Project-based course that provides an introduction to the fundamentals of the iterative design process, focusing on cultivating the visualization and communication skills necessary to analyze design problems and to synthesize creative solutions. Students work in a collaborative, studio environment and will have an introduction to various types of 2D and 3D design media, both analog and digital. Students maintain an active sketchbook throughout the course, though no previous drawing experience is required.

This course will offer a broad introduction to the fundamental principles of design, visual communication, and creative problem-solving. Students will gain a greater understanding and appreciation for design by looking deeply and analytically at the constructed world around them. From the scale of the body to the scale of the city, course content will explore two-dimensional and three-dimensional design as a vehicle for considering the aesthetics and utility of man-made objects. No prerequisites are necessary.

This course comprehensively explores the evolution of design throughout history, encapsulating profound concepts spanning from prehistory to the modern era. Serving as a foundational platform, it invites students to cultivate and nurture their intellectual curiosity regarding material culture and our engagement with, comprehension of, and enhancement of it. Design history delves into the multifaceted influences of social trends, historical events, technological advancements, architecture, and the fine arts on contemporary design. Employing a pedagogical approach encompassing lectures, visual examples, creative workshops, independent research, and written assessments, students will acquire an understanding of printed media, typography, as well as interior, graphic, and fashion design. The curriculum highlights designed objects considered pivotal by scholars, covering diverse topics such as 20th Century Design, Design in America, BIPOC and Under-Represented Designers, and the Earliest Makers.

This course is an introduction to textile and fashion design. Students will develop their creativity and ideation skills as they explore the fashion design process, from concept development to final presentation. Students will be introduced to the history of textiles, fabric properties, color theory, and pattern design with industry-standard techniques. They will also learn how to generate and refine ideas for sustainability and technology in textile and fashion design. This course includes a lab component for production including garment construction, prototyping, textile engineer printing, and use of the Textile Lab's Juki industrial sewing machines.

Special Topics in Design

Transfer coursework at the 1000 level. Departmental approval may be required.

This 4-credit design studio is one in a series of three sequential design studios that offer interrelated lessons to advance knowledge and skill sets in analog and digital design. The curriculum engages a variety of project-based exercises that emphasize creative problem-solving, visual communication, and spatial composition. Studios will build upon one another as students learn to develop large-scale drawings, physical models, digital models, and calibrated images to explore the relationship between the virtual and physical in contemporary design production.

This course explores graphic design as a tool for communicating information and advocating for various purposes, in both print and digital forms. Students will gain skills in Adobe Creative Cloud programs including Illustrator, In Design, and Photoshop. The course will cover topics such as visual analysis and design research methods, informational hierarchy and typographic layout, and how to effectively apply design principles to create impactful visual communication and elicit a meaningful audience response. Coursework will be largely project based, with lectures, demos, group critique, and in-class lab time included.

Conversations about design often focus on an individual object. Yet, design’s impact goes beyond the scale of an individual object and physical form at any scale is shaped by historic, cultural, economic, and social forces. This course will use topical case studies to investigate the role of design in society. A focus on the relationship between lived experience and design will allow the course to consider the roles and responsibilities of designers to address issues ranging from affordable housing to climate change and larger questions of inequity and accessibility. Overall, the course will look at policies and programs, natural and built environments, fashion and products and people and space relationships. The course will examine these and many other subjects with a focus on specific populations meant to explore global and local relationships within the purview of the past, present and future.

Students complete a service activity in the community in conjunction with the content of a co-requisite course.

Special Topics in Design

Transfer coursework at the 2000 level. Departmental approval may be required.

This 4-credit design studio is one in a series of three sequential design studios that offer interrelated lessons to advance knowledge and skill sets in analog and digital design. The curriculum engages a variety of project-based exercises that emphasize creative problem-solving, visual communication, and spatial composition. Studios will build upon one another as students learn to develop large-scale drawings, physical models, digital models, and calibrated images to explore the relationship between the virtual and physical in contemporary design production.

This upper-level course draws upon foundational design skills from studio prerequisites to explore form-making through physical prototypes. Students will first analyze an archetype (e.g, stool, table, sawhorse), then will work to develop concepts, uses, and formal qualities to be tested on their own design. The iterative process will include material studies, physical and digital model-making, and constructed fabrication drawings that inform individual projects at full scale. Understanding design as inseparable from making is central to this course. The final builds are simultaneously a studied work and an object for refinement.

This course will explore how design thinking can be applied to organize and effectively communicate complex data in order to create powerful and cohesive visual stories. After designing still-image infographics, students will explore how time-based media can add deeper viewer comprehension. Students will expand their confidence in Adobe Illustrator for graphic creation and infographic design, and will be introduced to Adobe AfterEffects for motion graphics. Bring your own laptop; Adobe software access will be provided. Coursework will be largely project based, with lectures, demos, group critique, and in-class lab time included.

Transfer coursework at the 3000 level. Departmental approval may be required.

This 4-credit design studio is one in a series of three sequential design studios that offer interrelated lessons to advance knowledge and skill sets in analog and digital design. The curriculum engages a variety of project-based exercises that emphasize creative problem-solving, visual communication, and spatial composition. Studios will build upon one another as students learn to develop large-scale drawings, physical models, digital models, and calibrated images to explore the relationship between the virtual and physical in contemporary design production.

Open to upper level students in good standing, the Design Internship course provides students with an opportunity to reinforce and expand their skills and knowledge through professional internship experiences during the course of their studies. Students must consult with the Design Major Advisor to get approval for selected work assignment prior to registration.

This course is for students pursuing an internship in Design via the Public Service Internship Program managed by the Center for Public Service (CPS). The student must apply directly to CPS by the predetermined deadline. If the internship is approved, CPS will coordinate registration with the Design Program. Students must contact the Center for Public Service for additional information.

The Independent Study course gives upper-level undergraduate students an opportunity to work with a faculty advisor to pursue a personal academic interest with greater focus. Qualified students must develop a syllabus and schedule with the help of the faculty advisor. The course must be approved by the Design Major Advisor prior to registration.

Special Topics in Design. These are newly developed courses or courses taught by visiting faculty. Title and content may vary by semester. See the Schedule of Classes for specific offerings. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics in Design

Special Topics in Design.

Transfer coursework at the 1000 level. Departmental approval may be required.

The capstone seminar provides a forum for seniors in the Bachelor of Arts Design degree major to synthesize their undergraduate work in Design through a culminating project with the guidance of a faculty member. The final design product may involve 2D and/or 3D visual representation. As students reach the zenith of their undergraduate design education, this final course challenges students to reflect, integrate conceptual knowledge, and apply innovative design thinking to solve a single complex problem. Students will also engage in discussion of professional practices and design ethics, and will curate their formal design portfolio.

Senior Honors Project in Fine Arts

For especially qualified seniors with approval of the faculty director and the Office of Academic Enrichment. Students must have a minimum of a 3.400 overall grade-point average and a 3.500 grade-point average in the major.

Senior Honors Project in Fine Arts

Semester Abroad. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Semester Abroad. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Semester Abroad. Courses may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Semester Abroad. Courses may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Special Topics in Design. These are newly developed courses or courses taught by visiting faculty. Title and content may vary by semester. See the Schedule of Classes for specific offerings. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.