Communication Design

For decades, typography has been everywhere. As the art of visual language, typography is inherently communicative. Spoken language is ephemeral and intangible. When written, language is captured in a visual and spatial form, permanent and concrete. Students discover the domain of typography, gain familiarity with typographical language and terms, and learn to work with typefaces for printed matters and digital use. The course will recall the history of typography, from the tradition to contemporary uses and students are introduced to digital typesetting and page layout software.

This year-long course provides the fundamental skills of graphic design. Students will become familiar with the visual vocabulary that builds graphic design practice through practical projects. Exploring the basic elements (form, colour, type, image and their interconnections) and experimenting on different media and at different scales, the students will become familiar to the graphic design process and visual problem solving.

This course will focus on different multi-page documents design, with a particular emphasis on magazines and books (in printed and digital form). Students will acquire the skills to create continuity and variety across a range of pages, present different kind of information in context or appropriate formats, and develop an identity through the pages.

This course develops the design methodology and technical skills to produce time-based linear narratives, animations, television graphics, opening credits, music videos, etc. The integration of sound and image is central to the development of motion graphics projects. After Effects and Final Cut are the principal programs taught in this class, along with the language and tools of motion graphics. Students learn to develop concepts and storyboards before commencing their final drafts.

This interdisciplinary course explores the rise of visual media, communication and information, within the context of a broad cultural shift away from the verbal and textual toward the visual, which has taken place since the advent of photography and cinema in the late 19th century, through the birth of television, to the present proliferation of digital media worldwide. We will consider the critical practices of looking, historicizing and interpreting that have accompanied this ‘visual turn’. Our readings will primarily address the theoretical foundations of the study of visual culture, which is understood to incorporate a variety of visual media and visual technologies: painting and sculpture, scientific imagery, material culture, the internet. If everything can be visual culture, what remains of traditional notions of medium specificity? What critical tools must be invented to analyze visual events from a visual cultural perspective? The relationship between the visual arts and visual media, especially with respect to the ‘global’ contemporary visual landscape, will be a focus of this course.

You may select an elective from the many liberal studies course offerings. Go to the Liberal Studies department page for more information.

The second part of this yearlong course builds on the fundamental typographical forms and functions acquired during Typography 1. The course extends the vocabulary and approaches more complex problems related to typographic hierarchy, context, sequence and scale. A deeper exploration of typography behaves across media will be the opportunity for students to experiment on complex typographical systems, implementing applications in private or public space, environment, or digital time-based projects.

This year-long course provides the fundamental skills of graphic design. Students will become familiar with the visual vocabulary that builds graphic design practice through practical projects. Exploring the basic elements (form, colour, type, image and their interconnections) and experimenting on different media and at different scales, the students will become familiar to the graphic design process and visual problem solving.

This studio course requires a basic knowledge of computer graphics and is centered on multimedia authoring software. The focus is authorship, in that more so than a formgiver, the designer acts as a content creator familiar with advanced concepts in interactive multimedia. Students are encouraged to conceptualise, design, prepare and program a multimedia project for eventual publication on the internet.

As an introduction to design in general, this seminar provides students with a contextual understanding of specific movements in design history. ‘Design’ has come to mean many different things. It has been defined as problem solving, communication of an idea, an aesthetic decision, but it is rarely discussed as a vital business concern, though design communicates to us and makes us desire things in order to sell something. The weekly sessions will incorporate topics ranging from avant-garde movements, technology and media, information theory, business and marketing practices, sociology, and psychology, set within a broad historical narrative.

You may select an elective from the many course offerings in your department or in other departments with the approval of your department chair.

You may select an elective from the many liberal studies course offerings. Go to the Liberal Studies department page for more information.

Junior Studio 1 introduces Design Thinking and reinforces the Human Centred Design focus introduced in the Interactive Media Design course. A five week introduction to Design Thinking theories and methodology is then applied to preparatory exercises. In the second part of the course (10 weeks) students apply the acquired methodology to different fields of the Communication Design practice (from the design of interfaces and web design, to publications and editorial productions) approaching more complex and global projects. The aim of the course is to stress the importance of creating connections between fields that are traditionally considered separate or in opposition (i.e. interfaces versus publications), and train the ability of adapting a narrative, remaining faithful to the message conveyed, in spite of the medium change.

Prerequisites: Sophomore Core studios. Semester 1 or equivalent are prerequisite for semester 2.

This junior laboratory/technology studio course focuses on the design process and technical background required for designing effective interactive experiences, with an emphasis on design methodology for evolving systems. HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Flash, and Web 2.0 CMS will be introduced along with specialized web design, imaging and animation tools. Students will design and mock up websites. The second semester delves further into notions of interface design, information architecture and web infrastructure.

Prerequisites: 2D Integrated Studio 1 + 2 or equivalent. Semester 1 or equivalent are prerequisite for semester 2.

Go to the Liberal Studies department page for more information.

You may select an elective from the many liberal studies course offerings. Go to the Liberal Studies department page for more information.

You may select an elective from the many course offerings in your department or in other departments with the approval of your department chair.

The second part of the year long Junior Studio class (Junior Studio 2) focuses on scale and scale change. The students have acquired a new autonomy in handling complexity in Fall semester. During Spring semester they expand their abilities working on projects related to space: from private, through semi-public to public. They work from the very small to the very big (from business cards to wayfinding systems), studying global identities for museums, galleries or shops, integrating installations in the public space.

Prerequisites: Sophomore Core studios. Semester 1 or equivalent are prerequisite for semester 2.

The course provides a better understanding of typography anatomy through the design of typefaces. Students will work, during the first half of the course on preparatory exercises aimed to understand how a type-designer approaches the design of type families. During the second part of the course they will develop in autonomy a personal project and design a typeface that could be applied to magazine titles, graphics for exhibitions or visual identity.

Prerequisites: Type: Core Concept and Design or Equivalent; 2 credits (2.5 hours)

You may select an elective from the many liberal studies course offerings. Go to the Liberal Studies department page for more information.

You may select an elective from the many course offerings in your department or in other departments with the approval of your department chair.

You may select an elective from the many liberal studies course offerings. Go to the Liberal Studies department page for more information.

Communication Design Seniors are expected to work on a self‐defined research paper in their particular area of interest. When choosing a topic, students should consider this project to be a stepping-stone toward their future endeavours. The course is divided in two main components: 3 weeks of introduction to research and methodology, followed by a 12 week seminar which comprises weekly presentations, discussions, and in-class activities.

Prerequisites: Advanced Studio – Semester 1 or equivalent are prerequisite for semester 2

This year long senior studio is aimed to develop strong professional skills and prepare students to enter the work market. The class is divided in two or three components per semester, taught by highly qualified professionals who teach shorter workshops on their areas of specialisation. The course focuses particularly on the portfolio development (digital and printed) and the self-identity project, in order to prepare students to present themselves to future potential employers.

Prerequisites: Collab 1 + 2. Semester 1 or equivalent are prerequisite for semester 2.

You may select an elective from the many course offerings in your department or in other departments with the approval of your department chair.

You may select an elective from the many liberal studies course offerings. Go to the Liberal Studies department page for more information.

Seniors work on a year long self-defined research and design project, culminating in a Senior Thesis Exhibition in the Spring. The senior thesis project demonstrates the student’s intellectual, technical and critical maturity through both a visual component and a written component. Senior thesis advisers – outside experts in the students’ chosen subjects – provide guidance and critical feedback.

Prerequisites: Advanced Studio – Semester 1 or equivalent are prerequisite for semester 2

This year long senior studio is aimed to develop strong professional skills and prepare students to enter the work market. The class is divided in two or three components per semester, taught by highly qualified professionals who teach shorter workshops on their areas of specialisation. The course focuses particularly on the portfolio development (digital and printed) and the self-identity project, in order to prepare students to present themselves to future potential employers.

Prerequisites: Collab 1 + 2 (FCMD 0300, FCMD 0301). Semester 1 or equivalent are prerequisite for semester 2.

You may select an elective from the many course offerings in your department or in other departments with the approval of your department chair.

You may select an elective from the many liberal studies course offerings. Go to the Liberal Studies department page for more information.