Graphic Design BA with Web Design Focus Course History

GRA-491 | Graphic Design Portfolio | June 26, 2023-August 20, 2023 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: Capstone Course. Students create both digital and print portfolios that demonstrate competency in the graphic design and media arts program outcomes. Students showcase their professional design work, establish branded identities as working professionals, and engage in peer and professional critiques of design work in preparation for formal employment and contract interviews.


COM-213 | Public Speaking & Presentation Skills | June 26, 2023-August 20, 2023 | Final Grade: A-

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: In this course, students will develop the public speaking and presentation skills needed for the creation and dissemination ofcommunication messages across various channels, for various purposes, and aimed at various audiences. They will create and refine communication messages based on various criteria, including the relevancy of sources and information, business and organizational goals,formats of various media channels, as well as the needs and requirements of various audiences. Students will also deliver communication messages and projects to various stakeholders, both internal and external to an organization, through the successful implementation oftheir public speaking and presentation skills.


GRA-470 | User Interface and Experience | May 1, 2023-June 25, 2023 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: Develop practical application and techniques of visual design necessary for multiple web platforms including mobile, smartphone, and desktop. Topics covered include effective user interface design principles and navigation for various platforms, the development process for responsive design, and technical components that are platform-independent.


GRA-451 | Advanced Multiplatform Design | February 27, 2023-April 23, 2023 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: Develop practical application and techniques of visual design necessary for multiple web platforms including mobile, smartphone, and desktop. Topics covered include effective user interface design principles and navigation for various platforms, the development process for responsive design, and technical components that are platform-independent.


GRA-431 | Interactive Animation for Web | January 2, 2023-February 26, 2023| Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: This class focuses on the design principles of dynamic web page animation to create rich, interactive web content. Students explore the design of characters, animated graphics, light programming, and navigational elements in animated content. Using design software, students develop interactive animations, learn the tricks of controlling file size, integrate special approaches for importing and creating animation, and develop skills in many other production techniques needed for building complete web animation projects.


GRA-420 | Advanced Digital Imaging | October 24, 2022-December 18, 2022| Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: This hands-on computer graphics course combines skills from previous design courses to explore the history, process and essential skills required to develop successful brand identity systems. Topics such as logo design, selection of fonts and colors, and the development ofbranded marketing materials are covered in depth. In addition, the important techniques of imaging software integration and file format compatibilities are discussed and applied while preparing images for print, video and Web. At the conclusion of this course, students will have developed a complete branded identity system and assembled a portfolio presentation for public viewing.


GRA-410 | Advanced Digital Graphic Design for Web | August 29, 2022-October 23, 2022 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: This course engages upper-level design students in current industry standards used in designing digital communications. Emphasis isplaced on responsive design. Students will explore and use content management systems in the development of functional and optimized websites. Exercises and projects will provide students with opportunities to design and develop web components for self-promotion.


GRA-332 | Digital Publishing | June 27, 2022-August 21, 2022 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: In this course, students will be introduced to the creative and practical aspects of digital publishing. Students will identify and explore differences between designing for the iPad, smartphone, tablet, laptop, and desktop computers. This course shows students how to stepoutside of print design and learn about interactive design, and the differences and similarities between the two. Through targeted assignments students will develop an understanding of the variety of tools used to create publications for electronic media. Students will capture key insights to improve content and deepen reader engagement.


GRA-340 | Typography | May 2, 2022-June 26, 2022 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: Typography encompasses the language of type, typeface and character recognition, legibility, appropriate uses of scale and grid systems, and the individual visual dynamics of letterforms. In this course, students will learn how to work with type as a stand-alone design elementand how to incorporate type successfully with imagery. Students will work on projects with increasing scope and complexity to gain anunderstanding of typographic form across a variety of media.


FAS-320| History of Design | February 28, 2022-April 24, 2022 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: This course introduces the major movements in the history of design since the Industrial Revolution, including the Arts & Crafts Movement, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, the Bauhaus, Constructivism, and contemporary trends in popular design. Students will be encouraged to apply their learning to practical design exercises.


HIS-301 | World History and Culture  | October 25, 2021-December 19, 2021 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: This course is designed to offer the student a historical and cultural understanding of Africa, India, China and Japan, in their interactions with the western world. Recommended for majors in History and Social Studies Education with a concentration in History.


COM-232 | Desktop Publishing | August 30, 2021-October 24, 2021 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: This course is an introduction to the software application Adobe InDesign designed for the novice user. Students are introduced to the creative and practical aspects of the desktop publishing program that is considered indispensable in the contemporary communications and design industries. This course is based on a series of introductory exercises and a regimen of hands-on practice that teaches software and design skills; students learn how to combine the use of professional graphic design and word-processing software applications.


FAS-326 |  History of Photography | June 28, 2021-August 22, 2021 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: This course will examine the history of photography from its invention in 1839 to the present time. The course will endeavor to address the technical artistic and social underpinnings of this most modern of art forms.


GRA-310 | Digital Graphic Design for the Web | May 3, 2021-June 27, 2021 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: This course focuses on digital graphic design theory and its application to web design. Students will learn about the technical requirements of professionally created web-related elements. Students will be focused on designing websites while considering functionality. Differences in designing for the desktop computer and mobile devices will be a topic for discussion and incorporated in exercises and projects.


FAS-226 | Digital Photography  | March 1, 2021-April 25, 2021 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: Photography as a visual medium is integral to the study of contemporary communication. This course introduces students to the historyand practice of producing photographic images. The course is a combination of lecture and the hands-on practice of both the analog anddigital methods of photographic image-making. The traditional darkroom is dispensed with, giving over to the computer the role of dark-room, with the student using Adobe Photoshop and other image editors to process traditional fi lm and digital image captures. The student is taught to use various digital cameras techniques to capture, process, and print a portfolio of several original photographic images. Lectures on pictorial composition, subject matter choice, and methods of presentation display will accompany hands-on technical exercises.


COM-230 | Graphics & Layout Print Media | January 4, 2021-February 28, 2021 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)


Course Description: This course is an introduction to the principles and practices of graphic design. Students are introduced through lecture, demonstrationand hands-on computer work to the basic elements of graphic visual communication. Adobe Illustrator is used as a primary tool inexploring visual perception through a variety of creative exercises that familiarize the student with basic visual principles such asfi gure/ground manipulation, shape grouping, letterform shape creation, and grid and system creation. Formal elements of graphic designsuch as line, shape, color, texture, pattern, balance, symmetry, rhythm, space and unity are thoroughly explored by example and hands-oncomputer exercises; special topics included are: designing with type, layout strategies, logo design, symbol and pictogram developmentand stationery systems.


GRA-220 | Introduction to Digital Imaging | October 26, 2020-December 20, 2020 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: Using Photoshop and Illustrator software, this course is an introduction to professional computer graphics creation and to the softwareand hardware typically used in the graphic design, video, photography and interactive Web/multimedia industries. Emphasis will be placedon the professional use of image-capturing devices, such as scanners, digital still cameras and video cameras. Image editing and colormanagement systems will be discussed and demonstrated. The important diff erences between vector and bitmap graphics will be defi ned,as will the signifi cant diff erences in preparing images for print, broadcast and Web distribution. Students will be encouraged toexperiment with their own and pre-existing images using sophisticated digital editing techniques such as layering, channel masking,fi ltering, cloning and montaging. Special attention will be paid to copyright awareness in the age of digital image.


GRA-101 | Basic Design and Color Theory | August 31, 2020-October 25, 2020 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: This course examines the basic elements and principles of design, including balance, emphasis, proportion and rhythm. Students areintroduced to visual designing systems that guide the student through the application of computer graphics tools. The basic visual designelements of line, space, texture and color are creatively explored as students complete a series of projects that relate to advertising layoutand design and visual merchandising.


COM-130 | Media Communication and Visual Literacy  | June 29, 2020-August 23, 2020 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: Examine the concept of media literacy. Practice deconstructing media messages to recognize their potential eff ect. Understand how medialiteracy is associated with an individual's role as a consumer of and participant in media.


HIS-200 | Applied History | May 4, 2020-June 28, 2020 | Final Grade: A

Course Syllabus (PDF)

Course Description: The application of history in our daily lives is not always apparent. However, studying the past is imperative for informing our understanding of society today. Armed with this informed understanding, we are transformed into effective citizens and public agents. In this course, students will explore how history has shaped the role of the citizen in America. Ultimately, historical perspectives will be utilized to understand a topic relevant to American society today.