For the 2011 summer MAET program I decided to create a custom look and feel for the course related material. Since this program is so unique I decided to create a new look or "brand" for the course this past summer. I wanted to create something that was both contemporary (in terms of design) but also representative of the educational technology focus of the program. My original design inspiration came from the design group Build and their designs for the documentary film Urbanized.
For the main focus I wanted to focus on the text of "Educate" since that verb is just what is happening, the students in the program are being educated, but the students themselves are the best possible educational technology advocates who take what they have learned and further educate their colleagues and students. Secondly, since there are 3 years of the program, I wanted to create a unique design for each year trying to pull together a visual representation that was special to that year. The posters are 16 x 24 inches at 300dpi.
Year 1: Grey Poster
This poster emphasizes the initial integration of what the Masters of Arts in Educational Technology is all about.
Year 2: Red Poster
For year 2 I wanted something slightly more "busy" as the level of technology integration increases as students start exploring and researching the integration of technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK).
Year 3: Green Poster
Year 3 is a wonderful capstone to the program in which students are pushed to explore and experience many technology tools and platforms for which they can use in their own professions. The students in year 3 will be exposed to a wide range of technologies from image editing, website development, audio and video production.
Why QR codes?
A common theme throughout the the posters in addition to the main textual theme of "Educate" is the integration of QR codes in each of the posters. The QR codes were used to continue the theme of educational technology by enhancing the posters themselves which are printed on paper, as still being interactive when scanned with a smart phone or other device that can read QR codes, allowing me to keep the design fairly simple while still being able to provide the necessary information.
Finished Product:
The Posters came out great, the only small issue I had was with the green poster. I could not find a print shop that could go as neon of a green as I had designed so I ended up settling for what they had.
Tee Shirt:
As an added element to the summer design, we decided to create a tee shirt based on the year 3 (green) poster. Since the decision to make the shirts came late in the game, I only had time to get enough printed for the staff of the summer program. I had a small run of 20 shirts run from the great folks at RetroDuck.com The shirts were a hit, and you can be sure that next summer everyone will have a chance to order one.
