Visual Communication Design

Upon graduation students will be able to:

• Demonstrate proficiency in skills pertinent to design practice and its applications, including but not limited to: typography, composition, color, selection of media, sequence, motion, material exploration, creative coding, systems thinking, storytelling, experiential design, information architecture.
• Use software and technology intended for design and its diverse applications.

Upon graduation students will be able to:

Apply a structured design process to various situations of different scope and complexity, incorporating elements of design thinking and user-centered design. Design process stages might include: research, ideation, prototyping, testing and refinement, finalizing, implementation and evaluation.

Upon graduation students will be able to:

• Recognize how design theories, principles, and practices have changed over time in response to shifting contexts.
• Critically identify how design responds to, reflects and/or interacts with its broader contexts, including but not limited to: community, cultural, accessible, socioeconomic, technological, environmental, social, political.
• Use their understanding of context to inform their own practice of responsible design.

Upon graduation students will be able to:

• Analyze the design landscape and think critically about the users and stakeholders, feasibility, functionality, aesthetics, and broader social impact of the design.
• Identify appropriate research and testing methods for the context, user needs, and outcome.
• Apply findings throughout the design process.

Upon graduation students will be able to:

• Demonstrate fluency in visual language and design vocabulary.
• Demonstrate familiarity with critical theory and principles of perception, semiotics, rhetoric, and cultural context across relevant and evolving media.
• Select and utilize materials and approaches based on their relevance to the context of use, user needs, and their environmental and cultural impact.

Upon graduation students will be able to:

Document and present work according to professional expectations employing verbal, visual, and written means, including but not limited to: process books, creative briefs, technical documentation, critiques, summary documents, and portfolio.

Upon graduation students will be able to:

Collaborate effectively with others both within and outside the field, including but not limited to: community organizations and industry partners.

Upon graduation students will be able to:

• Identify and critically evaluate how design impacts and is impacted by systemic bias and discrimination.
• Develop a socially just, ethical, respectful, responsible, and inclusive practice.
• Demonstrate knowledge about traditionally excluded, non-Western, and emergent design practices.

Upon graduation students will be able to:

Identify fundamental aspects of environmentally sustainable design practice, including but not limited to: sustainable materials and manufacturing processes, product life cycle, environmental impact.