A wide shot of a ceramics studio, featuring students working with pottery wheels and other tools.

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John Bowers

Professor

Contact

Bio

Professor, Visual Communication Design (2006). Education: BFA, MA, and MFA in Design, University of Iowa; Post-Graduate Study in Graphic Design, Basle (Switzerland) School of Design. Profession: Senior Identity Designer, Landor (San Francisco); Freelance Designer, Studio A (Alexandria, VA). Writing: Introduction to Two-Dimensional Design: Understanding Form and Function, Second Edition (Wiley) / Translated and Published in Korean; "A Lesson from Spirograph" (Design Observer); "Lagom: Finding Balance in Lapland" (AIGA Educators Dialogue); Visual Communication Design Teaching Strategies (AIGA Design Teaching Resource). Publications / Exhibitions: AIGA 365 Annual; AIGA Inequality Matters; AIGA World Day of Design; Annual of the Art Directors of Metropolitan Washington D.C.; CMYK; Communication Arts; Graphis Posters; Graphis Products by Design; Harvest: AIGA Portland; ID (New and Noted); AIGA Pacific NW Design Awards: Seattle Biennial; Portland (Oregon) Design Festival. Collections: AIGA Archive; Printed Matter at Dia, NYC; Project for the Arts, Washington, D.C.; UCDA Archive. Presentations: “Collaboration and Participation in Design Practice and Education” Design Studies Forum / CAA National Conference; “Customizing User Experiences” New Media Consortium International Design Conference; “Mapping Cross Cultural Rituals” AIGA Design Educators National Conference; “Privatizing Public Experiences” Global Interaction in Design Education International Conference. Workshops: Umeå (Sweden) Institute of Design MFA Interaction Design Programme. Grants: AIGA Faculty Development Grant; Fulbright Council Award for International Faculty Exchange; Oregon Council for the Humanities. Juror / Reviewer: AIGA National Educator Conferences; Design and Culture Journal; Design Incubation Awards; Thames and Hudson; Wiley.

Courses

Title Department Catalog Term

Description

This research, discussion, and critique course develops a visual and verbal vocabulary by examining relationships between form and content, word and image. Study includes symbolic association and the problem of effective communication in a highly complex culture.

Class Number

1211

Credits

3

Description

This research, discussion, and critique course develops a visual and verbal vocabulary by examining relationships between form and content, word and image. Study includes symbolic association and the problem of effective communication in a highly complex culture.

Class Number

1846

Credits

3

Description

This research, discussion, and critique course develops a visual and verbal vocabulary by examining relationships between form and content, word and image. Study includes symbolic association and the problem of effective communication in a highly complex culture.

Class Number

1867

Credits

3

Description

This research, discussion, and critique course develops a visual and verbal vocabulary by examining relationships between form and content, word and image. Study includes symbolic association and the problem of effective communication in a highly complex culture.

Class Number

1874

Credits

3

Description

This research, discussion, and critique course develops a visual and verbal vocabulary by examining relationships between form and content, word and image. Study includes symbolic association and the problem of effective communication in a highly complex culture.

Class Number

1876

Credits

3

Description

In this course students explore the principles of visual communication by creating two-dimensional printed comprehensive layouts, and three-dimensional mock-ups. Stress is placed on process and development of solutions to problems; idea and form exploration; research; image and text development; compositional structure and hierarchy; verbal, technical, and hand skills. The course also covers the technical aspects of graphic design such as printing methods, papers, and binding.

Students will produce 3-4 finished pieces exploring the use of image and type in both single page format, multi-page format, and possibly three-dimensional format. These projects are to be included in the VCD department's obligatory portfolio review for advancement into the VCD intermediate courses.

Class Number

1839

Credits

3

Description

This course is an introduction to the User Interface (UI) / User Experience (UX) principles, issues, and methods of user-centered responsive web design (mobile, tablet, and laptop).
Students design a website of their choice, in two ways. The first way is making the website with Figma (2 weeks), and the second way translates the Figma website into a simplified HTML/ CSS website made with Dreamweaver (1 week).
Principles, issues and methods explored include: problem-solving processes, content organization / wireframes, navigation strategies, usability principles, interface look and feel, interface design elements, user requirements /specifications, audience analysis, and professional best practices.
This course is for students from all departments who may have no previous web design experience, as well as those with some experience who want to explore web design in new ways. There are no prerequisites for this course, and all necessary software skills will be taught in class.

Class Number

1215

Credits

3

Description

This course is an introduction to the User Interface (UI) / User Experience (UX) principles, issues, and methods of user-centered responsive web design (mobile, tablet, and laptop).
Students design a website of their choice, in two ways. The first way is making the website with Figma (2 weeks), and the second way translates the Figma website into a simplified HTML/ CSS website made with Dreamweaver (1 week).
Principles, issues and methods explored include: problem-solving processes, content organization / wireframes, navigation strategies, usability principles, interface look and feel, interface design elements, user requirements /specifications, audience analysis, and professional best practices.
This course is for students from all departments who may have no previous web design experience, as well as those with some experience who want to explore web design in new ways. There are no prerequisites for this course, and all necessary software skills will be taught in class.

Class Number

1028

Credits

3

Description

This course is an introduction to the User Interface (UI) / User Experience (UX) principles, issues, and methods of user-centered responsive web design (mobile, tablet, and laptop).
Students design a website of their choice, in two ways. The first way is making the website with Figma (2 weeks), and the second way translates the Figma website into a simplified HTML/ CSS website made with Dreamweaver (1 week).
Principles, issues and methods explored include: problem-solving processes, content organization / wireframes, navigation strategies, usability principles, interface look and feel, interface design elements, user requirements /specifications, audience analysis, and professional best practices.
This course is for students from all departments who may have no previous web design experience, as well as those with some experience who want to explore web design in new ways. There are no prerequisites for this course, and all necessary software skills will be taught in class.

Class Number

1447

Credits

3