Ana Maria Romay

Boston University: CM417

College of Communications  | Spring 2023

Fundamentals of Creative Development: Focus is on the strategic creative process in advertising including concept development, copywriting, visualization, and design. Assignments require conceiving solutions to client marketing challenges across a range of media. The class teaches foundations for the development of effective advertising: problem definition, strategic development, and conceptual idea generation through tangible executions. 

• Technique for Producing Ideas
• Strategy development and creative brief writing
• Campaign development across channels
• How to critique work and receive feedback
• Presentation skills 

Boston University: CM423

College of Communications  | Fall 2021, Spring 2022

Portfolio Development: Why take this class? You want to be a writer, a designer, a copywriter, an art director. More importantly, you want to be employed. To land your first gig, you’ll need a book. Actually, to land ANY gig, you’ll need a book. You will be maintaining it throughout your career—starting now.

We’ll begin with concept sketches, refine, sketch again, create comps, critique, polish, and bring it all together in an online portfolio that will serve as the foundation for you to launch. You’ll be paired with a different classmate to work on each assignment. This is important not just because it reflects the real-world environment in which you’ll be professionally producing work, but because having different partners will help those reviewing your portfolio understand your unique skills and talents—making you easier to place within an agency or client-side creative team.

Simmons College: MCM 497-01

Master of Communications Management Program  | Summer 2004

Graphic Design for Managers: Everything a Communications Manager needs to know about Graphic Design but is afraid to ask. This course explores the fundamentals of visual communication through lectures about design principles, Gestalt methodology, typography, illustration, photography, color, layout, and production techniques for both traditional and online media. Learn how to communicate with print design and production professionals — from finding and hiring them, to evaluating and directing their work. 

The goal is to help you attain a level of familiarity with design that will empower you to make informed decisions and direct the production of collateral pieces such as newsletters, ads, websites, and package design. We'll review the strengths and weaknesses of various media vehicles such as print and out-door, and cover the basics of production including printing bids, specs, rights managed artwork, photography and legal trademark issues.

Northeastern University, ENG3369

Masters of Technical and Professional Writing | Fall 2002

Graphic Design for Technical Writers: How do you beat the eight-second attention span? The truth is it doesn't matter what you write or how you write it, most people won't bother to read anything if it's not designed well. Learn how to capture your audience and beat the eight-second attention span by employing the fundamentals of graphic design. We'll cover the basics of typography, illustration, photography, color, layout and production for both traditional and online media. Through in class assignments and presentations you'll also learn the terminology needed to communicate with print design and production professionals. Be it a technical manual, resume, advertisement, brochure or online site, by the end of the course you'll be creating designs that visually communicate and propel everyone to read what you've written.

Mount Ida College: GD210

School of Design and Visual Communications  | Spring 2002

Illustration and Advanced Computer Imaging Techniques II: This is an advanced computer graphics class taught by an instructor who believes in the importanceof sketching your ideas out first. Be prepared to work hard both on your computer and in yoursketchbook. This class will help you develop advanced photo-imaging techniques and computer graphicsskills with lab sessions for both Photoshop and Quark XPress. Class assignments and collateral pieces willbe graded on their ability to deliver the intended message and “Hit the Sweet Spot.” Assignments willbuild on each other and lead to the final creation of a professional design portfolio.

University of Texas at Austin: J375

College of Communications  | Spring 2001

Magazine Design, Communications and Culture: The job market in journalism is extremely competitive. The more skills you offer, the better—andgraphic design skills will go a long way toward getting you in the door. Since it is not possible to studythe design of magazines without also giving due consideration to the role this mode of communicationplays within our social context, this course will also focus on deconstructing and challenging socialstereotypes in magazines. The topics we will discuss will be controversial, often political. It is importantthat you enter this course with the understanding that tolerance and respect for diversity prevail at alltimes. We’ll discuss magazines and gender, race and other topics. This is a rigorous hands-on course.You will leave it with an original, high quality magazine prototype that features your own work asjournalists with marketable graphic design skills.