Project Visual Communication 1.c

Semester 2 · 97162 · Bachelor in Design and Art - Major in Design · 19CP · IT · EN · DE

The course provides students with knowledge and skills on the operational approaches of work, methods and theories of visual communication for various fields of application with a focus on editorial production.

Lecturers: Emilio Patuzzo, Christian Lange, Marco Baravalle

Teaching Hours: 90+60+30
Lab Hours: 0
Mandatory Attendance: not compulsory, but recommended

Course Topics
The course examines the "window" as a conceptual model of visual communication—as a metaphor, a device of perception, and a structural principle for layout, grids, typography, white space, and interactive elements. Students analyze historical and contemporary examples from art and design history to digital interfaces and use them as a basis for developing their own experimental design projects. The aim is to create projects that intentionally shape attention, visibility, and meaning in print and digital formats, staging them spatially.

Propaedeutic courses
To have passed the WUP project and all the WUP courses; to have certified the language level proficiency B1 in the course language in years following the first.

Teaching format
Frontal lectures, exercises, workshops, guest talks, group discussions, review and feedback.

Educational objectives
Knowledge and understanding have acquired their own project methodology in the field of visual communication, from the phase of planning to the phase of realisation of the project. have acquired the basic practical and theoretical knowledge necessary to realise a project in the field of visual communication. have acquired the basic knowledge to be able to turn a critical eye to their own work and to deal with contemporary complexity. have acquired the basic knowledge necessary for further Master's studies in all components of project culture as well as in theoretical subjects. Applying knowledge and understanding plan, develop and realise a project in the field of visual communication. be able to finalize the creation of an accomplished project in the field of visual communication, thanks to the basic knowledge acquired in the practical, scientific and theoretical fields. recognise the main phenomena of contemporary society, to observe them critically, also from an ethical and social point of view, and to elaborate appropriate solutions at the level of a design proposal/response. make use of the skills acquired during the course of study in the event of continuing studies in a Master's degree programme in the field of visual communication and to develop them further. Making judgements be able to make independent judgements for the purpose of developing their own design skills and in relation to all those decisions that are necessary to bring a project to completion. be able to make independent judgements, both in the critical evaluation of their own work and in their ability to use the right interpretative tools in those design contexts in which they will work and/or continue their studies, also considering ethical and social aspects. Communication skills present an independently realised project in the field of visual communication in the form of an installation, orally as well as in writing in a professional manner. to professionally communicate and substantiate one’s own decisions and justify them from a formal and theoretical point of view. communicate and present your own project at a professional level in another language and correctly in a third language in addition to their own language. Learning skills have learned a work methodology at a professional level - in the sense of being able to identify, develop and realise solutions to complex problems by applying the knowledge acquired in the practical and theoretical fields - in order to start a professional activity and/or continue their studies with a master's degree program. have developed a creative attitude and learned how to enhance it and develop it according to their own inclinations. have acquired basic knowledge in theoretical and practical subjects as well as a study methodology suitable for continuing studies with a master's degree program.

Additional educational objectives and learning outcomes
Students will learn to understand the "window" as a conceptual model of visual communication, as well as a frame, empty space, and a structure that controls visibility, attention, and meaning. Students will explore this topic from historical and media perspectives, ranging from art and design history to digital interfaces. Based on this analysis, students will independently develop experimental design projects, consciously incorporating grid systems, typography, white space, modular layouts, and more. The goal is to complete an individual project from start to finish, including developing a narrative and experimenting with visual effects in print and digital formats for the final staging in space.

Assessment
The final examination involves the submission, presentation and discussion of the projects completed during the semester, together with the relevant documentation. Students will present their work following the guidelines provided during the semester. They will be required to discuss their projects, critically addressing the references proposed during the course and demonstrating their personal interpretation of the project themes. Participation in the final presentation (GOG) — including the preparation, set-up and dismantling phases — is considered an integral part of the course. N.B. ALL THE STUDENTS ATTENDING THE EXAM AS NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS MUST AGREE UPON THE CONTENTS WITH THE TEACHER.

Evaluation criteria
By the exam date, each student must upload detailed documentation of the work carried out during the course to the Faculty's showcase platform: https://designart.unibz.it/. The documentation is an integral part of the exam and must include photographic documentation and an abstract of the project. The final assessment is based on the content of all exercises according to the following criteria. For the work carried out: originality, consistency, technical/aesthetic quality, accuracy, always conceived in relation to the context and use. For the presentation: effectiveness and clarity, awareness of the context and relevant discourses in contemporary practice. For the work carried out throughout the semester: proactive participation, quality of contributions and individual development, ability to work individually and in a group.

Required readings

See different Modules

Supplementary readings

see different Modules

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Sustainable Development Goals
This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the following Sustainable Development Goals.

Modules

Semester 2 · 97162A · Bachelor in Design and Art - Major in Design · 8CP · DE

Module A — Visual Communication

The course should provide fundamentals, skills, working methods, theories and practices of Visual communication in diverse functional and experimental scopes.

Lecturers: Christian Lange

Teaching Hours: 90
Lab Hours: 0

Course Topics
A window is not simply an object; it represents a deliberate absence—an opening through which we can perceive the world and, in turn, be perceived. It is more of a decision than a piece of glass; it determines what becomes visible and what remains hidden. As both a physical opening and a mental concept, the window structures perception, directing and staging the gaze while simultaneously separating and connecting the inside and outside. Through framing, filtering, and focusing, the window becomes an instrument of selection and raises the question: Who is looking, who is being seen, and how? This course invites participants to reconsider the window from the perspective of visual communication, not only as an architectural motif but also as a model for organizing images and meaning. As a conscious void, the window structures the direction of the gaze and reading while functioning as a perceptual apparatus, a metaphor, and a medial structure. The window permeates art and media history as a cultural figure of thought—from the Renaissance’s new perspective on pictorial space to photography, film, and digital interfaces. Regardless of the medium, the window remains a model for organizing images: interfaces frame information, pop-ups interrupt flows of perception, and modular layouts create order. In graphic and editorial design, the window becomes a concrete structural principle. Grid systems direct attention, while typography and white space create rhythm and fields of meaning. Excerpts, overlays, and modular layouts open up possibilities for interactive narratives in print and digital formats. This course uses the window as a conceptual model to analyze and experiment with shaping visibility, framing, and meaning.

Teaching format
Frontal lectures, exercises, workshops, guest talks, group discussions, in-class exercises, excursions, review and feedback, mutual learning/teaching.

Required readings

via Teams

Supplementary readings

Semester 2 · 97162B · Bachelor in Design and Art - Major in Design · 6CP · IT

Module B — Graphic Design

The course teaches fundamentals, skills, working methods, theories and practices of diverse forms of publishing.

Lecturers: Emilio Patuzzo

Teaching Hours: 60
Lab Hours: 0

Course Topics
The module emphasizes the foundational moments and tools of the design process as vehicles for understanding the principles of communication design. The course aims to foster a design awareness — both technical and operational — that enables a professional to practice with efficiency and resoluteness: from the formulation of a concept to the development of its evaluation criteria, leading to the software that characterizes design praxis and, ultimately, to the new possibilities that populate the landscape in which the graphic designer operates today. It is well known, for example, that an object can be read in various ways: every encyclopedia, every circumstance, and every disposition of thought subjects something apparently static to heterogeneous interpretations. A window — the central theme of the course — is no exception. Building upon this premise, the course introduces the "concept": a normative and generative principle that guides the development and visual translation of an as-yet uninterpreted object. A significant portion of the lessons is dedicated to problematizing this foundational moment, evaluating the "concept" not merely as a set of possibilities to be resolved by appealing to the temporary fascination of selection. Rather, the "concept" must be assessed as a choice oriented by the ability to prefigure an idea's inclination to transform into a generative artifice and to articulate itself into a convincing rhetorical and visual system. Within this framework, Adobe software will play a central role and will be addressed through technical exercises, based on the conviction that learning these programs means internalizing, by osmosis, the principles of design (the grid as an imposition of order, style as a system of coherence, the layer as a hierarchy of elements, etc.). Therefore, while the course is operational — organized around exercises and practical sessions — it is guided by a strong critical imprint: tools will not be considered inert and replaceable objects, but rather as true ideological devices. Finally, the course integrates the use of Artificial Intelligence as a new frontier of design, utilizing it not only for technical Q&A but as a new design tool capable of expanding the designer's computational and variational capacities (prompting, automation, and scripting to be integrated into the use of Adobe software), while maintaining critical debate and the authorship of the concept at its core.

Teaching format
face-to-face classes; case study analysis; shared project presentations; critical debate; workshops.

Required readings

Munari, B. Da Cosa Nasce Cosa

Kinross, R., Modern Typography.

Supplementary readings

Deleuze, G., Cinema 1: The Movement-Image

Flusser, V., Towards a Philosophy of Photography

Foucault, M., Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison

Manovich, L., The Language of New Media.

Semester 2 · 97162C · Bachelor in Design and Art - Major in Design · 5CP · EN

Module C — Visual Culture

The integrated theoretical module applied in the development of the semester project, conveys theories and methods for understanding and analysing images and visual material in their cultural context of production, dissemination and use.

Lecturers: Marco Baravalle

Teaching Hours: 30
Lab Hours: 0

Course Topics
This course explores the multifaceted field of visual culture through a critical lens, addressing its intersections with decolonization, activism, and politics. Students will engage with key concepts and practices that define visual culture. The course navigates themes such as the role of visuality in colonial histories, the revolutionary potential of exhibitions, and countervisual practices from historical avant-gardes to contemporary ecological and queer movements. Through case studies, readings, and discussions, participants will critically examine the politics of representation, the role of art institutions, and the implications of machine vision in the digital age.

Teaching format
Frontal lecture, presentations and collective discussions.

Required readings

Nicholas Mirzoeff, An Introduction To Visual Culture, Routledge, London And New York, p. 1- 21.

Supplementary readings

Marita Sturken, Lisa Cartwright. Practices of looking. Vol. 2009. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 1-51.

Walter Mignolo, Rolando Vázquez. "Decolonial Aesthesis: Colonial wounds/decolonial healings– Social text." Retrieved December 15 (2013); 2019.

Nicolas Mirzoeff, The Right To Look. A Counterhistory of Visuality, Duke University Press; p. 1-101

Nicolas Mirzoeff, The Right To Look. A Counterhistory of Visuality, Duke University Press, p. 155-187

Gerald Raunig, Art and Revolution: Transversal Activism in the Long Twentieth Century. Semiotexte; p. 67-112

Tony Bennett. The birth of the museum: History, theory, politics. Routledge, 2013; p. 1-98

Rolando Vázquez, Vistas Of Modernity. Decolonial Aesthesis And The End Of The Contemporary, Vior Webmedia, 2024. Read the chapters titled: “Decoloniality” and “La Tour: The Modern Gaze”

Boris Groys. "Becoming Revolutionary: On Kazimir Malevich." e-flux journal 9 (2013)

Jaleh Mansoor, Marshall Plan Modernism: Italian Postwar Abstraction and the Beginnings of Autonomia. Duke University Press, 2016, 1-67

Mary Anne Staniszewski, Framing Installation design: The International Avant-Gardes, in The Power of Display: A History of Exhibition Installations at the Museum of Modern Art, The MIT Press, Cambridge, London; 1998. p. 3-24.

Peter Bürger, Theory of The Avant-Garde, Manchester University Press, University of Minnesota Press, 1984, p. 35-55

Mary Anne Staniszewski, Creating Installations for Aesthetic Autonomy: Alfred Barr's Exhibition technique, in The Power of Display: A History of Exhibition Installations at the Museum of Modern Art, Cambridge, London, The MIT Press, 1998. p. 60-83

Brian O'Doherty; Notes On The Gallery Space; in Inside The White Cube; Berkeley, University Of California Press, 1976. 13-34

Georges Didi-Huberman, Images in spite of all: four photographs from Auschwitz. University of Chicago Press, 2008; p. 3-47

Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, "The Dialectics of Design and Destruction: The Degenerate Art Exhibition (1937) and the Exhibition internationale du Surréalisme (1938)." October 150 (2014): 49-62.

Guy Debord and Gil J. Wolman. "A user’s guide to détournement." Les Lèvres Nues 8.7 (1956).

Giorgio Agamben, Difference and Repetition : on Guy Debord’s Films, in Tom McDonough ed., Guy Debord and the Situationist International, Cambridge, Mass., MIT Press, 2002

Ana Longoni; Avant-Garde Argentinian Visual Artists Group, Tucumán Burns (1968) ; Contrappunto; Mousse; 2; 4-2014; 1-18

Lucy Lippard, The Art Workers Coalition. Not a History, in Studio International, November 1970, 173-179.

Atelier Populaire. Posters from the revolution: Paris, May 1968. Dobson, 1969

Deaton, Clifford. "The memory of May'68: The ironic interruption and democratic commitment of the atelier populaire." Design Issues 29.2 (2013): 29-41.

Raffaella Perna, “The Last Avant-garde? Pablo Echaurren and the Movement of ’77”, Pablo Echaurren. Art For The Many, Silvana Editore, 2024, p. 47-64.