Session/artefact to be observed/reviewed: Adobe InDesign for BA Year 1
Size of student group: 10
Observer: Can Yang
Observee: Giuseppe Renga
Note: This record is solely for exchanging developmental feedback between colleagues. Its reflective aspect informs PgCert and Fellowship assessment, but it is not an official evaluation of teaching and is not intended for other internal or legal applications such as probation or disciplinary action.
Part One (Giuseppe)
Observee to complete in brief and send to observer prior to the observation or review:
What is the context of this session/artefact within the curriculum?
I teach Adobe InDesign which is a powerful tool that helps student in the composition and construction of portfolios, magazines, zines, books, pamphlet, leaflet and presentations.
How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?
I usually work with these cohorts for the entire duration of the course that lasts 4 days.
What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?
The creation and customization of the workspace within Adobe InDesign. Moreover ,students will get more familiar with the main panels incapsulated in the software like the Layers, the Properties, The Pages and the Styles panels. The recreation of a small magazine by using a combination of images and text supported my the use of a gamut of digital tools like: the frame, the type and the shape tools.
What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?
These students will be able to design their own portfolios, zines, leaflets and so on and on.
Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?
Because these sessions were delivering online my main concerns were about the lack of physicality of the students which might determine a lacuna in the control of the classroom with a consequent reduction of attention from the attendees.
How will students be informed of the observation/review?
My observer Can Yang has been able to observe me on an online record session.
What would you particularly like feedback on?
Ways of interactions with my students, methodologies used to inculcate concepts to the students, gamut of exercises developed.
How will feedback be exchanged?
The feedback will be exchanged through this document.
Part Two (Can)
Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:
Observer: Can Yang
Date of Observation: March 10, 2025
Lecturer: Giuseppe Renga
Course: Adobe Certified Professional (ACPro) InDesign Online Session
Duration: 100 minutes (40 minutes lecture, 60 minutes demonstration)
During the session, Giuseppe Renga began by introducing the recording of the online session, providing clear instructions on where participants could find the resources and outlining the schedule for the day. He also asked the participants if they could hear him clearly, which helped establish a comfortable and interactive atmosphere right from the start. This kind of effective context-setting is essential for remote learning, ensuring that students feel prepared and informed about the session’s structure.
Giuseppe then moved on to introduce the historical context of digital tools, particularly focusing on Adobe’s role in the design world. He highlighted the evolution of digital design practices, discussing the contributions of European philosophers and artists, which effectively grounded the students in the theoretical underpinnings of design. By connecting these historical figures to modern digital tools, Giuseppe managed to create a link between abstract concepts and practical applications, providing students with a broader understanding of design’s cultural and philosophical context.
The thematic exploration of art, design, and fashion was a particularly engaging part of the lecture. Giuseppe used artists like Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, César Manrique, and Piet Mondrian to illustrate how everyday commercial products can be transformed into art. He also explored wearable art and fashion brands, which tied into the broader concept of design’s role in both aesthetics and commerce. This approach encouraged students to think critically about design beyond its traditional boundaries. However, I believe the session could have been enriched by including references from a wider range of cultural contexts, allowing for a more diverse and global perspective on the evolution of design.
When Giuseppe introduced the ABCs of Graphic Design—Aesthetic, Balance, and Content—he provided a clear and concise explanation of these fundamental principles. The inclusion of these core concepts was important in grounding the students in graphic design’s foundational ideas. It would be interesting for Giuseppe to incorporate a small hands-on exercise to allow students to directly engage with these principles in practice. For example, giving students a brief design task where they could apply Aesthetic, Balance, and Content to a simple layout using InDesign would help them internalize these concepts more effectively.
The latter half of the session focused on demonstrating InDesign’s tools and functions. Giuseppe did an excellent job of explaining each feature and showing students how to use the software effectively. He paced the demonstration well, giving students time to follow along and practice. The practical nature of this part of the session was beneficial, as students were able to apply the theory and tools discussed earlier. However, I noticed that some of the visual materials used in the slides were not accompanied by image credits or captions. While this did not detract from the content, including such credits would improve the professionalism of the presentation and align it with academic best practices, especially when referencing well-known artists or copyrighted materials.
In terms of overall feedback, Giuseppe’s session was highly informative and well-structured. The combination of historical context and practical demonstration provided a well-rounded learning experience for the students. However, there are a few areas for improvement. Incorporating more diverse cultural references could broaden the students’ perspectives, and adding an interactive component, such as a hands-on exercise, would allow them to apply the theories presented. Lastly, including image credits and captions on slides would enhance the academic rigor of the presentation.
Questions for Reflection:
- How to balance theoretical content with practical exercises to increase student engagement and learning retention?
- Could a brief recap or summary at the end of the session help reinforce the key points discussed and aid student understanding?
- How might incorporating case studies or examples from more global cultural contexts to make the historical and artistic aspects of the lesson more inclusive?
Part Three (Giuseppe)
To begin with I want to say thank you for observing an online recorded session of the Adobe Certified Professional I have delivered to the BA Creative Direction for Fashion Year One students from London College of Fashion.
To deliver the ACP sessions, I used Blackboard Collaborate. Normally, each session started at 10 and finished at 16:30, including a one-hour lunch break and two 15-minute tea breaks. By sharing my screen, I showed the students how to use Adobe InDesign, underpinned by theoretical didactic material via a separate presentation. Moreover, all the sessions were recorded and shared with the students via Moodle to help those students who were working from a different time zone.
Although students are contacted via email at least 48 hours before the start of the course with all the vital didactical resources attached, I have never thought to share with them a reading list or a theoretical context that could have been linked to an artefact to be created in the classroom. Nonetheless, in my last year, I have been practicing with my students the design of their major final degree show poster based and inspired by those created by the Bauhaus artists by adopting the dogmas and axioms of simplicity, balance and aesthetic explored by the German avant-garde. Upon your feedback, I will certainly include in future more examples related to a variety of art movements to inspire the students even more and to make them curious.
Moreover, I firmly think that the attendees would have also been guided in a better way if I had created a map of the course which would have facilitated my students in being oriented and engaged with the flow of the lecture that consisted of a fusion of theory and practice. In addition, a final recapitulation of the key concepts touched and analyzed throughout the course could be refreshing and clarifying for the students in particular after 5/6 hours spent in front of a screen.
Furthermore, whilst you have mentioned the lack of examples of art practices explored by different practitioners I have been inserting in my slides examples inherent to fashion illustrators such as Elsa Schiaparelli and Rene Gruau’ as well Tony Viramontes and based on their artefacts I have tried to shift their styles towards artifices that I have collaboratively constructed with my cohort.
Finally, although I have inserted at the end of my presentation a reference list, I evince that it will acquire a more professional appearance if I include the written reference to each image deployed during the presentation with a list of the image at the end of the presentation.