CT201
Digital Content Design
Spring
Professor
C.J. Yeh
Co-chair, Creative Technology & Design Curriculum
Co-chair, Advertising & Digital Design Curriculum
Chair, Animation & Game Design Curriculum
Founder and Executive Creative Director, Cynda Media Lab [➚]
Course Description
This studio-based elective introduces students to the principles and practices of digital content design for brand-led social media communication. Emphasis is placed on concept development, strategic thinking, and process-driven execution across static, motion, and interactive content. Using tools such as Figma and LottieFiles, students develop cohesive social media assets informed by brand strategy, audience insights, and contemporary digital culture.
Grade Breakdown and Evaluation
Participation, Attendance & Critique Engagement: 8%
Weekly Assignments & Exercises: 52% (13x4)
Midterm Presentation: 15%
Final Presentation: 25%
(A: 91% or above, B: 90% – 71%, C: 70% – 61%, D: 60% – 51%, F: 50% or below)
Section Info
CT201 Section 102 / Wed. 1:10 - 5:00 PM / Class Drive [➚]
!! Upload Progress Every Week !!
Office Hours
Schedule a meeting with CJ via Calendly [➚]
WEEKLY OUTLINE
* Weekly outline is subject to change according to the pedagogical needs.
WEEK 1
Wed 01/28
Course overview, expectations, and tools
Lecture: What is digital content design?
Case Study: Social media as a brand communication system
Workshop/Discussion: Skin Care vs Teddy Bear Social Content Audit
Assignment #1: Research brands for the semester project and prepare a proposal (each student proposes 2–3 brands within the same industry, analyzes their social media presence, and explains why each brand is a strong redesign candidate)
Assignment #2: Set up the course Figma workspace
Demo: Figma account setup and workspace organization (account, team, project)
WEEK 2
Wed 02/04
Show-and-Tell / Discussion: (review selected examples from previous week)
Lecture: CJ's Brand Truth Pyramid
QF Exercise: Always-on content vs. campaign-based content
Quick Demo: Frames and Shapes
Assignment #3: Ownable Brand Truth — Take a deep dive into each of the three brands you audited and create a Brand Truth Pyramid for each brand based on your research.
WEEK 3
Wed 02/11
Show-and-Tell / Discussion
Lecture: Brand positioning and personality
Lecture: Audience personas
Lecture: Defining brand purpose using a Big IdeaL popularized by Ogilvy
In-class Assignment: Draft Big IdeaL statement and define content pillars, messaging frameworks, audience personas
Demo: Figma
WEEK 4
Wed 02/18
Show-and-Tell / Discussion
Lecture: Design fundamentals—typography and color for brand experience
Lecture: Single-image posts, carousels, stories, and platform-specific constraints
Lecture: Hierarchy and messaging clarity
In-class Assignment: Develop a concept for the first Instagram carousel post and prepare three distinct mood boards visual design directions
Demo: Figma
WEEK 5
Wed 02/25
Show-and-Tell / Discussion
In-class Assignment: Prepare a content strategy presentation, including:
Competitor analysis
Brand positioning
Brand personality and DNA
Audience personas
Big Idea statement
Content pillars
Messaging frameworks
Three proposed design directions
Demo: Figma
WEEK 6
Wed 03/04
Midterm Presentation: Content strategy presentation
WEEK 7
Wed 03/11
Lecture: Why motion matters in brand communication
Case Study: Brand motion design
Motion design principles: timing, easing, and pacing
Demo: LottieFiles
In-class Assignment: Motion and animation experiments
WEEK 8
Wed 03/18
Show-and-Tell / Discussion
Lecture: Sketching and storyboarding for motion
Lecture: Social media campaigns and case studies
In-class Assignment: Develop a holiday campaign concept, sketches, and storyboard(s)
Demo: LottieFiles
WEEK 9
Wed 03/25
Show-and-Tell / Discussion
Lecture: Narrative-driven social media content planning
Case Study: Narrative structure for short attention spans
In-class Assignment: Animate campaign post(s)
Demo: LottieFiles
WEEK 10
Wed 04/08
Show-and-Tell / Discussion
Lecture: Designing beyond passive viewing (polls, sliders, micro-interactions)
Demo: LottieFiles (state machines)
In-class Assignment: Interactive content experiments
WEEK 11
Wed 04/15
Show-and-Tell / Discussion
Lecture: From assets to ecosystems—building a content design system
Lecture: Creating a social media style guide
In-class Assignment: Social media style guide planning
WEEK 12
Wed 04/22
Lecture: From assets to ecosystems—building a content design system
Lecture: Key components of a social media style guide
In-class Assignment: Social media style guide design
WEEK 13
Wed 04/29
Lecture: Digital trends and future-proofing (AI in content workflows, accessibility in social design)
Lecture: Storytelling your process—presentation vs. style guide
In-class Assignment: Final project production and individual reviews
WEEK 14
Wed 05/06
In-class Assignment: Final polish session (students refine style guides and presentation decks)
Peer Review: Small-group “soft launch” with peer feedback on clarity, legibility, and motion timing
WEEK 15
Wed 05/13
Final Presentations
Creative Technology & Design (CT&D) Attendance Policy
Attendance is not optional. If you are going to miss a class, you must contact me via email ASAP. Due to the quantity of material covered in the course, I will not be able to spend class time explaining missed assignments or redo lectures. If a class is missed, it is your responsibility to get information regarding missed assignments and lectures from one of your classmates.
Students are required to attend all classes, be on time, and remain for the entire class.
Students who miss three classes for classes meeting once a week or four classes for classes meeting twice a week will receive a grade of “F.”
The student who arrives 10 minutes after the start of the class will be considered late.
Two late occurrences = one absence
A student who arrives over 30 minutes late or not returning from the break will be considered absent from the class.
Working on projects for another class or using digital devices for socializing (texting, social media…etc.) or gaming during class time will be recorded as an absence.
An excused absence is still recorded as an absence. The difference is an excused absence won’t impact your grade for professionalism and class participation.
Additional Course Information:
Grade Appeals: Include information on the grade appeal process. See Grade Appeal for more information.
Department Policy on Plagiarism
Plagiarism and other forms of academic deception are unacceptable. Each instance of plagiarism is distinct. A plagiarism violation is an automatic justification for an “F” on that assignment and/or an “F” for the course. A student found in violation of FIT’s Code of Conduct and deemed to receive an “F” for a course may not withdraw from the course prior to final grade assignments.
Use of AI tools
It is permissible to utilize AI tools in your creative process. However, you must identify which AI tool is being used at each stage of the process. You are required to fact-check AI output and avoid stereotyping and bias in your work. Finally, you are responsible for ensuring that the final creation is unique, ownable, and without any copyright issues.
Fact-checking AI output
AI tools are not infallible. They often generate incorrect or misleading information. It is your responsibility to fact-check any AI output before using it in your work. This includes checking the source of the information, evaluating the quality of the information, and considering the context in which the information was generated.
Avoiding stereotyping and bias
AI tools can be trained on data that contains stereotypes and biases. This can lead to AI output that is also biased. It is your responsibility to avoid the potential for bias in AI output. You should also be mindful of your own biases when using AI tools and take steps to mitigate them.
Ensuring the uniqueness and ownership of your work
You are responsible for ensuring that the final creation of your work is unique and ownable. This means that you must not plagiarize the work of others, including submitting works done solely by AI tools without meaningful improvement and input from you.
Penalty for violation
Violation of this policy may result in a grade reduction or suspension from the class.