El Camino High School's Digital Media Pathway is a series of career technical education (CTE) classes that focus on digital media arts. The program features graphic design (marketing and advertising through images that have been digitally produced and enhanced), and web design (production of online content aimed at selling or promoting products or services).

The sequence of courses forms what's called a "pathway" which, when completed, shows you how to become a freelance designer capable of starting your own business or working at a professional design agency. Either way, it has the potential to start you on a very successful and lucrative career.

Grading Policy

Each assignment has clear expectations and a defined due date. If the student does not turn in the assignment by that date, the highest possible grade that you could get on that assignment goes down 10% each business day. If a student has excused absences for days that we worked on the project in class, they have that many days to make up the assignment with no penalty.

The value of the assignment goes down each day that it's late, much like it would if you were working in an actual studio. So, it's in your best interest to keep caught up and turn in late assignments as soon as possible.

If you are missing an assignment and believe that you already completed it, it is your responsibility to contact me via email (aaron.grable@oside.us) to get that fixed.

Google classroom is a useful tool for organizing your classes, viewing your assignments, interacting with each other and the teacher and turning in your work digitally. The district gives you unlimited space on their Google Drive but that goes away after your senior year. At that time, you'll need to find a way to migrate your information to your own Google Drive if you want to keep it.

This is the process for working with Google Classroom:

  1. Make sure you're logged in to your school Google Drive.
  2. Click on the green Google Classroom to the left or click here
  3. Sign in, using your school email (your student ID plus "@oside.us")
  4. Your password, if you haven't created one yet, is your eight-digit birthdate (for example, January 1st, 2025 would be 01012025)
  5. Sign up for classes using the codes I give you in class.
  6. Use this portal to view, complete and turn in assignments

Success tip: go to your student calendar (while logged in as a student) by clicking here and you'll see all your due dates for all your Classroom classes!

Note: If you don't plan on checking your district email (yourstudentid@oside.us), you should set it up so those emails forward to your personal account.

If your password is not working and you'd like me to reset it, please click on the button to the right and fill out the form. I'll get notified and I'll reset it to a default that you can then change. If it's not reset in 24 hours, send me a reminder email.

AI Statement: We realize that artificial intelligence is a part of our daily lives and that it is commonly used in everyday life. Instead of fearing it, we embrace it but not as a replacement for human thought and creativity.

AI should be used for creating, analyzing, refining, and troubleshooting. When it comes to creative expression, you should be able to rely on your own skill to create something that is truly yours. If you're going to use AI for something, be ready to admit it and justify it, not as a punishment but simply to keep you aware.

Schedule for Graphic Design:

(year-to-date schedule here, district schedule here, bell schedule here)

Portfolio: addresses will show up here, form to submit your address here. Links to your files will be here.

This week students will begin their Surreal Composite Photoshop project while working around the testing schedule. They will select a random image and theme, plan a creative concept, gather source images, and begin combining them into one composition. Later in the week, students will refine their artwork by improving blending, lighting, shadows, and overall realism.


Short for the week: Malacabra

5/18: Intro “Get Hired: Design Studio Project.” Learn what design studios look for in employees and the types of studios that exist (branding, entertainment, apparel, web, marketing, etc.). Choose or be assigned a real design studio and begin research: location, clients, visual style, examples of work, and what skills/personality they would want in an employee.

5/19: Finish research and create your “Why I’d Be a Good Fit” paragraph and short elevator pitch. Choose the type of project you will create to match your studio’s style (poster, ad, social campaign, apparel design, branding piece, album cover, etc.) and begin brainstorming/sketching ideas.

5/20: Sub Day (Field Trip / Expo) Complete the Studio Style Analysis Worksheet. Analyze the company’s colors, typography, visual style, and overall “look.” Create 2–3 sketched ideas for your logo and explain how it matches the studio’s style.

5/21: Sub Day (CPACE Exam) Begin creating your final logo in Illustrator. Focus on matching the style, quality, and aesthetic of your chosen studio. By the end of class, you should have a clear layout and major design elements started.

5/22: Continue working on your logo. Participate in a quick peer critique and get feedback on how well your work matches the studio’s visual style. Revise based on suggestions and continue building your final piece.

Please note: anyone who finishes their assignment is required to continue working on something (a) productive and (b) relevant to web or graphic design. You will lose one point for every class period that you don't.

Resources:

  • Assignment folder here
  • High quality ECHS logo here
  • Portfolio address/progress reports here
  • Graphic Design syllabus and outline
  • Elements of Design and Composition here
  • Slides templates for presentation
  • Great resource from Adobe for learning here
  • Pen tool learning resource here

Schedule for Web Design:

(year-to-date schedule here, district schedule here, bell schedule here)

Portfolio: addresses will show up here, form to submit your address here. Links to your files will be here. Link to Business Contact Tracker HERE (business listing here)

This week students will continue building their JavaScript Dino Game while working around the testing schedule. They will upgrade their basic jumping box into a dinosaur character, add a score counter, improve the layout, and later add random obstacles with increasing speed. By the end of the week, students should have a polished and fully playable game using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.


Short for the week: Malacabra

5/18: Intro “Oceanside Business Website Redesign Project.” We will look at examples of good and bad websites and discuss what makes a website effective (navigation, readability, mobile layout, branding, images, calls to action, professionalism). Choose an Oceanside business with a weak or outdated website and get teacher approval. Begin researching the business, its audience, services, and current website strengths/weaknesses.

5/19: Wix Demo Day. I will show you how to set up a Wix site, choose an appropriate template, edit sections, create navigation, add images/text, and customize colors/fonts to match a client’s business. Create your Wix site and begin redesigning the Home page. By the end of class, you should have your structure set up and a clear visual direction.

5/20: Sub Day (Field Trip / Expo) Continue redesigning the website. Focus on completing the Home page and beginning a second page (About, Services, Menu, Gallery, or Contact depending on the business). You should improve organization, readability, and overall professionalism compared to the original site.

5/21: Sub Day (CPACE Exam) Continue building your website redesign in Wix. Add strong visuals, consistent fonts/colors, and clear navigation. By the end of class, your redesigned website should include at least 3 completed pages and clearly look more professional than the original.

5/22: Peer critique and workday. Show your redesign to a partner and compare it to the original business website. Get feedback on design, organization, and usability. Continue revising and polishing your Wix site.

Please note: anyone who finishes their assignment is required to continue working on something (a) productive and (b) relevant to web or graphic design. You will lose one point for every class period that you don't.

Resources:

  • Weekly goals show up here and your end-of-week followup is here
  • Assignment folder here
  • Business contact tracker here
  • Portfolio address/progress reports here
  • Web Design syllabus and outline
  • Click here if you need your work from previous years
  • Link to ECHS vector here
  • Link to WordPress site here

Revise your work:

In an actual studio, your work is not final until the customer is satisfied with its quality. When I grade items, my thinking is the same: if you produce work that is below the quality that I feel you're capable of, you have a chance to revise it and resubmit. Though the resubmitted work won't be worth the full amount of the original assignment, it will increase your grade significantly.

If you received a four, this is superior work. No need for revision. You've shown you understand the concept we're practicing and have even put some extra effort into making it perfect. You should be proud to show this off.

If you received a three, this work is adequate. You completed the assignment and though you didn't put obvious, extra effort into it, the finished product is "good".

If you received a two, this work is not as good as I know you're capable of. You may have misunderstood the assignment, chosen not to complete it, or rushed through it. The finished product is not something I would feel comfortable showing to others.

If you received a one, you have the option to re-do the assignment, incorporating my suggestions, one time. Though the resubmitted work will not get a perfect score (that would be unfair to those that turned it in on time), it will be rescored and the higher score will be put in the gradebook.

If you received a zero, you either didn't hand the assignment in or it was so far off the mark that it didn't function (in the case of a website) or it makes absolutely no sense (in the case of a print design). This is a complete do-over. Return to the instructions and re-do the assignment for a better score.