essays that could be adapted, but they're more to do with Fine Art than graphic design. eg. history of abstract art, biographies of painters (Klee, Kandinsky, Tapies, Schwitters, etc), left/right brain functions in creativity, colour therapy, etc. I don't know how suitable these kinds of topics would be.

I've jotted down a few ideas for the 'Application' section. Is this the kind of thing you're anticipating - 
design software reviews and tips,
advice on layout,
how to produce camera-ready artwork,
opinions on page layouts,
appropriateness of different typefaces,
revival of old styles (like communist posters, art deco),
adapting old styles for a modern audience,
info on design houses

Have you spoken to anyone in the Security Academy about startup problems, like how to get people interested when there's not much content yet? The advantage they have with their structured lessons is that there's only one objective - to remove spyware. With a Design Academy there are so many aspects that lesson plans would have to be very general or tailored to an individual's needs. Not an easy task.

Will server space be an issue? I can imagine people posting large, multi-layered images for discussion.

Keep posting your ideas and we'll try and provide some feedback for you.

Good luck with the project, I'm sure it will be a great success if you can get the right people involved :sayyes:


----------



## jgvernonco (Sep 13, 2003)

*The Heat is On...duhduhduhduh*

The skeleton of the Graphics school is up, and I have entered anyone who has volunteered as staff for this schoool (I Think)'

Check my work, both logged in and out, to make sure the shool is not visable without permission.

Next step will be to get some content up, then invite the students.

From now own, I will communicate with faculty at the pub.


----------



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

anyone else have access? I'm not seeing it?


----------



## Spatcher (Apr 28, 2005)

I just noticed I'm a tech here, but where do I do the techin'? I don't see it...


----------



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

Hmm, seems like JG may have given us all permissions but not access.


----------



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

Found it...
The TSF Design School is up and running, we're just not on the main page yet. I've posted a link to it in the Visual Arts team room, for anyone that doesn't have access to that, PM me and i'll send you the link.
*edit, all fixed


----------



## Grove (Jun 21, 2005)

I found it. It is on the main page. Under this category.

See Ya There !! :grin:


----------



## jgvernonco (Sep 13, 2003)

Many thanks to Danrak for clearing up my SNAFU. All of the volunteers should see it, now.

For the record, it will take us a little time to get this built and and ready for the first student. We will post an admission page in Visual Arts as soon as we can get ready.


----------



## ebackhus (Apr 21, 2005)

I see it!


----------



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

We're now in the process of getting the Design School moving. It will open to the public when it is ready. If there is anyone else that would like access before then, and would like to help out with things, let me know and I'll get access for you.


----------



## E-Liam (Jan 1, 2004)

Hi,

even though I got the wrong end of the stick to start with.. so to speak, I noticed that Koala mentioned.. vaugely.. photography. I'm too out of date to go professor I guess, but I've performed up to wedding photographer (if you ever get asked, decline politely.. it's about as nerve racking as it gets.. stick to mountains.. the chances are they'll be there for another picture should it all go horribly wrong) :grin: and still do a bit now and again, if it'll help. 

Cheers

Liam


----------



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

E-Liam, you're not too out of date for anything, and any contributions you make are very helpful.


----------



## Grove (Jun 21, 2005)

Well said Six :smile:


----------



## E-Liam (Jan 1, 2004)

Cheers..

In which case, would you like a couple of tutorials for photography, if that would stay within the remit. As it's coming up to Christmas, perhaps I could do something for people who've just got (or just about to get) their first Digital Camera. Basic controls.. relatively standard across the board; what to look for when taking a picture; using colour vs B+W vs Sepia etc.. depending on their camera spec (the vast majority have never shot in B+W with wet film, so it would be completely new to them); then they've got a picture to edit, and that would then move nicely into the expertise of the designers here, moving on to more complex tutorials involving PS etc. of which I'd be no help at all. :grin: 

Cheers

Liam


----------



## Grove (Jun 21, 2005)

Sounds great and I could go through a Photoshop Tutorial on how to remove "red" eyes etc to make the image look better. :smile:


----------



## whodat (Mar 13, 2005)

count me in:sayyes:


----------



## Grove (Jun 21, 2005)

The more the merrier :sayyes:


----------



## EnZed (Jan 1, 2006)

Grove said:


> The more the merrier :sayyes:


When does class start?


----------



## Grove (Jun 21, 2005)

The school hasn't gone public as of yet but it will soon. I will drop Six a note so he can give you the permissions to view the school :sayyes:


----------



## ACJ2000 (Dec 28, 2005)

This sounds like a fantastic idea! Accessable graphic design elements to further people's knowledge. I was wondering if there would be any typographic elements to the course, as this is a big part of my university course and would be interested to see what your approach to the subject would be.


----------



## Grove (Jun 21, 2005)

Typography, you say ? I believe Six is in love with typography. He can't get enough of it :grin:

Seems, like you'd be a good asset to the school :sayyes:


----------



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

ACJ2000 said:


> This sounds like a fantastic idea! Accessable graphic design elements to further people's knowledge. I was wondering if there would be any typographic elements to the course, as this is a big part of my university course and would be interested to see what your approach to the subject would be.


There will be more typography than you'd ever want to absorb. :grin: :deveous:


----------



## miso (Jan 11, 2006)

thanx


----------

