IDEACRAFT

ī-ˈdē-əˌkraft

noun

1. skill in shaping or constructing ideas.
2. the art of well-designed ideas.

LESSON OO: Start Here

To learn is to solve a maze from the center. 

To teach is to retrace your steps. 

Between the teacher and the student there is the unspoken contract: an exchange of knowledge for passion. That is the price. No more, no less. 

Let’s begin.

Welcome to Ideacraft- the art of well-designed ideas.

I'm Sterling Hundley, and I built Ideacraft to teach you how to design powerful ideas. Ideacraft is one chapter of the larger Think Louder project- a guidebook for the creative mind. 

ABOUT THE COURSE

I. Delivery

IDEACRAFT is designed to be taken over a six-week period. The syllabus and lessons reflect a proposed schedule that begins on a Friday, with orientation over the weekend and Lesson 1 beginning on a Monday. Feel free to take the course at your own pace, but the lessons, assignments and information were created to be processed over a six-week period.

METHODS: We receive information through distinctly different channels. This course will ask that you read, watch, listen, and take action at different times. There is specific information that is best understood when read, while other information must be seen, listened to, or applied. 

• WEEK 1: Orientation & Priming. The first week will teach you to self-orient, as well as to understand the fundamentals of Ideacraft, which will be applied throughout the course. During this week, one lesson is presented for each new day. 
• WEEKS 2, 3, & 4: Design Concepts. Lessons are designed for Monday, Wednesday and Friday and include a variety of assignments, case studies, lessons and demonstrations. You will work on developing ideation for three (3) separate assignments- with a focus on one (1) project each week. Each assignment will challenge you to produce dozens of concepts, three (3) final value studies and one (1) final sketch.
• WEEKS 5 & 6: Final Project. You will have two (2) weeks to work from a final sketch created in the previous weeks to the completion of a final project. During this time, you will receive three (3) lessons and material demonstrations.

II. Structure

• Syllabus: A detailed overview of the course content and schedule. This is the primary document that you should reference for the schedule, assignments and course expectations. You should have received this as a download in Lesson 00: Welcome. You can also find the syllabus attached as a download to this lesson for redundancy. 
• Lessons: Articles and written explanations of key principles. 
• Videos: Lectures and Demonstrations to support lessons.
  1. Lectures: Brief explanations of core principles within the lessons.
  2. Case Studies: Illustrate the application of lessons through specific examples.
  3. Demonstrations: techniques in material and tool use.
• Downloads: Documents to support lessons and overall development.
• To Do List: Each lesson comes with its own To Do Checklist to make sure that you've completed all tasks before moving on to the next lesson. 
• Assignments: Challenge you to apply course lessons to your own work.
  1. Minor Assignments: You will be challenged to complete small projects in response to lessons. Minor assignments generally take 1- 1.5 hours to complete and often focus on media mastery and technique development. 
  2. Major Assignments: You will receive four (4) major assignments. Three (3) will challenge you to produce professional-level thumbnail sketches with a focus on well-designed ideas. In the final two (2) weeks, you will develop a thumbnail from one of the three (3) Major Assignments and finish it as one (1) full-color completed project. You will also complete a second black-and-white project

III. Outcomes

• (12+) Dozens of Minor Assignments that will teach you the fundamentals of design and visual communication.
• (12+) Dozens of ideation sketches and drawings for each Major Assignment.
• (9) Nine value-based thumbnails. (3) Three will be selected from each Major Assignment.
• (1) One full-color portfolio piece.
• (1) One black-and-white spot illustration or design.

*Get done what you can, based on your schedule. This can get quite intensive, so cut back the volume of work to meet your realistic expectations.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

From rock stars to rocket ships, film to fashion, I've worked with clients across a spectrum of creative projects to design pictures that speak louder than words. As an illustrator and designer, I'm driven to build authentic, thought-provoking ideas and one-of-a-kind creative solutions. Above all, I strive to leave my own authentic mark.

My Website

www.sterlinghundley.com

Find me here

Substack
Instagram
YouTube
Think Louder website

CLIENTS & COLLECTIONS

NASA, Luma Pictures, Rolling Stone, RedBull, Broadway, Criterion Collection, Mondo, Folio, Grammys, USPS (stamps), Major League Baseball, UPS, New Yorker, Abrams, Hyperion, Penguin, Tor, New Yorker, New York Times, Martin Agency, Target, Marvel, Topps, Amazon, Capital One.

Teaching & Appointments

• Professor, VCUArts, Department of Communication Arts
• Mentor, Visual Arts Passage
• Instructor, Illustration Academy
• Artist Ambassador for Daler-Rowney, Lyra, and Strathmore Brands
• Clinical Professor, Department of Surgery, VCUHealth
• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts- Professional Fellow
• Founder, Legendeer
• Co-Founder, Applied Arts Lab at VCUArts