Design history, examples, great ads. Discussion that focuses on your own taste level, your own value system.

Brief review of relevant software and hardware. (We do not teach software.)

Page layout basics including:
Margins, columns, the grid.
White space or no space, contrast.
Symmetry bad / im-balance good.
Focusing the reader's eye.

Two in-class hands-on assignments. One is pre-K level. One is your level.

Styles of typography including:
Swiss design, Helvetica, the grid.
American editorial typography: Look, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Wired, Men's Health, Good, Monocle. Ad typography: Volkswagen, CBS. Reid Miles and Blue Note Records. Herb Lubalin. Medieval illuminations. Classic and circus posters. Decorative typography. Anti-typography.

How to convert a typeface into a logotype.

How to mix and space typefaces.

In-class hands–on exercise modifying letterforms by hand. Review.

Great typography, examples, discussion.

Principles of copywriting.

The word everyone wants to use and should never use in a headline.

Style <<tags>> from word processor to page layout application.

In–class hands–on exercise writing headlines.

In–class hands–on exercise writing body copy.

Spell-checking, proof reading [sic] your copy.

Review hands–on assignment.

Homework if you wish.

Working in creative teams.

Collaboration vs. Consensus. Creativity vs. status quo.
Creative team vs. brainstorming.

How to remain objective and open to discussion. Ego versus overnight judgment. And the profound advantage of not caring too much (from Herb Cohen's book on principles of negotiation).

How to buy art, illustration, photography. Usage, ownership, work-for-hire.

How to work with a freelancer.

How to buy printing.
You probably should buy Claudia McCue's superb book, Real World Print Production. She makes the tricky sound like fun.

Review homework assignment.

Marketing and design.

Positioning.
Bottom-up marketing.
Guerrilla marketing.
Branding.

Art direction vs. design.

Structured and freeform design.

Review homework assignment. More demanding homework if you wish.

Optional: A guest printing and production specialist if available, if you wish, for additional cost. Or perhaps a Web techie.

Possible visit to a printer today or during the week.

Claudia McCue's production book.

As a management person, you may be asked to supervise or even produce desktop-published visual material for your company.

It can be a far cry from giving an assignment to a professional and critiquing their work,

to having a hands-on involvement with projects you write or design yourself. What may be lost is objectivity. Is there a way around that?

When the classes are over, the busy executive will be well on the way to being able to efficiently supervise creativity, feel more comfortable with the artistic personality, or to write, design, and produce effective in-house desktop publishing projects.

(But he or she may not always decide that that's the best course of action.)

Some other services for executives.