Curriculum for Graphic Design & Visual Communication BFA Degree

In this course, students will examine how historical forces have influenced the emergence of creative technologies and cultural production. Through the study of various artists, art works, and artistic movements, along with theories and philosophies of art, they will develop research questions, analyze, and apply critical frameworks to discussions of artistic practice. Students will consider how global power structures have affected and continue to affect the work of artists and scholars. Being the most theory-based course in the FRM block, ART 120 will bolster students' analytical understanding of activities in the cultural sphere, advancing their critical capacities that complement technical skills, artistic practice, and creative development. This course fulfills the requirement for FRM-128 Global Contexts in the Creative Arts, Media and Humanities.

In this course, we will explore how design and visual communication shape knowledge across cultures and history. Moving beyond Western-centric narratives, we will study global perspectives-from ancient writing systems to digital media-while engaging ideas from feminism, postcolonial theory, semiotics, and critical race theory. Through hands-on projects, we will connect historical analysis with creative practice, building critical thinking skills and producing original work that shows how creative expression both reflects and challenges cultural understandings. This course fulfills the requirement for FRM-118 Knowledge Making in the Creative Arts, Media and Humanities.

The course provides students with opportunities to develop specialized projects in art, humanities, and media production. Students will apply critical frameworks, including theories, and use interdisciplinary methods to explore how culture is shaped by popular appeal, innovation, and mechanisms of power. Students will work individually and collaboratively to bring creative work-narratives, images, multimedia forms-and rigorous scholarship to complex challenges in varied contexts.

A studio course emphasizing a creative discovery of two-dimensional forms. Students will consider the nature and importance of light, values and graphic composition in selectively seeing and recording a visual world.

Students are introduced to the basic concepts of digital image-making through projects that balance the learning of creative development, technique, and design tools as they pertain to the Graphic Design field.

Form in Motion introduces the principles of motion graphic design through applied practice. The focus will be on the relationship between typographic principles and animation fundamentals. Students synthesize the language of motion with elements of narrative structure to realize kinetic solutions. In addition to exploring systems and the synthesis of text and image, the course also provides knowledge and skills in creative ideation in motion.

A rewarding practice in any visual art discipline begins with language of vision. In this course you will explore the dynamics of two-dimensional form, beginning with basic compositional study using only black and white forms, and then more complex projects incorporating principles of tonality and color theory. You will also be developing your skills in physical artwork, essential to later course work. Basic art supplies are required; a packet is available in the College Bookstore, or contact the instructor or department prior to the semester for the list.

One of the most exciting aspects of the graphic designer's work is to create symbols and images, which not only communicate messages, but also engender an aesthetic response for a viewer. In this course you will tackle basic symbol-making and message-communication challenges, practicing your recently gained knowledge of, and skills in, perspective drawing, formal two-dimensional design, tonality, color theory, and digital art-making to solve visual communication challenges through a genuinely personal creative process. Basic art supplies are required.

Your learning and preparation through projects designed to teach specific skills will integrate into a more comprehensive design process. You will be introduced to approaches to solving communications problems of diverse character and increasingly practical application. A clear process for working within technical and time constraints will be emphasized. Work in this course will contribute to your professional portfolio and prepare you for a successful apprenticeship.

An understanding of typography is fundamental to your professional graphic design practice. Through an historical overview of the evolution of letterforms, you will understand the visual evolution of the Latin alphabet as a result of social, cultural, and technical influences. You will gain an understanding of the nuances of type design and develop proficiency in speaking the language of type specification, in creating beautiful designs using letterforms and blocks of text, and in setting typography digitally.

Building upon the history and basic use of letterforms, students will now extend their typographic practice by focusing on font usage, paragraph and page structure and grid development. Working with more complex issues of hierarchy, contrast, scale, rhythm, and spatial relationships in typographic projects that focus on sequential designs, such as the pages of a book. Historical context and current technologies will also be discussed.

Students will employ effective visual communication strategies and adopt a user-centered methodology to craft aesthetically compelling designs that cross media. This course prepares students for the dynamic shifts in the design industry through the acquisition of a comprehensive skill set, spanning both traditional and emerging design platforms. Learning focuses on the integration of design elements within diverse systems and cultivates capabilities in critical thinking and problem-solving.

Your learning and preparation through projects couched within specific lessons now transform into a truly personal graphic design practice as you engage various self-directed projects?from logos and stationery, to publications, to packages, to architectural signs and trade show displays. This course guides you through the conceptualization, design, and production to produce a body of work ready for presentation in your professional portfolio. (Consult with your advisor to choose the section most appropriate to your elective track.) Basic art supplies will be required.

This course will guide you through the process of finalizing, organizing and assembling your graphic design projects into an engaging portfolio that represents you as a designer, as a thinker, and as a person. Your portfolio will respond to your emphasis, from traditional book forms to motion and web design. Purchase of portfolio materials will be necessary, and students will need basic art supplies.