About Communication Design
The Institute’s Communication Design Department prepares today’s inquisitive, creative young thinkers for entry into an exciting and expansive field.
While some see the world as a bewildering array of symbols, ideas and agendas, we communication designers view this environment as a place of opportunity, challenge and excitement. We are all confronted with a culture overwhelmed with information; it is the designers who bring clarity and even beauty to that information. We’ll introduce you to the forms, methods, media and concepts crucial to creative development, self-expression and effective visual communication and production.
Learn more about Communication Design Courses.
The working environment approximates a professional Communication Design studio. Our new studio includes wireless internet access, wireless black and white printing, a poster-size color printer and full construction area. We have led a successful pilot laptop program, and negotiated discount prices for Adobe software and Mac Pro laptops.
We share a computer lab, large format printer, presentation areas, woodshop, and the metal shop with the other areas within our environment - Industrial Design and Interior Design.
Faculty leaders in communication design hold a flexible, open-ended perspective toward our students, their work, their ideas, and ultimately, toward the entire field. Our graduates are employed in all aspects of this wide and growing area including book and publication design, advertising, web and interactive design, package and 3-D design, exhibition design and film and broadcasting design.
We encourage our students to work hard yet conceptualize slowly. We embrace, and are masters of our technology and technical skills; yet we teach our students to be able to practice free of these technologies. We want you to think as a defined individual, yet also be capable of immersing yourself in collaboration. Our students embody the twin objectives of fostering both excellence and meaning in everything they tackle. Opportunities for study range from editorial and publication design, to the study of typography, event and exhibition design, design for print, marketing and advertising, production, interactive and motion graphics and information design using traditional media as well as contemporary and experimental media. You will also learn techniques for presenting your ideas and final projects. No matter which area in this large field you decide to pursue, we will encourage you to seek meaning and intellectual reward in the things you build and convey.
Communication Design Program of Study
Courses Offered During Fall Semester
Design for Communication I Principles of conceptual problem solving to communicate information on ideas, services and products directed at mass media print and electronic materials. This semester is also an overview of the CD “toolbox” – media and methods used by contemporary designers. Required of sophomore year Communication Design majors and minors. Also open as an elective.
Typography I Intensive study of metal, photo, and digital letterforms. The design and organization of verbal and visual information. Â Required of sophomore year Communication Design majors and minors. Also open as an elective.
Advanced Studio I This is the core class for the second year of study in the major. The class works on client-based projects. All students work on an assignment, all students present to clients, and one design is chosen to be realized. During the course, iterations and presentation skills are stressed as students learn how to navigate the crucial relationship with the client. Prerequisites: Design for Communication and Typography
Bachelor of Fine Arts Thesis This is the core class for the senior year of study in the major. The class meets in Kulas auditorium for presentations and the computer lab for advanced techniques. This is the research and idea-phase of the BFA thesis presented in the spring. Presentation, research, and ideational skills are stressed. The ideas presented in this course will be the basis for submissions to various design competitions.
Advertising Art Direction Whether aggressive or subtle, selling and advertising are critical attributes of successful communication. Students gain familiarity with methods of creating original advertising concepts via text and image, and also explore principles of advertising design and layout. The psychology of effective presentation, through text, typography, photography and illustration, is introduced to the class. From rough “thumbnails” to precisely executed comprehensives, all methods of visual exploration are investigated. Recommended prerequisites: Design for Communication, Advanced Studio and Typography
Contemporary Design Studio This course covers contemporary and special topics in design. Offered every year, topics change annually. Projects range from information and wayfinding, to publication and presentation, to interactive media. Topics shift as the class explores issues that are concurrent to its running.
Graphic User Interface l Using contemporary communications media (web, digital presentations, portable media and kiosk design) students create solutions for connecting ideas to people. This course trains design concepts, basic animation issues and information architecture through the use of digital media. Open as an elective to all CD students and others by permission of the instructor.
Graphics for Design Graphics for Design is a survey course in the basics of Communication Design for all fields in the applied arts. The course covers presentation, teamwork, client-based assignments, collateral design, and the design of portfolio and presentation materials. This is a year-long course, culminating in each student realizing a professional portfolio, process documents, web presence and identity. Every student leaving the course will have an entire presentation package geared for success in his or her chosen field.
The Hand Made Book This course walks students through book conceptualization, printing and construction. Using our letterpress facilities and binding studio, students create books that range from traditional fine bindings to contemporary experimental books.
Production (Fall Semester Only)
This required course begins with one simple question: What do you want to make? The rest of the course is devoted to learning how to “make things” in the vast array of facilities open to today’s designers. The process of making things is approached from a practical side (understanding materials and digital tools) and a theoretical side (social responsibility and sustainability). Students learn to form successful teams to define and produce projects. Prerequisites: Design for Communication and Typography or permission of the instructor.
Courses Offered During Spring Semester
Design for Communication llA survey of the principle areas designers work in: identity systems, graphic user interface systems, information design and wayfinding. Required of sophomore year Communication Design majors and minors. Also open as an elective.
Typography ll A continuation of the study begun in fall. Intensive study of metal, photo, and digital letterforms. The design and organization of verbal and visual information. Required of sophomore year Communication Design majors and minors. Also open as an elective.
Advanced Studio ll A continuation of the class begun in the Fall. This is the core class for the second year of study in the major. The class works on client-based projects. All students work on an assignment, all students present to clients, and one design is chosen to be realized. During the course, iterations and presentation skills are stressed as students learn how to navigate the crucial relationship with the client. Prerequisite: Design for Communication and Typography
BFA Seminar This is the send half of the core class for the Senior year of study in the major. It is the realization phase of the BFA thesis presented at the end of the semester. A professional presentation (portfolio, personal website, etc.) will be completed as the student prepares to enter the professional world. Instructor:
Contemporary Design Studio This course covers contemporary and special topics in design. Offered every year, topics change annually. Projects range from information and wayfinding, to publication and presentation, to interactive media. Topics shift as the class explores issues that are concurrent to its running.
Contemporary Publication Design This course covers contemporary issues in Publication Design, including editorial, interactive, and information design. The aesthetic of type and image remains the most widespread medium for graphic designers. Every aspect of the printed work and image will be investigated and considered in this class. Focusing on the process by which ideas are developed, edited and ultimately presented in both personal and public contexts, Publications Design will open up new ways of expressing ideas through text and image. The sequence of the idea is stressed, including how these ideas are presented and revealed. The class will explore a range of approaches. Open as an elective to students in all majors. Instructor permission, possibly requiring a portfolio review, is required for all non-Communication Design majors interested in enrolling in the course.
Graphics for Design Graphics for Design is a survey course in the basics of Communication Design for all fields in the applied arts. The course covers presentation, teamwork, client-based assignments, collateral design and the design of portfolio and presentation materials. This is a year-long course, culminating in each student realizing a professional portfolio, process documents, web presence and identity. Every student leaving the course will have an entire presentation package geared for success in his or her chosen field.
CIA Design Factory This course gives students real-world experience with working in interdisciplinary teams to meet design needs for departments within the CIA community. The Factory consists of the instructor (Project-Manager), shepherding projects for the Reinberger Galleres, and the Marketing and Admissions Offices through an interdisciplinary team-based group of students. This class realizes the desire of departments within the school to utilize student talent for design needs, and the ongoing desire of students to work on such projects.
The Hand Made Book This course walks students through book conceptualization, printing and construction. Using our letterpress facilities and binding studio, students create books that range from traditional fine bindings to contemporary experimental books.
Information Architecture This course deconstructs how information is conveyed in our contemporary landscape. Individual and team projects convey a variety of information problems – from “mapping” to the news, to science and to history – in a variety of means.Â
Package Design This course clarifies the process of developing graphic and visual solutions in the context of today’s packaging design —from environmental to competitive concerns. A wide swath of packaging problems will be covered, from luxury applications to sustainable resources. Assignments demonstrate the functionality of packaging, from identification of a product to its protection and appeal. The goal of this course is to equip the students with the conceptual and practical skills required to work confidently in the production of contemporary package design.
Hulick, Mari - Department Head
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Lageson, Steve - Adjunct Faculty
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Lee, Lizzy - Adjunct Faculty
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Lehto, Michael - Adjunct Faculty
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Pawlowski, Eugene - Professor
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Ramsay, Christopher - Adjunct Faculty
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Rini-Uva, Danielle - Adjunct Faculty
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Wilhelm, James - Adjunct Faculty
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American Greetings Scholarship for Excellence in Graphic Design
Awarded for outstanding achievement and potential to current 2nd or 3rd year students majoring in Communication Design.
Total Amount of Award in 2009: $1,225, shared by 1 or more winner(s)
Award is based on Merit. Merit is criteria in all awards. Need-based awards are based on FAFSA form and the federal methodology.
Nesnadny + Schwartz Graphic Design Award
Awarded for excellence to current 3rd year students majoring in Graphic Design.
Total Amount of Award in 2009: $3,000, shared by 2 winner(s)
Award is based on Merit. Merit is criteria in all awards. Need-based awards are based on FAFSA form and the federal methodology.
Download Institute Wide (Open) Awards
Download Award Recipient Information Sheet