Graphic Design
View Curriculum
View Graphic Design Courses
Graphic design is an art that requires understanding and communication with nearly every discipline imaginable. As a profession, design bridges fields as diverse as science, literature, sociology, history, political science, mass communication and medicine. Designers provide a voice to organizations and institutions and manifest the communications link between supplier and consumer. Graphic Design can inform, persuade, organize, identify, motivate and educate.
Graphic designers work with typography, images, and the space around them to create advertisements, magazines and publications, logos and corporate identity systems, environmental signage, books, web sites and interactive presentations, packaging, menus, posters, brochures, annual reports and more.
Graphic Design at Shepherd University
The Graphic Design Program at Shepherd University aims to provide the student with a comprehensive knowledge of the discipline- its history, theory, practice, and profession- as well as its inherent problems and possibilities. First year students develop visual literacy by exploring the elements and principles of design. Assignments encourage conceptual thinking and provide opportunities for gaining technical skill and attention to craft. Upper level coursework emphasizes interdisciplinary thinking, theory, and process and the integration of these components through the refinement of creative problem-solving approaches. Projects are designed to integrate these components and offer the occasion to reüne research, writing, and presentation skills.
Guided by a professionally active and accomplished faculty, the Graphic Design Program offers exceptional courses in design for publishing and marketing, information design, typography, identity and branding, environmental graphics, and web and multimedia design. The breadth and depth of the faculty's collective expertise provides students the support to explore the field's many diverse disciplines. A state-of-the-art graphic design lab supports the Program with the latest Macintosh hardware and software, and high-resolution input and output capabilities. The program's setting in a school of fine arts provides students access to a broad range of facilities including painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture studios. An in-house Professional Practice Studio course gives students the opportunity to produce highly visible work for clients the such as the United States Department of the Interior. Off-site internships provide additional learning experiences where students gain real-world experience, make contacts, and refine their professional portfolios. Students join faculty in an extensive travel program offering many opportunities to study and experience both domestic and international cultural centers.
Students In Our Program
Successful design students in our program share an interest in the visual world, a curiosity about communication in all of its forms, and a passion for the visual interpretation of abstract ideas. They are intelligent, resourceful, enjoy conceptual problem solving, and are comfortable engaging openly in critical dialogue with both their instructors and classmates. Successful students are aware of the client-driven focus of design and develop the maturity and perspective to separate work from self. They enjoy working both in teams and individually, and have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Graphic Design Program student work has won national recognition in design publications such as the How Self-Promotion Annual, and many alumni have established notable practices of their own and have received recognition by AIGA, Communication Arts, Graphis, How, ID and Print, among many others.
Curriculum for a Comprehensive Major in Art with Graphic Design Concentration
| General Studies Courses | 48 Hours | |
| Humanities (ENGL, COMM, MUSC, ART) |
20 | |
| Social Sciences (ECON, HIST, PSCI, SOCI) |
15 | |
| Life or Physical Sciences (BIOL, CHEM, GSCI, PHYS) |
8 | |
| Mathematics | 3 | |
| Physical Education | 2 | |
| FINE ARTS W/DESIGN CONCENTRATION | 81 Hours | |
| FINE ARTS CORE | 39 Hours | |
| ART 140 | Visual Thinking I | 3 |
| ART 170 | Visual Thinking II | 3 |
| Art History Core | ||
| ART 203 | Survey of Western Art | 3 |
| ART 204 | Contemporary Art | 3 |
| ART 304 | Special Topics in Art History | 3 |
| Professional Practices Core | ||
| ART 208 | Professional Practices I | 3 |
| ART 390 | Professional Practices II | 3 |
| ART 490 | Capstone | 3 |
| Select 9 hours of Group I courses with assistance from your advisor: | ||
| ART 250 | Sculpture I | 3 |
| ART 260 | Printmaking I | 3 |
| ART 230 | Painting I | 3 |
| PHOT 281 | Black and White Photography I | 3 |
| ART 305 | Illustration I | 3 |
| Select 6 hours of Group II courses with assistance from your advisor: | ||
| ART 350 | Sculpture II | 3 |
| ART 361 | Printmaking II | 3 |
| ART 400 | Special Topics in Studio | 3 |
| ART 330 | Painting II | 3 |
| ART 405 | Illustration II | 3 |
| PHOT 282 | Black & White Photography II | 3 |
| Graphic Design Concentration | 42 Hours | |
| ART 115 | Drawing I |
3 |
| ART 215 | Drawing II | 3 |
| GRDS 200 | Intro to Graphic Design | 3 |
| GRDS 300 | Typography I | 3 |
| GRDS 320 | Digital Studio I | 3 |
| GRDS 340 | Intermediate Design | 3 |
| GRDS 360 | Digital Studio II | 3 |
| GRDS 380 | History of Graphic Design | 3 |
| GRDS 410 | Typography II | 3 |
| GRDS 430 | Advanced Design | 3 |
| Select 12 hours from the classes below with assistance from your advisor: | ||
| GRDS 400 | Special Topics in Graphic Design | 3-6 |
| GRDS 440 | Interactive Design | 3 |
| GRDS 442 | Website Design | 3 |
| GRDS 450 | Annual Report Studio | 3-6 |
| GRDS 460 | Internship in Graphic Design | 3-6 |
| Total Semester Hours Minimum | 129 | |
Courses Sequencing for Art Majors with a Concentration in Graphic
Design
As most classes are offered only once a year, it is essential that students
take these classes in the following sequence:
| 1st Semester (Freshman Year) | 12 Hours | |
| ART 140 | Visual Thinking I | 3 |
| ART 104 | Intro. Visual Art | 3 |
| ART 115 | Drawing I | 3 |
| GRDS 200 | Graphic Design I | 3 |
| 2nd Semester | 12 Hours | |
| ART 170 | Visual Thinking II | 3 |
| ART 215 | Drawing II | 3 |
| GRDS 320 | Digital Studio I | 3 |
| *Select from Group I | 3 | |
| 3rd Semester (Sophomore year) | 12 Hours | |
| ART 203 | Survey of Western Art | 3 |
| GRDS 300 | Typography I | 3 |
| GRDS 340 | Intermediate Design | 3 |
| *Select from Group I | 3 | |
| 4th Semester | 12 Hours | |
| ART 204 | Contemporary Art | 3 |
| GRDS 380 | History of Graphic Design | 3 |
| GRDS 360 | Digital Studio II | 3 |
| ART 208 | Professional Practices I | 3 |
| 5th Semester (Junior Year) | 12 Hours | |
| GRDS 410 | Typography II | 3 |
| *Graphic Design Elective | 3 | |
| *Select from Group I | 3 | |
| *Select from Group II | 3 | |
| 6th Semester | 12 Hours | |
| ART 304 | Special Topics in Art History | 3 |
| *Graphic Design Elective | 3 | |
| *Graphic Design Elective | 3 | |
| *Select from Group II | 3 | |
| 7th Semester (Senior Year) | 6 Hours | |
| GRDS 430 | Advanced Design | 3 |
| ART 390 | Prof. Practices II | 3 |
| 8th Semester | 6 Hours | |
| ART 490 | Capstone Portfolio | 3 |
| *Graphic Design Elective | 3 | |
| * Indicates choice should be made after consultation
with advisor. - A student should maintain 16 hours a semester to graduate in four years. - A BFA student must complete 129 hours/45 upper division hours to graduate. |
||
Click here to view new Graphic Design courses.
