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Graphic Design |
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CDGD101 Graphic Design Basics 3 cr.
Graphic Design Basics is an elective course developed specifically for freshmen who are interested in graphic design as a major. It is a “primer” to the Graphic Design program - a rigorous introduction to the fundamentals of visual communication and design.
Critique
Departmental Elective
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CDGD205 West Meets East: Exploring Communication Design in China 3 cr.
The understanding of other cultures is a prerequisite for effective communication and design. Some of the most vital moments of cultural exchange come when engaging in a true dialogue with one’s peers. With this in mind, “West Meets East” is sixteen days experiencing China’s most dynamic cities: Beijing; Guangzhou; and, Hong Kong. This in-depth tour will lead a select group of American communication design students to experience first hand how a Chinese designer lives and works, to discover the sources of his/her inspiration, and to learn how he/she communicates in this rapidly changing global environment. In addition to discovering some of China’s greatest architecture, art and cultural riches, our itinerary will take us to a few leading design education programs as well as into the studios of some of China’s top designers.
Travel
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CDGD206 Sophomore Graphic Design Studio 6 cr.
This sophomore-level required course meets twice per week for 5 hours; it is a 6-credit course. Sophomore Studio provides a foundation in the methods of concept, image, and form development. Students are introduced to the language of design; working in both traditional and digital media, students will explore issues of form, color, texture, image, sequence and narrative, learning how to harness these elements to communicate concepts clearly, effectively and expressively. Mind-mapping and the sketching of ideas as a part of the process of inquiry and design problem solving also will be covered. Faculty will collaborate and share lectures and demonstrations across all sections.
Prerequisites: SFDN185
Double Hybrid Studio
Culturally Diverse Content
Departmental Requirement
Fall
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CDGD210 Typography I 3 cr.
A study of the design and use of basic letterforms, typographic contrast, hierarchy of information, major type families and their characteristics, typographic grids, and legibility.
Prerequisites: SFDN185
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Requirement
Fall
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CDGD212 Creative Algorithms: Programming for Designers 3 cr.
Written for visual thinkers with little to no prior experience in computer programming, this elective course will focus upon the development of systems for design and the translation of those systems into algorithm. Assignments will include using generative systems to create graphic form, studies in interactivity and motion, and creatively transforming and visualizing abstract data.
Prerequisites: CDGD220
Critique
Departmental Elective
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CDGD214 Lettering in Design 3 cr
The first component of the course involves the
use of both cursive and spontaneous writing and
letterforms as a basis for establishing an
indissoluble relationship of text and image. The
energy and vitality of words and lyrics used in
poetry and music is linked to their conceptual
development of graphic imagery as appropriate to
contemporary society, communication modes and
language usage. A familiar personal writing
alphabet will be created and exercised as a
starting skill later conjoined with brushed
letterforms to establish East-West cultural
letterforms analysis and contrast. The second
component of the course involves the design of
experimental abstract letterforms through drawing
and design exercises using hand media to explore
extensions and graphic elaborations of existing
fonts with the intent of using them for specific
visual communication problems.
Prerequisites: CDGD210
Critique
Departmental Elective
Fall/Spring
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CDGD220 Graphic Design I 3 cr.
Basic design principles and skills are applied to graphic design projects. The course presents the formal elements of typography, color, and idea generation in the context of design responsibility and the development of professional attitudes and approaches to problem solving.
Prerequisites: CDGD210
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Requirement
Spring
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CDGD230 Typography II 6 cr.
In this sophomore level required course, students continue their typographic education by looking at issues of text type, typographic structure and hierarchy. They develop their sensitivity to type at both a macro and micro level, and explore issues related to typography for print and screen environments. The course meets twice a week.
Prerequisites: CDGD210 Typography I
Double Hybrid Studio
Departmental Requirement
Spring
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CDGD300 Letterpress Printing 3 cr.
An introduction to hand set metal and wooden type, letterpress printing techniques, and limited edition printing on fine papers. Emphasis on typography rather than pictorial elements.
Prerequisites: CDGD210 or by permission of the instructor with equivalent class, or printmaking courses
Critique
Departmental Elective
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CDGD302 Package Design 3 cr.
An introduction to the field of packaging design, covering branding, graphics, materials, technology, and typography. This studio course focuses on design phases from concept to three-dimensional comprehensives, and includes field trips and guest lecturers. The goal of this class is to engage the five senses in the consumer experience with the product/package and create memorable packaging that sells product.
Prerequisites: CDGD220
Critique
Departmental Elective
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CDGD303 Letterpress Printing II 3 cr.
Advanced letterpress printing class demonstrating setting type and images in forms for two and three color printing, printing in registration, embossing, integrating linoleum cuts and wood cuts with text, producing and ordering photo engravings, specifying and ordering linotype and monotype composition, creative paper selection.
Prerequisites: CDGD-300 or printmaking and letterpress
experience demonstrated by portfolio.
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Elective
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CDGD304 Web Design I 3 cr.
Introduction to web development skills through the use of Dreamweaver and Flash. Design for the web and multimedia through the use of assignments, examples, and discussion.
Prerequisites: CDGD220
Critique
All College Elective
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CDGD304X Type Design 3 cr.
This introductory elective course for junior and senior graphic design majors explores the drawing and spacing of collections of digital letterforms. Students will develop original typeface designs with the goal of enhancing their sensitivity to the shapes and uses of letters within print and electronic media. Particular emphasis will be placed on developing better insight into the history and classification of typefaces through the exploration of the influence that traditional and digital design tools have had as shapers of form. Projects will include designing typefaces in response to particular design challenges, the creation of expressive and decorative letterforms, and the consideration of the possibilities within on-screen dynamic typography.
Prerequisites: CDGD210 Typography I
Critique
Departmental Elective
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CDGD305 Print Production 3 cr.
This course explores almost every area involved in print production for graphic designers, including offset printing, printing estimates and working with a printer, binding and finishing, paper, pre-press, color separation and color proofing, and halftones and scanning issues
Prerequisites: CDGD220, CDGD230
Critique
Culturally Diverse Content
Departmental Elective
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CDGD305X Publication Design 3 cr.
In this graphic design elective course, students will explore the process of designing publications (such as books) and periodicals (such as newsletters, magazines, newspapers), both for print and digital publication.
Prerequisites: CDGD210, CDGD220
Critique
Departmental Elective
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CDGD306 Digital Photography 3 cr.
This course will focus on encouraging students to develop a personal vision and means of photographic expression coupled with the technical skills and confidence to work in digital media to improve the content of their individual communication through print or the web. By introducing students to the language and tools of digital photography, they will understand how to create, import and transform images into digital format as well as alter them using a graphics program. Students will also explore some of the fundamental principles of photography and its uses.
Prerequisites: CDGD 210 or CDIL 205
Critique
All College Elective
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CDGD308X Design for Social Action 3 cr.
This course for juniors/seniors/graduates aims to introduce students to addressing issues related to the design of communications in the social/humanitarian arena. Emphasizing the designer’s responsibility, ethics, culpability and awareness of the messages the world really needs shared, coursework will include projects and exercises to convey messages for the betterment of the world, via political, personal expression and/or social environmental change, where design becomes responsive and an active and positive force in visual culture and therefore an integral part in the well-being of our communities local and global.
Prerequisites: CDGD220
Critique
Departmental Elective
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CDGD309X Branding Design 3 cr.
Brand Identity: good brands tell a story. This course will focus on the fundamentals of developing (brand) identity, both formally and conceptually. Students will learn how to generate and convey ideas and concepts and “tell the story” visually. The class will explore brand factors, such as positioning, audience, and market analysis. Students will study the formal nuances of logo design including typographic and color choices to create marks and visual systems that are distinct and meaningful. Open to Graphic Design juniors and seniors.
Prerequisites: CDGD220
Critique
Departmental Elective
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CDGD314X Introduction to Environmental Graphic Design 3 cr.
This introduction to the design of graphics for the built environment is for junior/senior Graphic Design and Architecture students. Through a combination of lectures and studio-based projects, the course will introduce students to wayfinding, branded environments, and interpretive displays.
Prerequisites: CDGD230, CDGD220 or EDAD223, EDAD227
Critique
Departmental Elective
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CDGD322 Information Architecture II 3 cr.
Advanced course in information architecture focused on exploring large and complex, user-centered systems of information with emphasis on organization, navigation and management. Subjects of study include printed and interactive media. The course content represents professional problem-solving methods in interface design.
Prerequisites: CDGD342 Information Architecture I
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Requirement
Spring
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CDGD329 Crossing the Pond
The UK is recognized internationally for cutting edge and innovative communication design - Illustration, Design, Advertising, Motion Graphics and Animation. This course, culminating in a two-week trip to London, will investigate all areas of graphic communication as they give shape, form and content to contemporary British culture.
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CDGD340 Graphic Design II: Making Meaning 3 cr.
In this junior level required course, students explore how meaning is created through design by looking at visual communication strategies, communication theory, and the roles of message senders and receivers in the communication process. Coursework includes both print and simple time-based applied projects.
Prerequisites: CDGD220 Graphic Design I
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Requirement
Fall
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CDGD341 Typography III: Designer and Content 3 cr.
In this junior level required course, students continue their study of typography, focusing on issues of authorship and editing, and the designer’s relationship to text content. Projects are more experimental in nature, and move beyond the single project to simple systems. Additionally, the course involves a research component which prepares students for their degree project research the following semester.
Prerequisites: CDGD230
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Requirement
Spring
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CDGD342 Information Architecture I 3 cr.
This is an introductory course covering basic concepts, methods, and procedures of information architecture with a focus on managing information complexity. This course addresses issues of information structures developed for various contexts and audiences. Subjects of study include print and interactive media, and both static and dynamic approaches to information design.
Prerequisites: CDGD210 & CDGD220
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Requirement
Fall
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CDGD343 Poster Design 3 cr.
This junior/senior course continues to develop skills in creativity and graphic design focusing on the poster’s utilitarian goal. The course emphasizes conceptual, visual and technical aspects of the medium, its history and impact on society emphasizing persuasive communication and education.
Prerequisites: CDGD220
Critique
Culturally Diverse Content
Departmental Elective
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CDGD346 Desiging Stories 3 cr
Storytelling is the art of expressing human
experience. Designers such as A. M. Cassandre,
Saul Bass, Paula Scher, Kyle Cooper, and Nicholas
Felton, rely on the principles of storytelling to
enrich their work. And a new generation of
interactive designers like Jonathan Harris,
Camille Utterback, and Theo Watson and Emily
Gobeille are creating systems that allow users to
make their own stories. In this course, we’ll
explore storytelling across a broad range of
media forms - folk songs, myths, short stories,
comic books, photographs, illustrations,
paintings, posters, film titles, interfaces, and
immersive experiences. We’ll read, watch, and
listen to stories from around the world. Most
importantly, we’ll tell stories through a series
of three studio projects.
Critique
All College Elective
Spring
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CDGD347 Advanced Web Projects 3 cr
Students will apply their knowledge of web design
to create advanced applications that deal with
the manipulation and display of data. The course
will cover a range of technologies essential to
modern web design and development including
HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery, PHP and MySQL.
Prerequisites: CDGD304
Critique
Departmental Elective
Spring
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CDGD364 Dynamic Typography 3 cr.
In Dynamic (pertaining to, or caused by motion) Typography (process of arranging type) students explore visual narratives in reference to time-based media. The course emphasizes conceptual, visual and technical aspects of typography in motion.
Prerequisites: CDGD210
Critique
Departmental Elective
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CDGD392 GD Course Assistantship
A course assistantship allows qualified
sophomores, juniors, and seniors to assist a
faculty member with whom they have studied
previously. Duties may include set up, assisting
with demonstrations and critiques during class
meetings. Course assistants may not grade
students. Students may register for only one
3-credit course assistantship each semester, and
no more than two such assistantships may count
toward degree requirements.
Students selected by faculty to be course
assistants submit a Course Assistantship form
with the faculty and chair’s signatures to the
Registrar during registration and no later than
the end of the Add/Drop period. Students who are
performing a Teaching Assistantship should follow
Independent Study procedures
Prerequisites: By Permission of Instructor
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CDGD398 GD Internship
An internship is a supervised professional
experience that allows you to use classroom
training in a real work environment, develop your
skills, focus your career goals, and make
professional contacts.
MassArt offers students enrolled in a degree
program the opportunity to register an internship
for credit. An internship counts as 3 studio
elective credits. To receive credit, the
internship must meet our basic internship
requirements, be approved by a faculty advisor,
and registered before you start the internship.
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CDGD399 GD Independent Study
Juniors and seniors who have a specific studio
project which cannot be accomplished within the
structure of a course may arrange to work with a
faculty member on an independent basis. The
Independent Study form (available in the
Registrar’s Office) includes a description of the
project. Students may take only one 3-credit
independent study each semester, and no more than
four independent studies will count toward the
degree.
Independent Study forms, with faculty and the
chair’s signatures, should be submitted to the
Registrar during registration and not later than
the Add/Drop deadline.
Prerequisites: By Permission of Instructor
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CDGD402 Design Research 3 cr.
In this studio/seminar course, students will explore multiple goals and methods of design research in the context of communication design practice. Through case studies and studio projects, multiple creative strategies and tactics in design research will be investigated. The course will make a strong argument for performing rigorous experimentation and analysis as creative practice that makes designers’ way of thinking and communicating so unique. Additionally, the course involves a student-defined research project in preparation for degree project course.
Prerequisites: CDGD340, CDGD341
Lecture/Seminar
Departmental Requirement
Fall
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CDGD411 Graphic Design IV 3 cr.
Students work on complex projects, researching and developing content. Finished work is portfolio quality, and conceptual thinking, problem-solving, and formal design principles are explored in each critique. Projects allow opportunity for discussion concerning professional business practice and design ethics.
Prerequisites: CDGD340 & CDGD341
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Requirement
Fall
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CDGD414 Advertising Design 3 cr.
This course is an introduction to advertising and explores the kinds of problems that advertising agencies deal with on a day-to-day basis. The interrelationship of the art director, the client, and the consumer is emphasized with the focus on solutions to typical agency problems. When possible, informal talks with art directors and visits to Boston agencies are arranged.
Prerequisites: CDGD220 or CDIL220
Critique
Departmental Elective
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CDGD415 Advertising Design II 3 cr.
This is an advanced course in advertising that builds on the skills and issues introduced in GD 414.
Prerequisites: CDGD414
Critique
Departmental Elective
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CDGD420 Graphic Design Portfolio 3 cr.
Preparation of an entry-level portfolio demonstrating professional competence in design, concept, and craft with an emphasis on the student’s particular area of interest. Students pass a review panel, produce a resume, and interview in the professional design community.
Prerequisites: CDGD410 & CDGD402
Critique
Departmental Requirement
Spring
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CDGD430 Senior Degree Project 3 cr.
A continuation of the research began in GD 303X, in this course students synthesize the research, document the design process, and produce a final project based on the chosen subject of their research. At the end of the course, process documentation and design projects are exhibited at a departmental showing.
Prerequisites: CDGD402, CDGD411
Critique
Departmental Requirement
Spring
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