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Newsletter 13, October 1996 Productive Print Event

• Productive Print Event
• Introductory Address
• First Presentation: "Your Concept"
• Second Presentation: "Services Available"
• Final Discussion Session

This was a half-day event with an exhibition of materials, presentations and a discussion session, held last term in Lecture Theatre B on Beckett Park Campus. It was intended to update staff on LSS support and services for the design and creation of materials for teaching/learning or for other purposes.

The event was designed to focus attention on the issue of better quality and better value materials for teaching and learning, and for publicity and other purposes. All places were filled, with an attendance of 29. The format included an exhibition of a range of printed materials produced via Media and Educational Development Services, two major presentations, and a discussion session.

Introductory Address

This was provided by John Heap, Director of Learning Support Services, who made the point that teaching and learning materials in particular require a design input before deciding which particular medium is appropriate. Attention was also drawn to the volume of printing work of all kinds produced by the University, and its comparability with a large commercial printing facility.

First Presentation: “Your Concept”

Dennis James, Learning Systems Consultant, spoke about concept and design issues. Major points included:

• The importance of choosing the appropriate medium in the first instance and in employing design criteria in relation to suitability, producability, deliverability and affordability.

• The special character of the design process for educational materials.

  “We must not only produce a legible and aesthetic document containing the required information but also enable learning by making the underlying logic of the subject matter explicit and by exercising the cognitive processes relevant to it.”

  A technique, in which layout is derived from meaning, was demonstrated with some text extracts which were displayed in “normal” and enhanced forms.

• The large variety of functions performed by printed materials in the teaching/learning context. An example of a standard workbook layout was shown in order to demonstrate the variety of characteristics (typestyle, font size, leading, justification, columns, heading hierarchies, etc.) which should be determined by established design criteria and not chosen only for aesthetic reasons.

• Graphics and images in relation to the function and power of pictorial illustrations, the use of concept icons, the clarity of diagrammatic explanation and the effectiveness of charts and graphs.

• Bibliographic standards and the University’s use of the Harvard system.

Second Presentation: “Services Available”

Esmond Wyatt, Print Production Manager, spoke about print services available within the University and how to access them, covering:

• The variety of graphic design, photographic, typography and reprographic services.
• Scheduling and management of the production process.
• How to get the best out of LSS by:
  • Talking to us as early as possible (at the ideas stage).
  • Being clear what you want to achieve.
  • Telling us what you can afford.
  • Producing full information, preferably in the form of a written brief.
• You will need to give us:
  • Your orders.
  • The copy.
  • Clearance for any copyright items.
  • Your time to proof-read.
• We can help you with advice about:
  • Selection and specification of the printing medium.
  • Budgeting and estimating.
  • Resource selection.
  • Scheduling.
  • Creating the brief.

Final Discussion Session

This session raised a number of points which provided useful feedback for LSS staff and for the development of services.