The BFA in Graphic Design program provides rigorous study and training in the various aspects of graphic design in order to prepare you to enter into a professional employment field upon graduation. Our program begins with DES 250: Introduction to Graphic Design where you are introduced to the field of graphic design and its conceptual and technical makeup. It is within this course that your portfolio is reviewed to determine enrollment for upper level graphic design courses and subsequent acceptance into the BFA in Graphic Design program.

Subsequent courses build on the core classes and introduce:

• The use and history of typography (letterforms).
• Exploration of visual communication issues and application in graphic design and print production.
• Integration of various techniques and materials to promote an understanding of the importance of imagery in graphic design.
• Professional standards and practices in the field of graphic design.
• Artistic and technical issues of multimedia (Web and Animation).
• The development of analytical faculties used in problem-solving design.
• Historical awareness of design and direct the student towards challenging ideals of the role of the designer in society.
• Portfolio strategies in print and digital media.

Through the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Graphic Design program, you develop your creative talents and technical skills to become a graphic designer in advertising agencies, design firms, in-house art departments of magazines and newspapers, book publishers, commercial printing firms, freelance and open opportunities for admission to graduate school and other creative venues.

Please refer to the University Catalog for more information on this program.

Our Studios

The graphic design studios are centrally located on the second and third floor of the Burrier building with a combined Mac Lab/traditional studio space equipped with:

• Up-to-date, state-of-the-art, high-powered Mac computer stations fully loaded with all current graphic and web design programs.
• Network access via Ethernet and Wireless.
• Flat bed Epson scanners.
• Pantone Reference Library.
• Black and White/Color lasers.
• Epson large format printers.
• Color projector with a Smart Board for viewing digital work and lecturing.
• Large tables for drafting and traditional studio work.

Students master creative problem solving, conceptual and aesthetic skills, and the use of computer technology as a design tool through instruction from highly experienced faculty and from hands-on experience in studios and laboratories.