Over the last few weeks, to keep our students, faculty and staff safe, we have adapted to work off campus and are unsure of when we are able to return.
Due to our current situation and following social distancing practices, we will not be continuing this program for 2021. Please check back in January 2022
As a nonprofit organization, we are always grateful for your support, especially during this very challenging time for everyone.
Please be safe and stay healthy!
IntersectLA’s immersive Design, Art, and Technology Academy (also known as DATA) at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) will begin in summer 2020. DATA is intended for high school students going into grades 9 through 12 to learn or enhance skills in areas such as digital art, graphic design, photography, videography, web design, coding, user experience, game design, animation, and printmaking. Courses provide hands-on experience, as well as opportunities to explore and prepare for careers in high-demand creative fields.
To learn more about the program, contact data@ixla.org
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Courses are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
All equipment will be provided.
Photography
Week 1: June 15 – June 19
This session will provide students the foundation of composition, image-making, and storytelling through photography. Assignments will teach students camera anatomy, functions, and production for digital SLR cameras with still imagery. The use of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom will be introduced. The final products of this session are photographic artwork that demonstrates creativity and concept development.
Videography
Week 2: June 22 – June 26
The videography session will expand upon photography basics to demonstrate time-based image capturing and storytelling. Assignments will be conducted with DSLR cameras to introduce and demonstrate how video is used to create engaging media. Students will use Adobe After Effects and/or Adobe Premiere in this session. The final products of this session are short video narratives with audio and sound.
Printmaking
Week 3: July 6 – July 10
Printmaking is the process of creating art on paper. Students in this session are taught the basics of color mixing, composition, message making and transferring of art to paper substrates. The final products of this session are printed artworks with meaningful expressive messages.
Creative Design with Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator
Week 4: July 13 – July 17
Students taking this session will get involved in learning how to create visual compositions using Adobe Creative Cloud, mainly Photoshop and Illustrator. This course intends to get students inspired about the possibilities of executing their creative ideas using this digital creative software. The final products of this course will be digital artwork to express themselves, a product or brand.
Graphic + Web Design
Week 5: July 20 – July 24
Students interested in a path in creating websites need a foundation in graphic interfaces. There is a growing need for this creative skillset, as society moves to interactive modes of communication. This session will teach students the basic structure to design an interactive web page from wireframe, to design, to coding a browser prototype. The outcome of this session is a multipage website.
Drawing for Animation
Week 6: July 27 – July 31
The foundation of any animation is drawing. This session is dedicated to introducing students to drawing fundamentals for a career in animation. Principles and practices will be introduced and demonstrated by students in this session to encourage and prepare students for further learning in animation. The product of this session will be traditional and digital drawings and sketches.
Animation Basics
Week 7: August 3 – August 7
Students are introduced to 2-D animation basics using beginning animation software. The session provides students who are interested in or have some animation background, an environment to learn in a college-like setting the rigor of studying animation as a future career. The product of this session is animated 2-D narrative shorts.
Animation Character Development
Week 8: August 10 – August 14
Students have introduced in this session the concepts of developing characters and stories for animation. Introductory concepts of developing a story/narrative and creating designs and modeling are taught. The outcome of this course is a narrative concept with storyboards and character designs.
WHY D.A.T.A.?
LEARN
Students are provided opportunities to develop skills and learn more about careers in design, art, and technology while being mentored by our faculty and staff. Courses are taught by highly qualified instructors and notable industry professionals.
COLLABORATE
Students enrolled in this program will engage with our students and faculty in the career fields of visual and digital art, visual design, photography, web design, web development, user experience, game design, social media, brand strategy, advertising, and digital marketing.
SUCCEED
Students completing this program will be exposed not only to majors in the Mike Curb College, but also in Computer Science and Engineering, as well as Business and Economics. Students will jump-start their success by having a clearer path to majors at the university level.
OUR FACULTY
Joe Bautista
Joe Bautista is a Los Angeles based designer and educator. His passion is helping clients, students, designers, and entrepreneurs reach their goals. His design work deals with the research, concept, design and development of user experiences (UX) and user interfaces (UI). His personal art work revolves around user collaboration and contribution to create new and expressive art forms that connect users and viewers by a network. Joe has over 17 years of experience at creative agencies in the Los Angeles area and an educator for over 13 years in the Art Department at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). As Assistant Professor of art and design at CSUN, he serves as director of IntersectLA, an on-campus, student-driven creative strategy agency.
Jessica Arana
Jessica Arana is a passionate storyteller with an insatiable curiosity for brand, company, and social culture. She has experience with brand strategy, identity design systems, and editorial and book design. Her background in cultural studies, art, social justice, education, and activism set her apart as a designer with passion and a purpose. Jessica has lead design work for: Disney, Yahoo!, McCann Erickson, IPG MediaBrands, Transamerica, and Ergobaby, among others. She is also an artist, educator, and a committee lead for AIGA National’s Diversity and Inclusion taskforce.
Li Liu
Li Liu, Ph.D. is currently an Assistant Professor with The Department of Computer Science at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). He is passionate about enabling accessibility of computing. His research breaks barriers created by computing technology, especially for people with special needs. At CSUN, he co-directs the Human Computing Lab and serves on the Scientific/Research Committee of the annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference. He also develops a new master’s degree program in Assistive Technology Engineering.
Omid Orouji
Omid is a visual designer and an interdisciplinary artist, based in Los Angeles. He received his undergraduate degrees in Industrial Design and Art History, and he is holding an MFA in visual arts from California State University, Northridge. While he is interested in conceptual, site-specific, participatory and process-based projects in his personal practice, he is teaching visual courses at California state universities including, Fullerton, Channels Islands, Pomona, and Northridge. UX/UI, kinetic typography, web design, developing app strategy are among his interests in the design field. A good bake and caffeine consumer. Talk to him about cake, coffee, and cubes.
Magdy Rizk
Magdy Rizk was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1965. His family moved to the United States in 1969. His art background was influenced by his mother’s oil paintings. His love of art and design came into focus later as an undergraduate at California State University, Northridge. Magdy has a B.A in Graphic Design from California State University, Northridge in 1989 and an M.F.A in Graphic Design from California State University, Los Angeles in 2006. Some of his past and present clients include Mattel Toys, Ernst & Young, Fox Entertainment, Disney, Nova Development, Winway Incorporated, Scala Incorporated and California State University, Los Angeles, and others. Including the creation of a wide range of design work, he also enjoys having opportunities in creating illustrations for various clients, paintings, sculptural work, and motion designs.
While currently holding an Associate Chair position for the Department of Art at California State University, Northridge, Magdy also teaches Motion Design and Typography and provides freelance design services for various clients in the Los Angeles area. In addition, he practices interdisciplinary art making and has had his work exhibited in various galleries.
Michelle Rozic
Michelle Rozic is an Associate Professor of Art and printmaking coordinator at California State University, Northridge, with an MFA in printmaking from Indiana University, Bloomington, and BFA in fine art from the Columbus College of Art & Design. Between her Junior and Senior year of high school, she enrolled in the Cleveland Institute of Art’s five-week college preparatory art program, which helped her decide to pursue art as a career path and aided the development of her college art portfolio. She served as president of the Los Angeles Printmaking Society from 2013–2015. Michelle’s work is held in national and international collections, and her work has been featured in over one hundred national, international and traveling exhibitions. Projects include curating Edge of Life: Forest Pathology Art, a collaborative, invitational, art and forestry exhibit and accompanying catalog.
Howard Schneider
Professor Schneider has been teaching art and design at various universities and colleges since 2001 and began teaching online design courses in 2010. Twelve design principle workshops have been conducted overall including three online. It has been Prof. Schneider’s desire to provide a freely accessible learning environment. The goal in building this environment has been to reach out to individuals who might benefit from an introduction (or reintroduction) to design principles, those who need specific help in a specific area, as well as to those who could use a creative reboot or a tuneup. Pinterest links and other tools are shared within this site’s pages in order to help in the process.