MM4413 - Professional Practice for Multimedia

Art Institute of California - San Francisco

Instructor: Laura Cesari - lcesari@aii.edu

Recommended Textbook: Graphic Artists Guild Handbook

Course Syllabus (Word Document)

Course Grading Rubric (PDF) - See detailed assignment rubrics below

Additional resources and examples will be provided in class.

Please email me (lcesari@aii.edu) if you have any questions or if you miss a day.

Class Schedule & Online Resources - Winter 2010

Week 1:

Introduction to the Course, Types of Clients & Personal Relations, Work Strategies
Assignment 01 & Grading Rubric

• Personal Relations: 12 Breeds of Clients
• Work Strategies: FreelanceSwitch, WorkAwesome, WebWorkerDaily
• Editorials: CMD+SHIFT Design, Inspect Element, A List Apart
• Learning Resources: TutorialBlog.org, Smashing Magazine

Week 2:

HOLIDAY - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Week 3:

Identity Documents, Client Questionnaire, Freelancer Stereotypes & Attitudes
Assignment 02 & Grading Rubric

• Types of Freelancers: 13 Breeds of Freelancers

• Some Humor: How a Web Design Goes Straight to Hell

Week 4:

Developing Identity Documents
Assignment 03 & Grading Rubric

• Print Templates

Week 5:

Pricing your Services, Cost Estimates, Minimum Fees, Rejecting Spec Work
Assignment 04 & Grading Rubric

• What should YOU charge? - Hourly Rate Calculator
• Perspective: Statistics, Are Freelancers a Commodity or a Profession?
• Strategies: Pricing Creative Services, Rough Estimation, Negotiation
• "On Spec": Spec Work Considerations, What is Spec Work?, NO!SPEC

Week 6:

Request for Proposal, Writing a Project Proposal Document
Assignment 05 & Grading Rubric

• Formal and Informal Project Proposals

Week 7:

Types of Contracts, Letter of Agreement, Work-for-Hire Contracts
Assignment 06 & Grading Rubric

• Common Contract Legalese: Contract Terms Glossary
• Work-for-Hire: Patrick Nagel, Playboy and the Work-for-Hire Agreement
• Legal Reference: Ivan Hoffman: Articles - for Artists, for Web

Week 8:

Quality/Cost/Time Efficiency, Model Releases, Image License Agreement

Week 9:

Types of Businesses, Maintenance Contracts, Tax Considerations

Week 10:

Exam Review, Agencies, Retainer Agreement, Fixed-Bid Contracts

Week 11:

Final Exam, Lab Day