🗓️ Before Class: Teacher Prep
- Gather/set out: Computer with Figma or Photoshop, Finished logo from the previous project.
- Pull up today's slide deck (see 🖥️ Slide Deck below) so it's ready to project.
🧑🏫 Substitute Teacher Guide
A scripted, step-by-step runsheet for today's class -- hand this to anyone covering the room who doesn't know the daily routine.
- Day 1: 📋 Open Substitute Guide
- Day 2: 📋 Open Substitute Guide
- Day 3: 📋 Open Substitute Guide
🎯 Essential Question
- How do we document a consistent brand identity so anyone can apply it correctly?
📈 Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson (3 Days), students will be able to:
- Build a one-page style guide documenting a logo, color palette (with exact color codes), and type pairing from the Logo Design project.
- Apply the brand consistently across at least 2 mock applications (e.g. a business card and a social media graphic).
- Explain why a style guide matters when more than one person works on a brand.
📐 Standards Alignment
CDOS (Career Development & Occupational Studies)
- CDOS 2 — Integrated Learning -- students will demonstrate how academic knowledge and skills are applied in the workplace and other settings.
- CDOS 3a — Universal Foundation Skills -- basic literacy, communication, and problem-solving skills required for a career.
- CDOS 3b — Career Majors -- knowledge and skills required for success within a specific career pathway (here, Digital Design).
ACP (Adobe Certified Professional) Photoshop Exam Objectives
- ACP 2.5 — Manage colors, swatches, and gradients.
- ACP 4.2 — Add and manipulate text using appropriate typographic settings.
🎓 Study this for the ACP exam: Domain 2: Project Setup and Interface · Domain 4: Creating and Modifying Visual Elements
📚 Key Vocabulary
- Style Guide / Brand Guidelines
- A reference document defining exactly how a brand's logo, colors, and type should be used.
- Color Code (Hex/CMYK)
- The exact numeric value of a brand color, ensuring it looks identical everywhere it's used.
- Brand Consistency
- Using the same visual identity correctly across every application, so a brand is instantly recognizable.
🧰 Materials & Tools
- Computer with Figma or Photoshop
- Finished logo from the previous project
🧠 Do Now (Warm-Up)
Think of a brand you'd recognize from just its colors, with no logo or words visible at all. What is it?
📋 Main Workshop / Lesson Sequence
This lesson spans 3 Days. Suggested pacing:
| Day | Focus | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | 1 | Plan: students pull exact color codes and font names from their finished logo project and lay out a one-page style guide structure. |
| Day 2 | 2 | Build: students complete the style guide (logo usage rules, color palette with codes, type pairing) in Figma or Photoshop. |
| Day 3 | 3 | Apply & critique: students apply their brand to 2 mock applications, then swap with a partner and use "I notice / I wonder" to check for consistency errors. |
✅ Assessment & Exit Ticket
Style guide + mock applications scored with a rubric: exact color codes documented, consistent application across both mockups.
Exit Ticket: Name one specific rule from your style guide that keeps your brand looking consistent.
📊 Pull up the anonymous Class Check-In for students to fill out before they go.
🧩 Differentiation & Accommodations
English Language Learners: model every step live, then check in one-on-one; provide translated materials and vocabulary support as needed. Students with IEPs: apply the accommodations and modifications listed in each student's plan (examples include extended time, graphic organizers, speech-to-text tools, chunked instructions, and visual schedules). Students with attention-related needs: break tasks into short, checklist-driven steps and provide brief movement or focus breaks. Students ready for a challenge: take on a leadership role critiquing peers' work, extend the project with a second iteration, or research how today's skill is used professionally in the field.