Graphic Design Principles I
This foundational design and color course introduces students to graphic communication from idea to final execution. Coordinator Jenna Spevak, whose inspiration has influenced the primary direction of this course description, writes: “Through hands-on experiments, collaborative learning, and individual projects, students learn the language and process of design thinking and gain a solid foundation in design principles and practices that will be used throughout their career.”
Professor Spevak explains that the study of graphic elements and principles is designed to encourage students to develop a strong creative design process, sensitivity to the nature of graphic relationships within a given framework, an expanded design vocabulary, and improved skills in verbalizing communication concepts.
The variety of projects is designed to give students the opportunity to apply creative solutions to problems of abstract, conceptual, expressive, and applied natures. One-on-one help is provided through demonstrations, individual and group critiques, and discussion. Students explore the dynamics of figure/ground relationships, open-form and closed-form composition, value and shading, line and tone, space and volume, rhythm and balance, pattern and texture, and color, among other principal design elements.
Through a number of projects integrated with problems in color, students are encouraged to explore the characteristics, physical properties and psychological effects of color in relation to visual expression and practical graphic application.
Communication designers use the important concepts explored in this course in disciplines such as advertising, graphic design, web design, illustration, broadcast design, photography, and game design.
