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This site is de­signed to help you find field­work/study sit­u­a­tions of ap­prox­i­mately eight hours per week at an in­tern­ship site ap­proved by the De­part­ment In­tern­ship in­struc­tor such as an ad­ver­tis­ing agency, graphic de­sign firm, cor­po­rate de­sign of­fice, pub­li­ca­tions art de­part­ment, pho­tog­ra­phy or il­lus­tra­tion stu­dio, TV or mul­ti­me­dia pro­duc­tion com­pany. 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. Stu­dents will be re­quired to setup and main­tain at least two so­cial media net­works such as: Face­book, LinkedIn, Twit­ter, In­sta­gram, and Pin­ter­est. The in­struc­tors for this class are there as men­tors if you have not yet found an in­tern­ship be­fore reg­is­ter­ing for the course. How­ever, the in­struc­tors do not find an in­tern­ship place­ment for you. It is your re­spon­si­bil­ity to find a po­si­tion that fits your per­sonal ca­reer path and help you tran­si­tion to full time em­ploy­ment upon leav­ing the halls of CityTech. Ide­ally, you will use this site to find an in­tern­ship the se­mes­ter be­fore tak­ing the COMD 4900 class.

This site is designed to help you find fieldwork/study situations of approximately eight hours per week at an internship site approved by the Department Internship instructor such as an advertising agency, graphic design firm, corporate design office, publications art department, photography or illustration studio, TV or multimedia production company. 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. Students will be required to setup and maintain at least two social media networks such as: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. The instructors for this class are there as mentors if you have not yet found an internship before registering for the course. However, the instructors do not find an internship placement for you. It is your responsibility to find a position that fits your personal career path and help you transition to full time employment upon leaving the halls of CityTech. Ideally, you will use this site to find an internship the semester before taking the COMD 4900 class.

In this course you will learn how to de­velop In­ter­net con­tent and ef­fec­tively di­rect traf­fic to a web­site. Top­ics will in­clude im­ple­ment­ing Web An­a­lyt­ics, Search En­gine Op­ti­miza­tion, and On­line (So­cial Media) Mar­ket­ing. You will an­a­lyze data and as­sess re­ports on traf­fic to web sites; learn to write con­tent to rank for key search terms, and to choose ap­pro­pri­ately, and im­ple­ment the best strate­gies that help to drive traf­fic to web sites.

In this course you will learn how to develop Internet content and effectively direct traffic to a website. Topics will include implementing Web Analytics, Search Engine Optimization, and Online (Social Media) Marketing. You will analyze data and assess reports on traffic to web sites; learn to write content to rank for key search terms, and to choose appropriately, and implement the best strategies that help to drive traffic to web sites.

The em­pha­sis in this in­ter­me­di­ate pho­tog­ra­phy class is on cre­ative prob­lem solv­ing with pho­tog­ra­phy for the Com­mu­ni­ca­tion De­sign field. Stu­dents learn to trans­form sub­ject mat­ter with pho­to­graphic style in order to com­mu­ni­cate ideas.

The emphasis in this intermediate photography class is on creative problem solving with photography for the Communication Design field. Students learn to transform subject matter with photographic style in order to communicate ideas.

In­tern­ship in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion De­sign (On­line Asyn­chro­nous Sum­mer In­ten­sive) (BFA de­gree) As­sign­ment to field­work/study sit­u­a­tions of ap­prox­i­mately 25+ hours per week at an in­tern­ship site ap­proved by the de­part­ment In­tern­ship Co­or­di­na­tor: an ad­ver­tis­ing agency, graphic de­sign firm, cor­po­rate de­sign of­fice, pub­li­ca­tions art de­part­ment, pho­tog­ra­phy or il­lus­tra­tion stu­dio, TV or media pro­duc­tion com­pany. Each stu­dent keeps a blog/jour­nal to be shared in group sem­i­nars. Su­per­vi­sion is by fac­ulty and by the su­per­vi­sor at the in­tern­ship site. In­tern­ships may be un­der­taken dur­ing the spring, sum­mer and fall se­mes­ters. Pre­req­ui­sites: COMD 3701 or COMD 4701 or de­part­ment ap­proval. 2 class hours, 120 field hours/se­mes­ter, 3 cred­its Stu­dents will be re­quired to keep a jour­nal of their in­tern­ship in the form of a blog using Open Lab. A por­tion of the class will be de­voted to pre­sent­ing and shar­ing ex­pe­ri­ences with class­mates.

Internship in Communication Design (Online Asynchronous Summer Intensive) (BFA degree) Assignment to fieldwork/study situations of approximately 25+ hours per week at an internship site approved by the department Internship Coordinator: an advertising agency, graphic design firm, corporate design office, publications art department, photography or illustration studio, TV or media production company. Each student keeps a blog/journal to be shared in group seminars. Supervision is by faculty and by the supervisor at the internship site. Internships may be undertaken during the spring, summer and fall semesters. Prerequisites: COMD 3701 or COMD 4701 or department approval. 2 class hours, 120 field hours/semester, 3 credits Students will be required to keep a journal of their internship in the form of a blog using Open Lab. A portion of the class will be devoted to presenting and sharing experiences with classmates.

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.