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Student is assigned to find fieldwork/study situations of approximately eight hours per week at an internship site approved by the Department Internship instructor. Approved Sites include advertising agencies, graphic design firms corporate design offices, publications art departments, photography or illustration studios, TV or multimedia production companies. Students will be required to keep a learning journal of their internship in the form of a blog using Openlab. A portion of the class will be devoted to presenting and sharing experiences with classmates. Students will learn how to assess their talents, update their resume, and promote themselves and their work through social networks during class meetings. Students will be required to setup and maintain at least two social media networks such as: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Student is assigned to find fieldwork/study situations of approximately eight hours per week at an internship site approved by the Department Internship instructor. Approved Sites include advertising agencies, graphic design firms corporate design offices, publications art departments, photography or illustration studios, TV or multimedia production companies. Students will be required to keep a learning journal of their internship in the form of a blog using Openlab. A portion of the class will be devoted to presenting and sharing experiences with classmates. Students will learn how to assess their talents, update their resume, and promote themselves and their work through social networks during class meetings. Students will be required to setup and maintain at least two social media networks such as: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Course Description This course will offer an in-depth introduction to communication design theory, examining theoretical perspectives of design practice within the larger discourse of design and visual culture. Communication models, the nature of representation, the dimensions of context and semiotics will be explored through critical readings from key documents written between the early decades of the twentieth century and the present. In this context, “theory” doesn’t mean “a hypothesis to be tested” (as in the sciences), but rather points to a set of working beliefs about how the world—or in this case, visual communication—works. Some aspects of certain visual communication theories are based on observable “facts,” but the way these facts are woven together says more about how we construct meaning than it does about empirical answers to factual questions. So why does a design professional—typically an eminently practical, hands-on person working toward a specific end for the benefit of a specific client—want or need to engage with visual communication theories? First, “doing theory” promotes a sophisticated level of reflection about design work—far beyond the touchstones of “did they like it?” and “did it serve its purpose?” Second, it encourages designers to think holistically about the contexts for their work—beyond the immediate job at hand to the larger contexts of the social, the cultural, and the historical. And finally, it recognizes the obvious: today, graphic design shapes our visual world and puts each person at the nexus of thousands of messages each day. In this course, we, as senders and receivers of such messages, will attempt to make sense of all this through our verbal discussions in class, our blog postings, and our research poster design and presentations. We will be looking at two types of theories: generative theories, that explain the “how” of visual communication; and critical/sociocultural theories that explain the “what, where, and when” of design, or the historical, cultural and social contexts. By developing the ability to look at design through these different lenses, professional designers can enhance the quality of their decision-making and have a better grasp on the multiple contexts and frameworks for clients and audiences. We can better understand and evaluate the many issues about local usability and usefulness within broader contexts of ethics, aesthetics, professional and social responsibility.

Course Description This course will offer an in-depth introduction to communication design theory, examining theoretical perspectives of design practice within the larger discourse of design and visual culture. Communication models, the nature of representation, the dimensions of context and semiotics will be explored through critical readings from key documents written between the early decades of the twentieth century and the present. In this context, “theory” doesn’t mean “a hypothesis to be tested” (as in the sciences), but rather points to a set of working beliefs about how the world—or in this case, visual communication—works. Some aspects of certain visual communication theories are based on observable “facts,” but the way these facts are woven together says more about how we construct meaning than it does about empirical answers to factual questions. So why does a design professional—typically an eminently practical, hands-on person working toward a specific end for the benefit of a specific client—want or need to engage with visual communication theories? First, “doing theory” promotes a sophisticated level of reflection about design work—far beyond the touchstones of “did they like it?” and “did it serve its purpose?” Second, it encourages designers to think holistically about the contexts for their work—beyond the immediate job at hand to the larger contexts of the social, the cultural, and the historical. And finally, it recognizes the obvious: today, graphic design shapes our visual world and puts each person at the nexus of thousands of messages each day. In this course, we, as senders and receivers of such messages, will attempt to make sense of all this through our verbal discussions in class, our blog postings, and our research poster design and presentations. We will be looking at two types of theories: generative theories, that explain the “how” of visual communication; and critical/sociocultural theories that explain the “what, where, and when” of design, or the historical, cultural and social contexts. By developing the ability to look at design through these different lenses, professional designers can enhance the quality of their decision-making and have a better grasp on the multiple contexts and frameworks for clients and audiences. We can better understand and evaluate the many issues about local usability and usefulness within broader contexts of ethics, aesthetics, professional and social responsibility.

In this course, students will explore and develop several kinds of information graphics (data graphics, visual explanations, way finding systems) as well as exhibition design. We will touch on the history of info graphics and will find ways they are appearing in new technology. This course is thought-provoking, encouraging students to stretch their minds into new territory while drawing upon basic skills of typography, color and composition.

In this course, students will explore and develop several kinds of information graphics (data graphics, visual explanations, way finding systems) as well as exhibition design. We will touch on the history of info graphics and will find ways they are appearing in new technology. This course is thought-provoking, encouraging students to stretch their minds into new territory while drawing upon basic skills of typography, color and composition.