THE LOCAL TRANSMISSION · ONLINE SEASON 1 · UES-203
Public Image Office: Posters, Signs & Civic Invitations
TYPE + PUBLIC IMAGE
Treat public graphics as working civic material: images that help a real person find, understand, join, question, or remember something local.
- Module time
- About 2.5–3 hours per module
- Pace
- Start anytime · no deadlines · pause and return.
- Completion
- Any four modules plus the final course outcome.
- Materials
- Phone camera or sketchbook · Paper, marker, scissors, tape, or equivalent digital tools · Browser-based layout tool or preferred design software · Access to a basic home, library, or partner printer for one scale test when possible
WHY THIS CLASS EXISTS
Make observation useful to somebody else.
Treat public graphics as working civic material: images that help a real person find, understand, join, question, or remember something local.
Builds from Season 0: UES-105, UES-106, UES-108.
HOW THE ROOM RUNS
Prompt. Fieldwork. Studio. Receipt.
- 01Module prompt
One central question opens each module. The source shelf is optional; the page itself contains the full path.
- 02Field task
One 60–90 minute act of looking, making, recording, or hosting.
- 03Self-guided studio
A 75-minute making, editing, or reflection session you can complete alone.
- 04Module receipt
A 20-minute useful trace kept privately or shared only when you choose.
YOUR PRIVATE COURSE DESK
Start here. No account required.
Check off modules as you work. Progress stays in this browser; the university never receives your name, work, location, email, or wallet.
0 of 5 completion steps · finish any four modules plus the final outcome.
Local progress is ready. You can also use the class without saving anything.
THE SIX-MODULE ROOM
A complete first syllabus.
Everything required is printed here. References named inside modules are optional; use this on-page toolkit whenever a module asks for a check, scenario, ledger, or handoff.
- MODULE01
What are local signs asking people to do, and who can actually understand or act?
Read the Street
On-page prompts + optional references
- On-page sign audit fields: exact words, intended action, likely audience, distance, placement, hierarchy, material, access, and unintended message
- Municipal, handmade, commercial, protest, and wayfinding sign examples
- Plain-language and visual-access prompts
Self-guided studio
Read signs as voice, hierarchy, placement, material, instruction, and social relationship.
Field task
Document ten signs from one route or accessible digital streetscape.
Module receipt · private by default
An annotated sign audit naming one strong invitation and one exclusion.
- MODULE02
What must a person know, feel, and do in the five seconds after seeing this?
Message, Audience, Invitation
On-page prompts + optional references
- On-page brief fields: audience, single action, reason to care, place, date or timing, cost, access promise, privacy, contact, and production constraints
- On-page language check: lead with one verb, define unfamiliar terms, remove filler, put essential details first, and read every sentence aloud
- Examples of welcoming and coercive public language
Self-guided studio
Turn a real or self-defined local need into a one-page campaign brief and test its central verb with all four audience scenarios in the solo toolkit.
Field task
Read the invitation as a first-time visitor with no context and as a person using only a small grayscale print. Revise anything that leaves action, timing, cost, access, privacy, or contact unclear. An optional interview may add evidence, but the simulation counts equally.
Module receipt · private by default
A private-by-default brief containing audience, action, context, constraints, and access promise.
- MODULE03
How can found, made, archival, and generated material acquire a distinct public voice?
Type and Image Material
On-page prompts + optional references
- Any freely viewable local poster, photocopy, noticeboard, or public-domain image may serve as a visual reference
- Image provenance and crediting patterns
- Analog and digital composition demonstrations
Self-guided studio
Make rapid systems from type, field photography, collage, drawing, archive material, and disclosed AI use.
Field task
Create twelve materially varied compositions without polishing a final answer.
Module receipt · private by default
The complete variation sheet plus one sentence about the selected direction.
- MODULE04
What makes a visual system recognizable without making every output identical?
One Idea, Many Surfaces
On-page prompts + optional references
- Responsive identity and campaign-system references
- Poster, phone, social, sign, and photocopy format constraints
- Open source-package organization examples
Self-guided studio
Build rules for scale, crop, color, hierarchy, image treatment, and self-editing; optional partner editing may supplement the same rules.
Field task
Translate the selected direction into poster, phone, and one-color printable formats.
Module receipt · private by default
A three-format proof with the system rules visible beside it.
- MODULE05
Does the campaign survive distance, glare, small screens, grayscale, screen readers, and ordinary printers?
Access Is a Design Material
On-page prompts + optional references
- WCAG text contrast and non-text alternative guidance
- Large-print, plain-language, and screen-reader checks
- Low-cost print-production test methods
Self-guided studio
Run distance, scale, contrast, grayscale, alt-text, reading-order, and office-printer tests.
Field task
Test once from six feet away or at arm’s length and once on a small grayscale screen or print with images hidden. Document one change from each; tests with other people are optional and count the same.
Module receipt · private by default
An access-and-production test sheet showing failures, revisions, and remaining limits.
- MODULE06
Can another local person deploy, adapt, credit, and maintain this work?
Release the Public Kit
On-page prompts + optional references
- On-page release check: all formats open, action and contact match, text equivalents work, fonts have substitutions, images have rights and credits, source files are named, and limitations are visible
- Open licensing and editable-source guidance
- Use the handoff-package fields printed in the solo toolkit
Self-guided studio
Run the final self-critique against the brief and rehearse a five-minute simulated handoff. Outside critique, release, and a real handoff are optional.
Field task
Package final outputs, fonts or substitutions, image credits, alt text, and a one-page use guide.
Module receipt · private by default
A private-by-default three-format campaign kit, editable source, license choice, credits, and deployment mockup; real deployment or public sharing is optional.
WHAT COMPLETION MEANS
No grades. Real work.
- 01
Ten-sign field audit · suggested after module 2
Document ten public signs and assess voice, audience, location, access, usefulness, and unintended message. - 02
Twelve-variation image sheet · suggested after module 4
Push one invitation through twelve materially different type-and-image arrangements before selecting a system. - 03
Three-format campaign kit · suggested after module 6
Finish a poster, mobile card, printable sign, editable source, credits, alt text, and compact use guide. Keep the kit private by default; deployment or sharing is optional.
Complete any four of the six module receipts and finish the course outcome or a private equivalent. There are no grades, deadlines, peer requirements, or public-posting requirements.
ACCESS IS PART OF THE SYLLABUS
More than one way through the room.
- Every instruction is readable on the public course page; audio or video references require a transcript or equivalent text path.
- Every required prompt, scenario, rubric, and checklist is written on this course page; named sources are optional references, not missing course materials.
- Low-bandwidth, print-friendly syllabus with no paid platform or subscription required.
- No live attendance, camera, account, wallet, or public posting is required.
- Progress stays in this browser unless the learner chooses to download a private completion receipt.
- Paper-grid and analog collage paths for learners without professional design software.
- Independent route
- Active now. The complete sequence, studio prompts, access paths, and private checklist are on this page.
- Optional faculty profile
- A graphic designer or art director fluent in typography, print, web production, accessibility, and generous collaborative critique.
- Supported cohort
- Optional and funding-dependent. Human review or scheduled sessions never gate access or completion.
- Planning cost
- $3,400 for maintenance, access, materials, and an optional supported cohort—not tuition or admission.
Learners retain copyright. Public licensing and Tezos minting are optional and separate. A wallet, public identity, public artifact, or blockchain transaction is never required for this class.
THE ROOM IS OPEN
Bring one place. Leave one useful trace.
Start now, move at your own pace, and keep the work private if that is the right path. Human help and supported cohorts can be added without changing anyone’s right to learn independently.
Support does not buy admission, curriculum control, governance rights, or faculty appointments.