New challenges in multichannel publishing. Using Web languages to layout and distribute digital and printed content.

Introduction
Several major technological changes over the last fifty years have redefined the role and place of graphic designers: Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) and the emergence of UX Design (1970s), Computer Aided Design and Publishing software (CAD and DTP, 1980s), social media (2000s), templates, guidelines (visual templates) for app stores (late 2000s), web prototyping software (2010s), machine learning (Adobe Sensei, 2016; Runway ML, 2019), image banks and portfolios (Deviant Art, 2000, Flickr, 2004, Behance, 2005). 

Among these developments, those related to the layout and management of printable documents deserve particular attention. The hegemony of Adobe publisher is leading to standardisation of practices since everyone uses the same software. This also raises ethical issues linked to the commercial conditions of proprietary licences. More fundamentally, it is the mental model of DTP software that needs to be questioned since the evolution of reading habits means that the distinction between reading on screen and on printed media is tending to disappear.

Faced with this, the emergence of Web to Print in the 2010s marked a departure from traditional DTP software, as this technique allows documents to be designed and printed directly from a web browser using the standards of HTML (semantic mark-up of content) and CSS (style sheets). This new design paradigm forces us to think of page layout based on code and flow logic and no longer (only) on blocks and pages. The advantage of Web to Print is that it allows us to think of several reading media together, to offer new possibilities (e.g. generative documents, importing data flows) and to work in an editorial flow that is free of proprietary logic. These are the new approaches that this course aims to address.

Target audience
This course is primarily aimed at people who are already working in the publishing and/or graphic design industry and who wish to strengthen their professional integration in fields related to emerging technologies.

Targeted skills
Knowledge of the history of desktop publishing and understanding the limitations of traditional software.
Ability to understand the challenges of reading on screen.
Knowledge of the basics of HTML and CSS web languages.
Understanding the differences between native print styles (CSS Print) and the use of a polyfill (Paged.js) to extend their possibilities.
Ability to design a printable document from a web browser.
Ability to understand the potential and limits of Web to Print.

Prerequisites
No prerequisites.

Teaching methods
Introduction to coding, practical exercises 

Certification
Certificate of Continuing Education

Credits
2 ECTS credits

Practical information
From March 1, 2024 until March 23, 2024
Language: French
Course format: programme support, workshop and practical exercises
Fee: CHF 1,200/HEAD – Genève alumni CHF 900
Location:  Campus HEAD, Building H, Room H – 4.01, Av. de Châtelaine 7, 1203 Geneva

Information and registration/admission
Contact: fc.head@hesge.ch 
Follow this link to register
General terms and conditions

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