Contact & Communications

Professor: Jonathan Porcasi

Email address: jonathan.porcasi91@citytech.cuny.edu

Slack Channel: COMD 3501-spring_2023

Dropbox Link: Dropbox >

Office Hours: Thursday 5:00 pm-6:00 pm

Course Description

Students create a consistent image and voice for a company or institution. A thorough identity program addresses all aspects of a company’s or an institution’s visual public presence. Students explore the role of professional designer as they are challenged to create a comprehensive, multi-piece presentation showcasing all aspects of an identity program.

Class Structure

Through class lectures and coursework students will learn how to embark on the branding process for an invented company or institution from start to finish, culminating in a finished set of brand guidelines. Each weeks’ lesson will build on top of the other, giving students a full understanding of what it would be like to not only create an identity design, but an entire branding system, using a real-world model typical with most branding studios and agencies. Students explore the role of professional designer as they are challenged to create a comprehensive, multi-piece presentation showcasing all aspects of their invented company.

To start each student will receive a client type that they must base their invented company on. These prompts include:

● Resort or Hotel chain. Think Four Seasons, W Hotels or The Moxy.

● Fast Food chain. Think Burger King, Taco Bell or Chick-Fil-A.

● Pet-Related Startup. Think Bond Vet, Small Door Veterinary or Chewy.com.

● Brewery or Winery. Think Brooklyn Brewery, Sam Adams or Wölffer Estates.

● Large cultural institution. Think Met, MoMa or Lincoln Center.

Each student will have at least 1 other student in the class with the same business type as themselves, creating a cohort. The idea is that throughout the process each student can have creative brainstorming sessions with their cohort, which is something that is very common practice among design teams in the professional world. Students will also learn about tools they can use to enhance their brainstorming sessions like Pinterest and Miro, which will help them throughout the semester.