Project Visual Communication 2.d

Semester 2 · 97159 · Bachelor in Design and Art - Major in Design · 19CP · IT · EN · DE

The course provides students with knowledge and skills on in the operational aspects approaches of designwork, methods and theories of visual communication for various functional and experimental fields of application with a focus on the role of the digital media.

Lecturers: Christian Upmeier, Giovanna Nichilò

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

Course Topics
Brand design encompasses everything from concept and naming to various forms of creative expression, all media and graphic tasks that make up communication design. We therefore hold several workshops on typography, interaction design, posters, animation, concept and idea development, and exhibition design to create a small cultural event. To this end, we devote ourselves to a specific design task and collaborate with an external partner who supports us in terms of content and practical implementation.

Propaedeutic courses
To have passed the Project Visual Communication 1; to have certified the language level proficiency B1 in the course language in years following the first.

Teaching format
Workshops, lectures, seminars, cooperative learning, 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.

Assessment
— Final Presentation/Colloquium: [VK] 1) The group project exhibition and its documentation at the GOG, 2) The individual event identity project at the exam date: The 5-minute presentation covers the concept/reasoning and illustrates the design in a ‹client presentation› (PDF). 3) [DM] A collection of guided yet independently developed and completed class exercises based on the digital media processes and tools introduced during the course. 4) [TLVC] An oral examination meant to assess the extent to students acquired knowledge of histories and approaches to exhibition making from the postwar to the present. — Documentation: [VK] 1) A ‹client-presentation› (PDF) of the individual event identity design, containing research, strategy and the design (mock-ups, images of prototypes). 2) [VK/DM] Secondly, a complete documentation of texts, data and high-resolution images onto the project server in TEAMS. [DM] Four exercises documented in a PDF. — Final project/final project-prototypes: [VK] application of the individual event identity design in the form of an exhibition poster (50 x 70 cm), [DM] Four exercises presented in the atelier. N.B. ALL THE STUDENTS ATTENDING THE EXAM AS NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS MUST AGREE UPON THE CONTENTS WITH THE TEACHER.

Evaluation criteria
The final assessment is based on the exercises in all three modules. There is a single project assessment. Across the modules, the assessment is weighted by workload, with credit points (VK 50%, DM 33%, TLVC 27%). — Sufficiency will be awarded if all class assignments are completed and submitted. — Higher marks will be awarded in relation to the student’s ability to work with intention, identify and address problems, and deliver clean, resolved, and high-quality outcomes. — Laude will be awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional and progressively increasing independence in decision-making and critical reflection, whose work is guided by their own curiosity and initiative.

Required readings

Barry Lord e Gail Dexter Lord, a c. di, The Manual of Museum Exhibitions (AltaMira Press, 2002), Part I.

Karsten Schubert, The Curator’s Egg: The Evolution of the Museum Concept (London Ridinghouse, 2009).

I. Karp and S.D. Lavine, editors, Exhibiting Cultures. The poetics and politics of museum display (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press 1988), especially: Michael Baxandall, “Exhibiting Intentions. some precondition of the visual display of culturally purposeful objects,” pp. 33-41;

Reesa Greenberg et al., Thinking about Exhibitions (Routledge, 1996), especially: Tony Bennett, “The Exhibitionary Complex,” [1988], pp. 58-80.

Gerard Genette, Paratexts: Thresholds of interpretation (1997; Cambridge University Press, 2010), pp. 1-35.

Rosalind Krauss, “The Cultural Logic of the Late Capitalist Museum,” October, Vol. 54 (Autumn, 1990), pp. 3-17

Three texts from the following selection:

Bruce Altshuler, The Avant-Garde in the Exhibition. New Art in the 20th century (University of California Press, 1994), pp. 220-235
Anne Rorimer, “Conventions of Display,” in When attitudes become form Bern 1969/Venice 2013 (Fondazione Prada, 2013), pp. 483-491
Gwen L. Allen, “The Catalogue as an Exhibition Space in the 1960s-1970s,” in When attitudes become form Bern 1969/Venice 2013(Fondazione Prada, 2013), pp. 505-510
Felicity Dale Elliston Scott, Architecture or Techno-Utopia: Politics after Modernism, First MIT Press paperback edition (MIT Press, 2010), pp. 117-149.
Cristiana Perrella, “Materializzazione del linguaggio 1978. Genesis and Context,” in Re-Materalization of Language: 1978-2022 = Re-Materialisierung Der Sprache: 1978-2022 = Ri-Materializzazione Del Linguaggio: 1978-2022 (Nero Editions, 2024), pp. 34-71.
David Morris and Paul O’Neill, “Introduction: Exhibition as Social Intervention,” Afterall, Exhibition Histories Series (20 April 2014): https://www.afterall.org/articles/introduction-exhibition-as-social-intervention/
Andreas Broeckmann,The Making of Les Immatériaux, Lüneburg: Meson Press, 2025.
Rasheed Araeen, ed., Third Text. Third World Perspectives on Contemporary Art & culture, Special issue, English translation of Les Cahiers du Musee National d'Art Modem (1989), at least pp. 19-28, 61-64, 73-78.
Anthony Gardner & Charles Green, “Post-North? Documenta11 and the Challenges of the “Global Exhibition“ On curating, issue 33 (June 2017): 109-121.
Cities on the Move, in Biennals and Beyond – Exhibitions That Made History 1962-2002, edited by Bruce Altshuler, London: Phaidon, 2013, pp 341-354.
Min Kyung Lee, “Review of Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival (XXII International Exhibition of the Triennale di Milano), Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol 80, Issue 1 (March 2021), pp. 124-127.

Dourish, P. (2001). Where the action is: The foundations of embodied interaction. MIT Press.

Kwastek, K. (2013). Aesthetics of interaction in digital art. MIT Press.

Roppola, T. (2012). Designing for the museum visitor experience. Routledge

Selected chapters and excerpts will be assigned during the course.

https://eu.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/leganto/public/39UBZ_INST/lists/24513163380001241?auth=SAML&section=24513393840001241

Supplementary readings

Further reading suggestions will be provided during class.

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

Modules

Semester 2 · 97159A · 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 Upmeier

Teaching Hours: 90
Lab Hours: 0

Course Topics
As part of the project, we are working together, in collaboration with the Bolzano City Museum, on the curatorial concept, branding and communication for a small biographical exhibition featuring former Unibz art students from the first 10 years of our faculty. To this end, we are dividing the semester into two parts. Whilst the first few weeks are devoted to concept development and individual designs, we use the second half of the semester to work as a project team – divided into working groups – right up to the opening in mid-June, collaboratively developing the branding, printed materials (including digital and animated elements), the exhibition structure and presentation of the content, as well as editing and designing a book on the biographies and artistic practice of the artists. We design, publish and exhibit.

Teaching format
Workshops, lectures, cooperative Learning, seminars and feedback.

Required readings

https://eu.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/leganto/public/39UBZ_INST/lists/24513163380001241?auth=SAML&section=24513393840001241

Semester 2 · 97159B · Bachelor in Design and Art - Major in Design · 6CP · IT

Module B — Digital media

The course teaches the fundamentals, skills, working methods, theories and practices of diverse forms of digital publishing and social media marketing.

Lecturers: Giovanna Nichilò

Teaching Hours: 60
Lab Hours: 0

Course Topics
The Digital Media module introduces students to the historical, aesthetic and practical foundations of interaction design in the context of exhibitions. The course explores how digital media can shape relationships between visitors, objects, space and information, with particular attention to physical, spatial and embodied forms of interaction. Through short lectures, case studies and hands-on workshops, students will experiment with different principles and tools of interaction. Depending on the development of the course, the projects and the technical possibilities, these may include, for example, embodied and spatial interaction, physical computing, sensors, responsive projections, tangible interfaces, augmented reality, photogrammetry, sound-based interaction and participatory systems. The aim is to develop the ability to select and combine appropriate tools in relation to a concept, a context and the experience intended for the visitor. Particular attention will be given to prototyping, testing and the critical evaluation of interactive systems, including issues related to accessibility, participation, sustainability and the role of digital media within physical environments. The module includes prompts and a group long exercise, through which students will explore different modes of interaction and progressively develop greater conceptual and technical autonomy. The skills and methodologies developed during the module will also be applied to the shared exhibition project, contributing to the design, prototyping, testing and implementation of a physical or digital interaction integrated into the exhibition, its display and/or its educational programme.

Teaching format
workshops, lectures, prompts and long exercises, collective reviews, screenings.

Required readings

Dourish, P. (2001). Where the action is: The foundations of embodied interaction. MIT Press.

Kwastek, K. (2013). Aesthetics of interaction in digital art. MIT Press.

Roppola, T. (2012). Designing for the museum visitor experience. Routledge

Selected chapters and excerpts will be assigned during the course. Further readings and references will be provided throughout the semester in relation to the topics, case studies and projects developed in class.

Supplementary readings

Will be handed out during the course.

Semester 2 · 97159C · Bachelor in Design and Art - Major in Design · 5CP · EN

Module C — Theories and languages of visual communication

The integrated theoretical module provides fundamental overview about scientific methods of contemporary semiology and communication theory.

Teaching Hours: 30
Lab Hours: 0

Course Topics
The module provides theories and methodologies from the field of visual communication studies and visual cultural studies to analyse exhibitions, specifically to: examine how display strategies negotiate curatorial ideas and the experience of works of art and design; 2) detect the role played by the exhibition venue in the meaning-making process of an exhibition 3) question the notion of spectatorship; 4) identify the formal qualities and role played by handouts and exhibition catalogues in the experience of exhibitions; 4) scrutinise the role of photographic documentation and other archival materials in the afterlife of exhibitions. To do so, it considers a selection of ten avantgard art or design exhibitions from the postwar period to the present within their historical, socio-political and cultural contexts. The exhibitions primarily considered in the modules are: 1. Primary Structures, New York 1966 2. When Attitudes Become Form, Bern 1969 3. Italy: the new Domestic Landscape, New York 1972 4. Materializzazione del Linguaggio, Venice Biennal 1978 5. Les Immateriaux, Paris 1985 6. Magicienne de la terre, Paris 1989 7. Culture in Action, Chicago 1996 8. Cities on the Move, Wien + other locations 1997-1998 9. Documenta 11, Kassel + other locations 2002 10. Broken Nature, Milan 2019

Teaching format
frontal lectures, reading seminars, workshops, and visits

Required readings

Barry Lord e Gail Dexter Lord, a c. di, The Manual of Museum Exhibitions (AltaMira Press, 2002), Part I.

Karsten Schubert, The Curator’s Egg: The Evolution of the Museum Concept (London Ridinghouse, 2009).

Reesa Greenberg et al., Thinking about Exhibitions (Routledge, 1996), especially: Tony Bennett, “The Exhibitionary Complex,” [1988], pp. 58-80.

Gerard Genette, Paratexts: Thresholds of interpretation (1997; Cambridge University Press, 2010), pp. 1-35.

Rosalind Krauss, “The Cultural Logic of the Late Capitalist Museum,” October, Vol. 54 (Autumn, 1990), pp. 3-17

Three texts from the following selection:

Bruce Altshuler, The Avant-Garde in the Exhibition. New Art in the 20th century (University of California Press, 1994), pp. 220-235
Anne Rorimer, “Conventions of Display,” in When attitudes become form Bern 1969/Venice 2013 (Fondazione Prada, 2013), pp. 483-491
Gwen L. Allen, “The Catalogue as an Exhibition Space in the 1960s-1970s,” in When attitudes become form Bern 1969/Venice 2013(Fondazione Prada, 2013), pp. 505-510
Felicity Dale Elliston Scott, Architecture or Techno-Utopia: Politics after Modernism, First MIT Press paperback edition (MIT Press, 2010), pp. 117-149.
Cristiana Perrella, “Materializzazione del linguaggio 1978. Genesis and Context,” in Re-Materalization of Language: 1978-2022 = Re-Materialisierung Der Sprache: 1978-2022 = Ri-Materializzazione Del Linguaggio: 1978-2022 (Nero Editions, 2024), pp. 34-71.
David Morris and Paul O’Neill, “Introduction: Exhibition as Social Intervention,” Afterall, Exhibition Histories Series (20 April 2014): https://www.afterall.org/articles/introduction-exhibition-as-social-intervention/
Andreas Broeckmann,The Making of Les Immatériaux, Lüneburg: Meson Press, 2025.
Rasheed Araeen, ed., Third Text. Third World Perspectives on Contemporary Art & culture, Special issue, English translation of Les Cahiers du Musee National d'Art Modem (1989), at least pp. 19-28, 61-64, 73-78.
Anthony Gardner & Charles Green, “Post-North? Documenta11 and the Challenges of the “Global Exhibition“ On curating, issue 33 (June 2017): 109-121.
Cities on the Move, in Biennals and Beyond – Exhibitions That Made History 1962-2002, edited by Bruce Altshuler, London: Phaidon, 2013, pp 341-354.
Min Kyung Lee, “Review of Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival (XXII International Exhibition of the Triennale di Milano), Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol 80, Issue 1 (March 2021), pp. 124-127.

Supplementary readings

Further reading suggestions will be provided during class.