curriculum

UCLA Design | Media Arts
Design | Media Arts Institute

Session A: June 23-27 | B: July 7-11 | C: July 14-18

Design Curriculum

Curriculum

The Summer Design | Media Arts Institute offers students four specialty courses to choose from. All four courses are offered during each session, but enrollment in each class is limited to 20 students per week. Students enrolling in multiple weeks may choose to take a different course each week, or advance their project by repeating the same course across several weeks. Students can earn 1 unit of academic credit for each week successfully completed. Students are asked to select their course of study at the time of registration.

Students will be graded using the Pass/No Pass grading system. Letter grades are not awarded for this program. Click here to view more information about UCLA grading policies and how to acquire grade transcripts upon completion of your course of study.

DESMA 1: Graphic Design

Students will learn basic and advanced photography skills using a digital camera. Students will alter/manipulate photos using techniques from the latest versions of Adobe Photoshop and create layouts utilizing Adobe InDesign. Students will produce a printed piece incorporating photographs and typography.

At the end of the course students will be able to produce a magazine. This course will include a visit from a professional photographer as well as a lecture by a renowned graphic designer. Students will have the opportunity to explore the UCLA campus to shoot photographs and will participate in a field trip to a printing production house.

View sample layouts here!

DESMA 2: Web Design

Students learn how Web design works by starting with basic hand coding and then advance to creating a hypermedia project with Macromedia Dreamweaver and Flash software. Students will scan photographs and manipulate images in Adobe Photoshop to incorporate into their Web designs. Class will review various commercial web sites and Net Art projects to analyze successful use of the Web and understand the enormous potential of the Internet.

View samples web sites here!

DESMA 3: Game Design

Students are introduced to game design fundamentals by analyzing popular games, and by learning the different steps required to develop a digital game. They will learn about storyboarding, character design and animation, as well as programming.

Students will create their games using Macromedia Flash and ActionScript. At the end of the class students will publish their game on the class Web site. Class may include a visit from a professional game developer or a field trip.

Play games here!

DESMA 4: Video Audio Design

Students produce a short music video. They shoot and edit their own work and learn the fundamentals of pre- and post-production. Students will create a storyboard and utilize the latest digital video software (Adobe Premiere/Adobe After Effects) to compose their video and audio clip.

At the end of the course students will burn a DVD of their finished production. This course will include a visit from a professional video producer who will help guide students in creating their own videos.

Watch music videos here!

Evening activities

For students living in residence halls, there are many possible nighttime activities, such as movies, swimming, exercise and games. All activities are in groups and supervised by program counselors.

Proposed Schedule

The day will be divided into two sessions, one in the morning beginning at 9 am and one in the afternoon ending at 5 pm.
Classes last for one week (five days) and will meet 6.5 hours each day.

9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Instruction in lab. Students will be introduced to the workshop content. In some courses students will work in groups or individually.
12:30 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch
Students must bring money for their lunch. There are a number of inexpensive campus eating establishments located close to the Broad Art Center and around UCLA campus.
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Students work on developing their projects with the help of instructors. One-on-one instruction is the main focus during this time. Some days there will be visitors from the field or the department giving input and showing work that is of interest, such as games, videos and print examples.

Thursday Evenings:

Extended lab hours are usually offered from 6 pm - 9 pm.

Friday Presentations and Closing Receptions: 4 pm - 6 pm (subject to change)

The closing reception with awards ceremony will be held in the Broad Art Center each Friday. Parents are encouraged to attend the presentation for all groups.

Grades

Program participants will earn one unit of UCLA academic course credit using the Pass/No Pass grading system. Letter grades are not awarded for this program. Please note that your official transcript is not automatically sent to you. Click here to view more information about UCLA grading policies and how to acquire grade transcripts.

Questions

For questions about curriculum, labs, and program content:

Carolyn Ramirez-La Faso
D|MA Summer Institute Assistant Director
E-mail: cramirez@arts.ucla.edu
Phone: (310) 267-4907

For questions about registration, housing, and fee payment:

UCLA Summer Sessions Office
E-mail: institutes@summer.ucla.edu
Phone: (310) 267-4836