Graphic Design | Academic Requirements | Courses | Faculty
Undergraduate Design Courses (VDE)
VDE 1000–2999 (lower level)
VDE 3000–3999 (upper level)
VDE 4000–4999 (upper level)
Note: In sequenced courses (e.g., I, II, III, IV), successful completion of each course is a prerequisite for the next course in the sequence. For example, VDE 2450/Digital Media for Designers I is a prerequisite for VDE 2460/Digital Media for Designers II.
Design I
VDE 1150 / 4 credits / Every semester
An introduction to a variety of concepts and tools used in 2-D composition. Observation and discovery of visual and compositional properties lead to projects that exercise principles important to all 2-D media: line, shape, volume, field, scale, space, edge, contrast, rhythm, texture, pattern, symmetry, asymmetry, proportion, sequence, and color. Introductory relationships between letterform and image are also introduced. Required for all visual arts majors. Offered as SOA 1140 for students in other disciplines.
Crossover I
VDE 2110 Go to VIS 2120 in the General (VIS) section for description.
Letterpress Workshop I
VDE 2400 / 4 credits / Fall
Students become familiar with hot-type technology, relief printing, and its contemporary aesthetic possibilities in both the applied and fine arts. Hands-on experience with handset, moveable type is provided, and traditional and experimental techniques are explored. No previous typographic experience is required.
Digital Media for Designers I
VDE 2450 / 2 credits / Fall
An introduction to the digital tools that graphic designers need for professional creative work. Software applications (Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) as well as techniques for using fonts and creating print output are covered. Required for graphic design majors.
Corequisite: VDE 2500 or permission of instructor
Digital Media for Designers II
VDE 2460 / 2 credits / Spring
This continuation of VDE 2450 introduces students to digitally delivered and time-based media. Software applications (Adobe Dreamweaver, Flash, After Effects) are used to expand upon the work of VDE 2450. Required for graphic design majors.
Prerequisite: VDE 2450
Corequisite: VDE 2600 or permission of instructor
Word and Image I
VDE 2500 / 4 credits / Fall
An introduction to the professional program in graphic design and visual communications. Emphasis is on skill development in: controlling the performance of elements within a field; generation, refinement, and analysis of graphic forms and representations through a variety of drawing techniques; development of symbols and icons; composition, variation, and discovery of word/image relationships through experimentation and play. Historical typographic distinctions are also explored. Required for graphic design majors.
Corequisite: VDE 2450
Word and Image II
VDE 2600 / 4 credits / Spring
This continuation of VDE 2500 emphasizes semiotic relationships between typographic and other graphic forms. Projects evolve from exercises to more applied final projects (e.g., brochures and posters). This course covers the representation and communication of ideas through images, type/image relationships, typographic hierarchy (through placement, scale, color, weight, juxtaposition), and problem solving techniques. Required for graphic design majors.
Prerequisite: VDE 2500
Book Structures
VDE 2750 / 4 credits / Spring
This hands-on intensive bookbinding workshop investigates the relationship between content and book structures. Students follow the development of the book from scrolls to case-bound sewn books from the perspective that the way a book is made structures what it communicates.
Type and Composition
VDE 2850 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
In support of VDR 2500 and 2600, this course offers intensive explorations of complex text, typography, editorial structure, design, and image making. Content is scrutinized in and complemented by concept-driven projects that help students investigate the power of informed manipulation of editorial and Web-based text and imagery. Creative approaches to problem solving, such as Gestalt principles of organization and “lateral thinking,” are also examined and applied.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Interactive Design
VDE 3090 / 4 credits / Spring
In this course, which builds on the skills and processes explored in VDE 2460 and 3800, emphasis is on designing for interactive media (e.g., CD-ROMs, Web sites, interactive kiosk displays, interactive installations, performance). Students develop skills in designing storyboards, navigational systems, scriptwriting, sequential picture and sound editing, and typography in motion. Individual final projects focus on appropriateness of communication design, inventiveness, and nonlinear organization of many elements.
Prerequisite: VDE 2460 and 3800
Motion Graphics for Designers
VDE 3190 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
An introduction to the principles and language of time-based design. Building on the design issues and skills introduced in VDE 2460, this course adds the variables of motion and interactivity to class projects. Technique, theory, and practice are introduced through an exploration of the use of time, on-screen spatiality, transition, kinetic typography, narrative, and sound as applied to graphic and typographic animation exercises. Projects address linear and nonlinear environments such as film and television titling, DVD menus, Web splash pages, and graphics for mobile devices.
Prerequisite: VDE 2460 and permission of instructor
Advanced Typography
VDE 3200 / 4 credits / Fall
Students are encouraged to further explore and develop individualized approaches to typographic problems, with emphasis on experimentation, communication, and advanced application of typography. Projects focus on typographic metaphor and text typography. Areas of investigation include: the shape, texture, and division of text; typographic grid and layout; advanced problems of word/image relationships. Required for graphic design majors.
Prerequisite: VDE 2600
Design Issues
VDE 3240 / 4 credits / Spring
This seminar explores current issues of theory, methodology, and practice confronting graphic designers through readings, discussions, and written and designed responses. Topics include: modern and postmodern art and design manifestos; semiotics, deconstruction, structuralism, and feminism; the role of the graphic designer within society; branding, plagiarism, and copyright law; designing for a digital world and global economy. Students produce a final research project. Open to students interested in design; highly recommended for graphic design majors.
History of Graphic Design Survey
VDE 3300 / 4 credits / Spring
Focuses on print communication, primarily graphic design, in the Western world from the late 19th century to the present. A brief summary of important historical precedents launches a chronological series of lectures on significant movements and individuals, and the economic, political, and technological developments that have influenced modern and contemporary print communication. Required for graphic design majors.
Typographic Investigations
VDE 3440 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
An investigation of advanced problems in typography (e.g., type design, manipulation of preexisting letterforms, proportional systems, legibility, critical theory, information design, and developments in technology). This course helps students gain control and authorship over type beyond the choices available on the computer. Participants learn about decisions inherent in developing alphanumeric systems and analyze historical and contemporary examples of typographic innovation.
Prerequisite: VDE 3200
Production for Designers
VDE 3450 / 4 credits / Every semester
A comprehensive study of the processes and procedures used in producing works of design, with emphasis on preparation for print media, primarily offset lithography. Intensive workshops cover letterpress and screen printing, flexography, and digital print processes like HP Indigo and large format inkjet. Attention is given to commercial printing papers, finishing procedures (e.g., die cutting, foil stamping, binding techniques), digital prepress, and photographing for print. Field trips may include a commercial offset plant, laser die-cut operation, and paper mill. Required for graphic design majors.
Prerequisite: VDE 2600
Word and Image III
VDE 3510 / 4 credits / Fall
This course emphasizes the development and evaluation of word and image through advanced studies and pragmatic applications. Development of an identity system, applied printed and electronic matter, issues of imagery, relationship to audience, ethics, information theory, and research methods are explored. Students are encouraged to explore the balance between individualized approaches, vision, and appropriateness. Required for graphic design majors.
Prerequisite: VDE 2600
Word and Image IV
VDE 3610 / 4 credits / Spring
Focusing on applications of 3-D visual communications (e.g., packaging, exhibition, signage design), students explore problems of human and environmental scale, display typography, interactivity, object containment and reflection, visual systems, and color through a variety of applied projects. Construction techniques, model making, and familiarity with materials are balanced with concerns for relationship of form, function, and idea. Required for graphic design majors.
Prerequisite: VDE 3510
Design for the Web
VDE 3800 / 4 credits / Spring
The Web is part of a larger environment that constantly evolves in relation to social and technological developments. This course investigates the design of online experiences through lectures, discussions, workshops, and projects. Students explore relationships among design, technology, and user experience in the context of contemporary Internet cultures and develop skills in designing information architectures, interface behaviors, navigation systems, and typographic and image strategies for the Web. Recommended for graphic design majors.
Prerequisite: VDE 2460 or equivalent
Senior Seminar
VDE 4090 / 4 credits / Spring
This seminar affords the graduating graphic design student the ability to develop his or her portfolio, create professionally oriented work, and design a personalized identity package, including letterhead and résumé. In addition to field trips to design studios, group discussions revolve around current issues in the design field, professional options within a diverse set of opportunities, the business of design, and freelancing. Required for graphic design majors.
Prerequisite: VDE 4100 and senior standing
Community Design
VDE 4100 / 4 credits / Fall
Brings senior graphic design students together in a collaborative design studio, simulating a “real world” professional studio situation. Students work directly with on-campus and nonprofit off-campus clients. Under the supervision of the faculty member, the students assume complete responsibility for the concept and development of multiple design solutions, production, printing, scheduling, maintaining client relationships, billing, etc. Required for graphic design majors.
Prerequisite: VDE 3200 and 3510
Advanced Web Design: Special Projects
VDE 4170 / 2 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Based on the model of VDE 4100, this special upper-level course provides advanced students in graphic design and new media with professional experience working as a team on a real job for a real client. Offered as NME 4170 for new media majors.
Prerequisite: VDE 3090 or 3800, and permission of instructor
Experimental Book
VDE 4600 / 4 credits / Fall
Students are encouraged to reconsider what a book is and expand the boundaries of the traditional codex book through workshops in experimental formats, integration of word and image, form and content, sequencing, and physical structure. This may include a variety of projects and the study of video and film structure, historical and contemporary artists’ books, and innovative trade books.
Artist/Writer Workshop
VDE 4790 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
The ideas and skills inherent in visual arts and literature are combined toward an integrated expression in this interdisciplinary course. Students confront issues of form, word and image relationships, sequence, storytelling, semiotics, and visual/experimental literature. Skills are developed through a sequence of exercises, including: Dada poetry and other writing (continuous, automatic, multiple points of view); titling objects; building a narrative; story development; typographic settings of original text; writing and designing for the visual book, performance, and other time-based media. Students choose the medium for their final projects; collaborations are encouraged. Offered as SOA 4240 for students in other disciplines.
Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing, and an interest in the marriage of visual arts and writing
Updated Jan. 24, 2008