My professor was Abby Guido. She is a great professor. She has years of experience and is extremely knowledgeable about graphic design and infographics. She always offered advice and was willing to help me. She also returned my email questions very fast. Abby really helped me with my final infographic. She was willing to go over it and offer detailed feedback.
The course required the book, Infographics: The Power of Visual Storytelling by Jason Lankow, Josh Ritchie, and Ross Crooks. I found the book very helpful. I’ve cited the book in past blogs. It really helped me learn the material. Abby’s weekly quizzes also helped me stay up-to-date with the subject.
I enjoyed the group work during class, as well. It can be hard to “meet” people in an online setting but working with different peers each class was a nice way to get to know everybody. And being an art course, I also found it helpful to see things from other students’ perspectives.
This was a pretty demanding course. Do not take it lightly just because it is an art elective. In the beginning, I spent maybe 2-4 hours per week working on assignments. Once we proceeded into the final project portion, I spend a good 8+ hours a week working on it. I took this course very seriously and wanted to create an amazing finished product that I could use in a portfolio. I ended up with a great piece, which I can show to future employers.
This course does require the Adobe program Illustrator. I would suggest students use Temple’s Tech Center Illustrator (which is free) for the early assignments. I would then use the Free Month Trial of Illustrator for the final project (the final project is only about a month of work). I followed the above suggestions and it saved me a lot of money.
I would recommend this class to both art students and business students (specifically marketers and advertisers). If you can create infographics properly, they are a great way to show-off your skills and set yourself apart from colleagues. I would definitely take this class again and take another class with Abby! It was a great experience.
- Course Required Book: Infographics: The Power of Visual Storytelling by Jason Lankow, Josh Ritchie, and Ross Crooks
- Image: https://www.google.com/searchq=infographics+the+power+of+visual+storytelling&espv=2&rlz=1C1KMZB_enUS566US566&biw=1242&bih=606&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjr84mExObMAhWDrD4KHcGQBfsQ_AUIBygB#imgrc=KY7WqAPuQ_O-OM%3A