---
name: apex-dcs
description: "How Russ's DCS course works — project structure, client relationship, and what student-associates actually do"
metadata: 
  node_type: memory
  type: project
  originSessionId: a7c21f3f-80cb-4099-9fc9-4faecc86bcc5
---

**Course:** Designing Communication Solutions (DCS)
**Instructor:** Russ Goerend, Studio The Hue #111
**Also teaches:** Business Startup (alongside Brian Cyr and Tyler Wright)

**What DCS student-associates do:** Work with real clients on print materials, podcasts, websites, digital graphics, and more. Clients pitch their projects; student-associates self-select into teams and spend the semester delivering real work that will actually be used.

**How a DCS project runs:**
1. Business partners come to APEX and pitch their project
2. Student-associates choose what to work on (self-selection)
3. Teams form around the project
4. Semester spent completing deliverables for real use
5. Check-ins every Monday and Friday
6. Start with a micro-deliverable to build momentum and confirm scope
7. Clear goals + defined scope from the start = client success

**Why this matters for portfolio content:** Artifact card briefs should reflect this reality — student-associates aren't doing hypothetical exercises, they're working with real clients, real deadlines, and real feedback. The portfolio captures evidence of that real work.

**See also:** [[apex-elevated-language]], [[project-apex-portfolio]]