Internship in Communication Design
Assignment to field work/study situations of approximately eight to 20 plus hours per week at a graphic arts-related internship site approved by the department internship director. Sites may be in areas such as advertising, printing, corporate communications or publishing. Students keep a log/journal to be shared in group seminars/discussions. Supervision is by faculty and by the job supervisor.
Students will be required to keep a learning journal of their internship in the form of a blog using Open Lab.
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.
This course introduces students to core concepts underlying all digital media —graphic design, web, broadcast, animation, illustration and game design—that the ADGA department offers in its associate and bachelor degree program. Weekly lectures explain technical concepts such as resolution, compression, and color space, concepts that allow students to produce creative work across media with more predictable results. Students work with a variety of graphic arts software programs to reveal how the software application’s tools and menus incorporate the scientific principles discussed during lecture.
In this intermediate class, the emphasis will be on creative problem solving with photography for the Communication Design field. The emphasis will be on using style to transform subject matter in order to communicate ideas. The first half of the semester will use still life photography to explore photographic style while the second half of the semester will focus outdoor work including street photography, urban landscape and on-location work. Students will be exposed to a wide range of contemporary photographers from a range of genres. Advanced digital darkroom, color correction, and color management procedures will be covered in addition to facilitate students’ professional-level portfolio development.
This course will explore the foundational concepts of light and exposure in photography. Students will develop visual literacy as well as framing and compositional skills. Students will become acquainted with a wide range of contemporary photographers and gain an understanding of how photographic style transforms subject matter into meaning. Using professional lighting equipment and cameras, the student will gain hands-on experience capturing digital images in the studio as well as on location. Students will also learn professional methods and software to manage, process and print digital images.
