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Education

Kennesaw State University · Course

Visual Imagination

Fall

A foundations-of-design course on how line, color, form, texture, and light shape a viewer’s emotional response in the theatre.

Download syllabus (PDF) ↓

A wooden artist’s mannequin posed on a stage washed in saturated blue and magenta light, casting a long shadow.

Overview

Why is a diagonal line dynamic, and a horizontal line reassuring? Why does red feel hot and blue feel cold? Visual Imagination takes students on a journey to discover the principles of visual design, focused on the ways theatrical artists manipulate line, form, space, texture, and color to shape an audience’s emotional response.

The course weaves lectures, discussions, and a sequence of hands-on projects into a scaffolded structure: each project builds on the last, so by the end of the semester students have produced a body of design work and the language to talk about it. Visual Imagination paves the way for a better understanding and appreciation of the visual aspects of the art of theatre.

Course objectives

By the end of the semester, students will be able to:

  • Identify key concepts, techniques, and processes in visual design and demonstrate understanding through exam, creative, and analytical work.
  • Manipulate design elements and principles to create unified, meaningful visual images.
  • Solve practical problems pertaining to two-dimensional and three-dimensional designs.
  • Research and analyze creative works from multiple cultures in their historical, socio-cultural, and aesthetic contexts.
  • Apply critical thinking and aesthetic principles to evaluate the visual elements of creative works.
  • Analyze plays from the perspective of a theatrical designer.
  • Translate other forms of work, such as music or writing, into a visible form of art.
  • Use visual presentation tools effectively, and demonstrate professional collaborative habits.

Units & topics

A scaffolded sequence: each unit builds on the work of the one before it.

  1. Unit 01

    What is design?

    Vocabulary, the role of design in storytelling, and a working definition of design for the theatre.

  2. Unit 02

    Lines

    How direction, weight, and rhythm of line communicate emotion, and a hands-on Lines project.

  3. Unit 03

    Color

    Color theory, perception, and a Color project translating mood into palette.

  4. Unit 04

    Form & Texture

    Two- and three-dimensional shape language, surface, and the Form & Texture project.

  5. Unit 05

    Painting with Light

    How light functions as a design element on the stage, building toward the Painting with Light project.

  6. Unit 06

    Sound

    Sound as a design partner to the visual world, and the Sound project translating audio into image.

  7. Unit 07

    Final design project

    A capstone synthesis project drawing on every element introduced in the semester.

Assignments & projects

The work students do across the semester. Briefs are reproduced as PDFs where one was distributed.

  1. Lines Project assignment brief, page 1

    100 pts · Week 4

    Lines project

    Four line-only sketches that evoke the four sections of Passing Strange (LA, Amsterdam, Berlin, and back in the "now"), laid out in a 2×2 grid on a single 8.5×11 sheet. No color, no shading; pure line weight and direction. Multiple iterations expected before settling on the final.

    What to turn in
    • Scanned sketch sheet uploaded to D2L
    • One-page written statement summarizing the journey across the four windows

    Download brief (PDF) ↓

    Student work

  2. Color Project assignment brief, page 1

    100 pts · Week 7

    Color project

    Building on the Lines project: add up to four colors per section (including black) to expand the storytelling. Students duplicate their lines work rather than coloring on top so the through-line stays legible.

    What to turn in
    • Scanned color project sheet uploaded to D2L
    • One-page written statement

    Download brief (PDF) ↓

    Student work

  3. Form & Texture Project assignment brief, page 1

    100 pts · Week 10 (in-class)

    Form & Texture project

    Pick the most-promising of the four sections and build it as a three-dimensional analog model. Minimum 10″×10″ footprint. Material choice itself is a design decision: texture, form, mass, shape, and negative space all need to earn their place.

    What to turn in
    • One-page statement with an embedded photo of the model
    • The physical model, presented in class as a show-and-tell

    Download brief (PDF) ↓

    Student work

  4. Painting with Light Project assignment brief, page 1

    100 pts · Week 12 (in-class)

    Painting with Light project

    Two lighting looks for the chosen section: one that conveys its prevailing mood, and one that conveys the opposite. Students get a personal gel swatch book to keep, plus access to the light lab. Non-conventional sources are welcome.

    What to turn in
    • One-page statement with two embedded photos
    • Color keys uploaded to D2L
    • In-class presentation of the looks

    Download brief (PDF) ↓

    Student work

  5. Sound Project assignment brief, page 1

    100 pts · Week 14 (in-class)

    Sound project

    A two-part auditory experience for the chosen section: a captured 2-minute background ambience from the real world, and a created sound effect for a specific moment. No downloaded sounds; no AI generators. Students must show evidence of the creation process.

    What to turn in
    • One-page statement with photos of the recording / creation process
    • Two labeled audio files (background + effect)

    Download brief (PDF) ↓

    Student work

  6. Final Project assignment brief, page 1

    200 pts · Finals week

    Final project

    Choose a design discipline (scenery, costumes, lighting, or sound), research the show, and develop a full design concept for Passing Strange. Students may work solo or partner with classmates from other disciplines for a multi-disciplinary production design. Brief covers discipline-specific deliverables for each track.

    What to turn in
    • Research imagery / mood boards (collage, deck, or document)
    • Discipline-specific design materials (sketches, renderings, models, cue sheets, audio files, etc.)
    • Detailed reflection statement tracing research through final concept
    • Zoom presentation in the final session

    Download brief (PDF) ↓

    Student work

Required materials

Books, tools, software, and supplies for the course. Buy / download links are carried over from the syllabus where the syllabus listed one.

Student galleries

Walk one student's progression across every assignment, and see how the scaffolded structure plays out in practice.

Other courses

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