Students will be evaluated based on imaginative exploration of ideas and materials, extent and depth of work processes and research, completion of assigned projects, and participation in class discussions.
Graphic Design Studio I / Visual Communication
Dru Colbert
Class limit: 14 Visual communication is one of the most pervasive means of human communication. Graphic design, within the realm of visual communication, is a Lab fee: $85 process used to effectively convey ideas and information visually through print, electronic media, products in the marketplace, and structural elements in the built environment. Its application may be promotional, editorial, informational, expositional, or instigational. It may cater to or critique — commercialism, colonialism, capitalism, and advertising — or alternately be used to organize information and visualize complex data or concepts. Is it possible to construct a visual message that will be received through the din and noise of our overstuffed media environment? Past other competing messages? What are some of the contemporary issues surrounding design and the roles and responsibilities of graphic designers in the workplace and in their communities? In this introductory/intermediate level studio course you will become familiar with visual rhetoric and the basic elements, principles, and processes of graphic design that will help you to construct effective visual messages. You will work on a variety of conceptual visual communication projects in the realms of information design, editorial design, and promotional design. Lectures, demonstrations, assignments, and critiques will offer a balanced framework for developing skills in creative perception, critical thinking, and visual communication. An emphasis is placed on these elements and evaluation will be weighted more heavily in these areas than technical expertise on the computer. You will, however, be required to learn the basics of several computer graphic applications (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe InDesign and/or Quark) in order to complete coursework. You will receive basic instruction in these programs in class, but will be expected to refer to computer manuals and guide books for specific tools and techniques that may be required to visualize your ideas. Prerequisites: Introduction to Arts and Design or 2d Design I.
Intermediate Graphic Design Studio II
Dru Colbert
This intermediate level course offers students an opportunity for in-depth study of Class limit: 12 contemporary issues, applications, and techniques in graphic design. Course content Lab fee: $85 will vary. Topics include typography, digital imaging, analog imaging, conceptual problems in information design, environmental design, promotional, publication, and editorial design. Prerequisite: Signature of instructor, Graphic Design Studio I.
Advanced Graphic Design Studio: Graphic Attack
Dru Colbert
Class limit: 12 The name of this course, “Graphic Attack,” refers not only to the power of image and text within our visually saturated physical and virtual environments, but Lab fee: $80 alternately implies the need to evaluate and respond critically to mass media. Students will explore and discuss the roles and responsibilities of designers as primary crafters of visual messages through promotion, advertising, and identity design and investigate the work of artists and designers who appropriate tools of advertising to construct alternative messages outside of, and often in critique of, the commercial realm. This advanced level studio art course combines critical examination of contemporary graphic design practice with studio projects in creative problem solving. Practice in design research, layout and composition, typography, digital imaging, and text/image composition will be combined with hands-on studio projects in image generation such as block print, silkscreen, monoprint, instant photography, xerography, and collage techniques. Projects will range from investigations of personal identity and branding to advertising and package design in the retail and sociopolitical environments. Through studio visits, students will have an opportunity to meet professional artists and designers to discuss first-hand process and ethical issues related to their work. Students will
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