Introduction to AP 2-D Design

Why should I pursue a career in Art & Design? 1.25 Million Americans work in the visual arts. One in 111 jobs is in art and design. Jobs in design have increased 43% in the past 10 years. There are 94,000 computer artists and animators working in the US. Yearly sales of art reach an estimated $10 Billion dollars in the United States alone.

2010 Art & Design Career Median Salaries Art Directors $80, 630 Web site Developers $75, 660 Architect $72, 550 Producers & Directors $68, 440 Film & Video Editors $66,715 Fashion Designer $64, 530 Post Secondary Art Educator $62, 050 Multi-Media Artists & Animators $58, 510 Industrial Design $58, 230 High School Art Educator $53, 230 Set & Exhibit Designers $46, 680 Interior Designer $46, 280 Graphic Designers $43, 500 Craft & Fine Artist $43,470 Art Museum Curators $42,310

How will AP 2-D Design Benefit me? 45% of students feel better prepared for college after taking one AP class and 65% feel better prepared after taking two. Some colleges count AP scores of 3,4 or 5 as a college credit. Many students who complete this program go on to accredited art programs. Provides students a better opportunity for receiving scholarships and grants.

Line, Shape, Color, Value, Texture and Space AP 2-D Design involves purposeful decision making about using the Principles and Elements of art in an integrative way. The student should demonstrate an understanding of design principles as applied to two dimensional surfaces. Unity, Variety, Balance, Emphasis, Contrast, Rhythm, Repetition, Proportion and Figure / Ground Relationship. Line, Shape, Color, Value, Texture and Space Principles of Art Elements of Art

Any two-dimensional process or medium may be submitted including but not limited to: Weaving Collage Fashion Design Fabric Graphic Design Illustration Digital Imaging Painting Photography Printmaking Video Clips, DVDs, CDs and three dimensional works may not be submitted

2-D Design Portfolio Requirements Breadth A variety of 12 artifacts demonstrating your understanding of the Principles of 2-D Design Concentration 12 Images describing an in-depth exploration of a particular 2-D Design concern Quality Five actual works that best demonstrate your understanding of and engagement with 2-D Design 2-D Design Portfolio Requirements

AP 2-D Design Scoring Guidelines Excellent Quality Strong Quality Good Quality Moderate Quality Weak Quality Poor Quality Each score point is characterized by a variety of descriptors of work that would receive that score. Each score point represents a band or range of accomplishment. Portfolios are graded by seven different consultants. Two judge Breadth, two judge Concentration and three judge Quality.

3 4 5 6 Examples of Quality works representing different works on the grading scale.

Breadth Key Scoring Descriptors Broad investigation of 2-D Design Principles. Originality and Innovative thinking. Application of 2-D Design Principles to broad range of design problems. Purpose and intention in the compositional use of the Elements and Principles of Design. Confident and evocative work that engages the viewer. Technical competence and skill with materials and media. Appropriation and the student “voice” Image quality Overall accomplishment and quality.

Breadth The Breadth section includes 12 images of 12 different works that demonstrate your understanding of the principles of 2-D Design. It should clearly show a range of conceptual approaches to 2-D Design. Examples may include: work that employs line, shape and color to create unity or variety, symmetry or asymmetry balance or anomaly, color organization or other color relationships for emphasize or contrast , development of a modular or repeat pattern to create rhythm, figure/ground relationships or work that investigates or exaggerates proportion or scale. You may not submit images of the same work in the Breadth and Concentration sections. Felicia Alcaide, Design and Architecture Senior High School, Miami, Fla. Breadth Section Score: 6/6

Breadth AP Consultants Rationale for Score The work demonstrates a thoughtful investigation of a broad range of 2-D design principles. The work shows knowledge of a variety of design genres, from art nouveau to Japanese anime to expressive illustration, and a wide range of media from ink on gesso, to digital, to collage, graphite, and even tea. The scale of the work ranges from intimate sketchbook images to large scale multi-media paintings. Color is used with tremendous intentionality. It is sometimes restrained; it establishes mood; it is used boldly for emphasis or balance. The student layers visual and conceptual elements with great versatility, fluidly combining digital and traditional media. The work demonstrates an excellent range of approaches and shows exceptional technical skill. Felicia Alcaide, Design and Architecture Senior High School, Miami, Fla. Breadth Section Score: 6/6

Concentration Key Scoring Descriptors Integration of the topic of the concentration and the work presented. Decision making and discovery through investigation. Originality and innovative thinking. Evocative theme and engagement of the viewer. Understanding and application of 2-D Design Principles. Growth and transformation. Technical competency and skill with materials and media. Appropriation and the student “voice”. Image quality. Overall accomplishment and quality.

Concentration The Concentration section involves a commitment to the thoughtful investigation of a specific visual idea. To document your process, you should present a number of conceptually related works that show your growth and discovery. These works should use the principles of design in an informed and or experimental way. It is important to define your concentration early in the year so that the work you submit will have the focus and direction required for a concentration. In preparing your concentration, give some thought to the sequence of the images. A written commentary describing what your concentration is and how it evolved must accompany the work in this section. The commentary is not scored but it does help in the evaluation process. Felicia Alcaide, Design and Architecture Senior High School, Miami, Fla. Concentration Section Score: 6/6

Concentration Commentary What is the central idea of your concentration? My concentration explores the symbolism in flowers. For decades, many people have associated flowers with emotions, abstract ideas (innocence), and even religious figures. I have always been interested in the different symbols and associations carried with these delicate yet robust works of nature. Through this exploration, I hope to mature in my thinking process as well as my methods of creating these pieces, just as a little sprout goes through the metamorphosis of a bud to a blooming flower. Felicia Alcaide, Design and Architecture Senior High School, Miami, Fla. Concentration Section Score: 6/6

Concentration Commentary How does the work in your concentration demonstrate the exploration of your idea? You may refer to specific images as examples. When referencing specific images, please indicate the image numbers. In my pieces I chose to juxtapose different people with different flowers. Sometimes these human subjects elicit a certain emotion that corresponds with the symbolism carried with the flower (Image 6) while other times they have a gesture that may hint at what the flower symbolize. Image 5 is an example of the latter explanation. Forget-Me-Nots primarily symbolize eternal love, and I chose a "protective" stance of a young girl covering the flowers with both hands. However, she does not keep these flowers to herself, rather, she allows them to drop and grow on their own, preventing this to be a dangerous obsessive love. Image 9 is an example of how a flower, the white lily, can symbolize a religious figure, in this case the Virgin Mary. My pieces also begin to slightly change in media and style, although not so obvious, mimicking the growth of a flower. I think it was important to incorporate this aspect because it is not only relevant to my concentration's concept, but it also allows me to grow as an artist by exposing me to different ways of approaching my artwork. Felicia Alcaide, Design and Architecture Senior High School, Miami, Fla. Concentration Section Score: 6/6

Concentration AP Consultants Rationale for Score This student takes an often conventional and trite subject, flowers, and instead handles the theme with complexity and sophistication. The student uses flowers as an effective design motif with compelling symbolic significance. Although the commentary is not scored, it provides a particularly important insight, and a useful point of entry to the student's thought process. The student has approached the concentration as a clearly focused exploration of moods and psychological states, investigated effectively using a wide range of materials and techniques. An innovative application of the principles of design, particularly unity/variety, rhythm, emphasis, and balance, is used to create decorative themes that simultaneously reinforce symbolic content. The three image details provide useful information about content, surface, and mark making. Overall, the work constitutes a rich exploration of a coherent and poetic theme. The work is of excellent quality. Felicia Alcaide, Design and Architecture Senior High School, Miami, Fla. Concentration Section Score: 6/6

Quality Key Scoring Descriptors General use of Design Elements to investigate the Principles of 2-D Design. Decision making and intention in the composition. Originality, Imagination and Invention. Experimentation and risk taking. Confident, Evocative work and engagement of the viewer. Technical competence and skill with materials and media. Appropriation and the student “voice”. Overall accomplishment and quality.

Quality The Quality section is comprised of five carefully selected works that demonstrate understanding of and engagement with 2-D Design issues. The five works should best represent your accomplishments and fit within the size limit (not larger than 18x24). The five works may come from your Concentration and or your Breadth section, but they don’t have to. They may be a group of related works, unrelated works or a combination of related and unrelated works. Felicia Alcaide, Design and Architecture Senior High School, Miami, Fla. Breadth Section Score: 6/6

Quality AP Consultants Rationale for Score These works of modest scale and restrained palette draw the viewer in with engaging subtlety and evocative narrative. The student's illustrative style is built upon a well integrated knowledge of design principles. Materials (ink, watercolor, marker, nail polish) are layered with confidence and fluidity. The work demonstrates a clear sense of intention as well as a distinct, individual "voice." Even though illusionary depth is compressed, figure/ground relationships are well activated through the dynamic use of marks, drips, and bands of color. Overall, the work is of excellent quality. Felicia Alcaide, Design and Architecture Senior High School, Miami, Fla. Breadth Section Score: 6/6

AP Credit Acceptance at North Carolina Universities UNC students may receive academic hours of credit for some Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses.  Credits awarded may be used toward graduation requirements, with some limits. Duke awards AP credits for AP scores of 4 or 5. Trinity College of Arts and Sciences students may apply up to two of these elective course credits toward the degree requirement of 34 course credits, with up to six additional credits awarded for acceleration toward the degree. The Pratt School of Engineering evaluates AP credit as Trinity College does, but students may receive credit and placement for all qualifying classes. ECU offers 6 AP credits for a 3,4 or 5 score in Art History. No credits were listed for AP 2-D Design, 3-D Design or Drawing. NC State offers AP credits for scores of 3,4 or 5 pending portfolio review by the Art & Design Department. Appalachian State does not accept any scores lower than 3 and sometimes giveing additional credit for scores of 4 or 5. AP Credit Acceptance at North Carolina Universities