Nancy J. Noble

With a class entitled, "computer graphics" one would assumee that the majority of time spent would relate to computer graphics; however, this class dealt more with the print industry instead. Her lectures were (heavily weighted in print design) were pretty good. She a nice and approachable woman, but the only thing that i have against this class is the lack of instruction for the software. She knows the very basics of indesign 2.0 as well as adobe acrobat, but she does not know anything about photoshop or illustrator. Students have to actually guide her through some very basic commands in order to achieve very simple actions. Throughout the entire semester we only had 1 lecture day for illustrator and that was just how to rotate and scale shapes, add fills etc... And 1 lecture day for photoshop. And that was done by a guest (former student). Photoshop and illustrator are the most basic and fundamental programs out there for design artists. I think more time should have been given in explaning how to use the programs. The remaing lectures in the semester were primarily composed of print design related material. When i signed up for this class, i thought i would get more out of it than what i could learn in 5 minutes by flipping through a random photoshop/illustrator book at borders bookstore. This class should either be renamed or nancy should learn some of the software. By the way, city college offers 10x better classes than sfsu does. The dai dept. is nothing compared to city college's courses/dept.

Below are highlights of important aspects of Nancy's class and Nancy herself.

Exams: Quizzes are given throughout the semester. They're open book, but don't think this is a reason to slack off. All the information is extremely important--especially since there is so much terminology and instructions to learn! There is one final exam at the end of the semester. This is a culmulative of everything you've learned--and is not open book.

Homework: There's nothing really in the way of homework, but you'll find yourself working on your projects a lot of the time outside of class.

Projects: How you do on your class projects determine most of your entire class grade. There are about 3 projects in the semester--this is where you will use the material you've learned. This is also where you will get to know many of your classmates. Some of the projects are hard and will require you to help each other out. Other times, it's a great way to get your frustrations out with each other about how hard the class is.

Nancy's Personality: Nancy's a really sweet and caring teacher. Her passion for the print industry will show in her lectures and in the way she teaches the class. She really wants everyone to learn and do well and thus gives a lot of time for one-on-one talks. The only bad thing I have to say about Nancy is that she gets distracted very easily.

I wasn't sure what to think of this class at the beginning, but as the sememster progressed, I was having a blast...and learning a LOT! Yes, this class covers quite a bit of information. You have to stay on your toes to keep up and get all of your work done. But if you can do that, you'll have a great portfolio piece by the time the class is done.

I'm glad I took the course. I learned so much about the industry that I wouldn't have learned anywhere else. She taught us the types of things that we'll need to know on the job. My confidence shot way up after this class.

Not only does Nancy have a vast knowledge of the industry, but she has been at SFSU so long, she understands the inner-workings of the department. She's the first one to ask when you have a question about your program.

I highly recommend this class to ALL design majors. Although I'm not going into print design, I feel the information I learned in Nancy's class is relevant to all aspects of the design field.

Don't you just love the students who think they know more than teachers? Design is not just about learning softwares or using the latest photoshop plug-ins, it's about knowing theories and how to apply them correctly. How many students can actually differentiate acenders to decenders? Better yet, a widow to an orphan? I graduated from DAI, and am now working as a Web Design Manager for a major corporation. I have seen portfolios of self-taught designers and of established artists. Many designers, who only know software, are usually frustrated and are the ones who quit after a few months; especially if they work under me. You have to know theories, and know how to design the right way; gradients and plug-ins will not work!!!!

Nancy Noble is a great teacher that KNOWS what she is talking about. Listen to her; I did, and look where it got me. If you work under me with a "know it all" attitude, I can guarantee that I can make your design life miserable.

Fantastic hands on experience which is essential to the production end of graphic design. I am amazed that the other reviewers couldn't even write proper english. No wonder they rejected the gift that Nancy is to SFSU and the DAI department. Not only is she available, but she is keeping alive an art form that is NOT DYING but is becoming increasingly UNDER APPRECIATED. Wake up you lazy unimaginative ingrades and spend more time on writing skills and less time criticizing things you have you know nothing about and have no resources to appreciate!!!

Nancy Noble is a "stupid" instructor. She only knows how the printing machines works but nothing in the real world. Eveyday life, she only forcus on the machines but no the computer. She definitely know nothing about computer. Whenever students ask her about the software, she never reply. She actually sit on the desk and try...u know if u can try then why dont the students try themselves? That is hell stupid. i think the DAi deparment definitlely need to UPGRADE the teachers. Nancy Noble is the 1st one to be fire.