Graphic Design Major (BA, BS)

Description

Graphic Design, and design more generally, is the process of bringing form to content. Content is the material, the message, the communicational need. The problem for designers is how to best present that information—what is the most appropriate form for it to take? At Brockport, we not only teach the tools of design, but perhaps more importantly, we emphasize conceptual and methodological approaches for using those tools. We teach students how to develop rational, appropriate and aesthetically elegant solutions to visual communication problems, and then provide the skills to create them. In our quest to prepare students for life beyond graduation, our courses and projects reflect professional processes and real-world problems.

Admission to the Program

Any undergraduate can declare a major in Graphic Design. There is no portfolio review for entry into the BA/BS Graphic Design major.

Program Requirements

General Education Requirements (25-34 credits)

Major Department Requirements (48 credits)

• ARH 201 Survey of World Art I [YR 1]**
• ARH 202 Survey of World Art II [YR 1]**
• ARH 315 History of Graphic Design
• ART 210 2-D Design [YR 1]
• ART 212 3-D Design [YR 1]
• ART 215 Digital Foundations [YR 1]
• ART 221 Drawing I [YR 1]**
• ART 225 Intro to Graphic Design I
• ART 235 Typography I
• ART 325 Typography II
• ART 300 Branding and Identity (offered Fall only)
• ART 327 Web Publication and Design
• ART 427 Information Design (offered Spring only)
• ART 450 Graphic Design Portfolio Development (offered Spring only)
• ONE of the following two-dimensional courses
  • ART 322 Figure Drawing
  • ART 323 Intro to Illustration
  • ART 331 Photography I
  • ART 332 Digital Photo
  • ART 341 Painting I
  • ART 351 Printmaking I
  • ART 385 Digital Illustration
• ONE of the following three-dimensional courses
  • ART 361 Sculpture: Mixed Media
  • ART 362 Sculpture: Metals
  • ART 371 Beginning Handbuilding
  • ART 372 Beginning Wheelthrowing

* Foundational courses are followed by “[YR 1]” and must be taken in the first year if possible.

** Denotes courses that meet both major and general education requirements

Electives (38-47 credits)

Total Credits (120 credits)

Additional Degree Requirements

1. A minimum grade of “C” must be attained in all courses in the major.
2. Completion of all university-wide degree requirements

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

1. Apply technical skills, elements of art, and principles of design to create basic visual communication. 
2. Describe how communication theories, principles and processes have evolved through history and apply this knowledge to address various types of contemporary problems.
3. Evaluate and integrate contextual, pragmatic, and methodologic considerations of design practice when framing and solving design problems.
4. Make viable connections between concept and form to generate appropriate meanings by drawing upon their capabilities in studio, analysis, history, and technology.