The graphic design concentration provides a learning environment that fosters creative thinking and personal artistic development. The curriculum is highly instrumental in maintaining a healthy balance between design and production, allowing students to focus their attention on specialized aspects of the field in a series of courses. These courses include Computer Graphic Design, Typography, Illustration, Motion Graphic Design, Interface Design and Publication Design. The Macintosh Lab facility is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment that gives students a competitive edge when they enter the field.
The faculty dedicates considerable time to developing teaching strategies that allow for effective student interaction. Assignments build sequentially and are tailored to develop conceptual thinking and perceptual ability while fostering individual creative growth. Experimentation is highly emphasized, and students are challenged to take risks in order to move beyond the comfort zone of "safe” design. Class critiques allow students to derive inspiration and cultivate ideas while learning to articulate aesthetic concepts.
Design literacy is strongly emphasized in beginning courses that provide a strong artistic and conceptual foundation. Students are encouraged to take History of Graphic Design to fulfill a Liberal Arts and Sciences elective because it acquaints them with the evolution of visual communication in writing, identity, print, animation and interactive media. Intermediate and advanced courses challenge students to push the envelope of technology to develop a sophisticated and personalized approach to their area of interest.
COMM 3810 Graphic Design I
COMM 3820 Graphic Design II
COMM 3880 Typography
COMM 3890 Computer Graphic Design
COMM 3950 Advanced Graphic Design
One of the following Electives:
COMM 3309 Interface Design
COMM 3830 Illustration
COMM 3840 Graphic Design Portfolio and Practice
COMM 3850 Publication Design
COMM 3900 Graphic Design Photography
COMM 3910 Graphic Arts Production
COMM 3920 Digital Imaging
COMM 3940 Motion Graphic Design
COMM 4270 Pre-Press Production
For more information, consult the Undergraduate Catalog.