Top Masters Programs in Design and Visual Communications

Ideas are the currency of the 21st century. The ability to communicate your ideas persuasively is the single greatest skill you can learn to succeed in a globally competitive world. Through stories, videos and case examples, this program offers an actionable, step-by-step method anyone can adopt to create and deliver inspiring presentations that are engaging, persuasive and memorable. Key topics include: applying storytelling methods, creating presentation headlines, utilizing the rule of three, building multisensory experiences, making statistics.

Presenting With Confidence: How Great Leaders Craft and Design Persuasive Presentations That Sell Products, Inspire Teams, and Build Brands (In-Person Course).

In this exclusive online course, international bestselling author and communication coach, Carmine Gallo, will show you leverage advanced communication skills to stand out and get ahead in any field.

Designing Your Leadership Path: Transformative Communication in a Hybrid World.

Ideas are the currency of the 21st century. The ability to communicate your ideas persuasively is the single greatest skill you can learn to succeed in a globally competitive world. Through stories, videos and case examples, this program offers an actionable, step-by-step method anyone can adopt to create and deliver inspiring in-person or virtual presentations that are engaging, persuasive and memorable. Key topics include: applying.

Presenting With Confidence: How Great Leaders Craft and Design Persuasive Presentations That Sell Products, Inspire Teams, and Build Brands (Online Course).

The MFA in Stage Design is one of the country’s outstanding graduate programs for the training of the visual stage artist. Through a uniquely structured curriculum, the program interacts with the Master of Fine Arts in Directing Program.

Necessary for continuation each year is the student’s development toward mastery of a complete repertoire of graphic techniques and a heightened conceptual and design aesthetic in a primary design field, mastery of a range of fundamental abilities in a secondary field, and maturing collaboration skills. The first year of study emphasizes the importance of skills training and design process. The final year’s activity concentrates on designing and the preparation of the thesis portfolio.

BFA and BA in Studio Art Design.

Master of Architecture, Master of Landscape Architecture, and Master of Urban Design.

Aim: To unify the separate projects, the Design Studio was tasked with creating a lo represent the St. Louis Community Engagement Alliance.

We prepare the next generation of educational leaders in information and communication technologies.

The Communication, Media, and Learning Technologies Design program prepares students to develop leadership capacities in the fields of information and communication technologies within education and society. Our students play a constructive role in shaping new innovations in education. The coursework is broad, encompassing video, computer-based media, digital and non-digtial game-based learning, and the role of communication and media in society from an historical and modern perspective.

We use methods of the social sciences, encompassing both qualitative and quantitative approaches to the study of communication and education. Our courses focus on how education and other social systems change under the impact of new media. We offer three degrees:.

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Communication and Education 32 points.

Master of Education (Ed.M.) in Communication and Education 60 points.

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Communication and Education 90 points.

We prepare students to design, develop, implement and evaluate digital games for learning and behavior in both formal and informal educational settings. Our program is unique in that the curriculum is structured to examine game design from a combination of social, cultural, cognitive, and affective perspectives.

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Design Development of Digital Games 32-points.

Graduate students in our program examine the following questions:.

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Instructional Technology Media 32-points.

Master of Education (Ed.M.) in Instructional Technology Media 60-points.

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Instructional Technology Media 90-points.

We offer two degrees for those wishing to gain initial certification in Technology Specialist in New York State. One is intended for pre-service teachers and the other for those already holind NYS certification in another content area. Both programs prepare individuals to use technology with students and to work effectively with teachers to help them learn to use technology, design curriculum, and implement classroom projects in which technology is well integrated.

Master of Arts (M.A.) for pre-service teachers 38 points.

Master of Arts (M.A.) for certified teachers 38 points.

Design and Visual Communications is for those who teach in K-12 schools or who have an interest in working with technology in schools.

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Computing in Education 32-points.

Technology Specialist for TeachersInitial Cert: K-12 Ed. Technology Specialist.

Online Degree Application, including Statement of Purpose and Resume.

Additional information and requirements from the program are listed on the Degrees Requirements page.

Chelsea Haina, MFA Interactive Media Chanelle Ma, MFA Interactive Media Morgan Mckie, MFA Interactive Media Micheal Li, MFA Interactive Media Lena Gonzalez, MFA Interactive Media Richard Lentz, MS Computer Science (University of North Florida) Brian Hicks, BS Computer Science (University of North Florida).

Interaction Design and Informatics Concentration Coordinator: Sunyoung Kim, Ph.D.

This concentration prepares students to become professionals for careers related to interaction design, human-computer interaction, user experience design, and user-centered research. Career paths for this concentration include:.

Students will learn practical skills and theoretical knowledge to design, implement, and evaluate interactive technologies. In particular, students will:.

Create innovative user interfaces through a user-centered design thinking process.

Engage with both qualitative and quantitative data acquired from users to inform a design thinking process.

Master prototyping skills from low-fidelity paper prototypes to high-fidelity interactive prototypes.

Practice communication skills to effectively deliver design ideas.

For this concentration, you take three concentration requirements designed to acquire essential knowledge and skills for interaction design incrementally. in the following semesters.

Foundations of Interaction Design Informatics (513): an introductory course covering the basic principles, techniques, and knowledge for interaction design.

Experimental Design and Evaluation (536): a course to gain practical skills for collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data for user-centered design.

Interaction Design Studio (523): a project-based course to build a strong design portfolio through projects.

Note: This course is required for Library Information Science students. For the other concentrations, our program assumes that students have attained the competencies and objectives listed for 550. If you do not, you must also take this course.

Note: Refer to the specific course study plans to see if a particular foundation course is required for your concentration.

In the next semesters. It is recommended take one concentration requirement course per semester.

Other MI courses by permission of concentration coordinator.

As the only program of its kind in the United States, the Master of Arts in Game Design drives students to stretch their capacities as designers, developers, consumers, and game administrators and apply that to their unique field of interest.

Bring your creativity into play. Through game design theory, development, and design, our students bring behavior change, expand awareness, and make a difference. Students leave with the skills and experience they need to succeed in applying game design to non-game contexts.

The School of Communication reviews graduate applications on an ongoing basis until programs reach capacity.

Administered jointly by the School of Communication and the Computer ScienceCollege of Arts and Sciences, the Game Design (MA) is a unique, multi-disciplinary 36-credit hour program focused on game design and game engagement mechanics intended to influence non-game contexts and challenges. The program develops the intellectual capacity of students as designers, developers, consumers, and games administrators. Beyond traditional game design and development, students learn to tailor play design for distinct education purposes.

The MA in Game Design is a 36 credit program.

The School of Communication offers graduate students both merit-based and need-based financial aid. Additional is available for veterans.

There is no typical Game Center student! Students bring their unique backgrounds and passions to the program, having addressed diverse topics such as mental health, social justice, journalism, politics, money management, and advertising. The program can lend itself to your particular area of interest.

You do not need to have a background in coding to become a Game Design student, just a love for games and the desire to learn.

Take advantage of institutional relationships with government agencies, locally based companies, and not-for-profits alike. Clients you may contract with include the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), and WAMU 88.5.

The Master of Arts in Game Design is a unique, multi-disciplinary 36-credit hour program focused on game design and game engagement mechanics intended to influence non-game contexts and challenges.

The program will develop students' intellectual capacity as designers, developers, consumers, and games administrators. Beyond traditional game design and development, students learn to tailor play design for distinct education purposes.

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AcademicsAdvertising, Public Relations and Media DesignGraduate DegreesM Strategic Communication Design.

Change Everything. The Masters in Strategic Communication Design (MSTCM) evolves students into design professionals through a progression of innovative learning experiences within a single academic calendar year, from August to August, through the: fall, spring, and summer semesters. This professional design program lives and breathes within a learning culture shaped by collective creativity, fueled by design thinking, and focused on innovation that transcends the divide between technology and design. We transform our students into successful professionals able to design the future by leveraging the power of creative problem solving to enact meaningful social change.

We do so through pointing to new ways of learning, working, seeing, thinking, and making within the everyday challenges of the 21st century. The boundaries between design disicplines are evolving and increasingly blurring. And so are the traditional boundaries between design and everyday life. Our work, play, social innovation, leadership, and management are all accompanied by increasing awareness and dedication to value-driven efforts. These developments are not singular to design but are evolving throughout an international creative economy increasingly led by designers.

We approach design through a lens of collective creativity.

We are situated within a culture of learning driven to imagine, design, and build innovative products and experiences. Whether your intentions are the pursuit of entrepeneurial options or gaining a leadership position in a firm, agency, or nonprofit, the MSTCM graduate program elevates and extends your potential as a leading design professional-wherever and however you choose to apply it.

Our positioning is timely and encouraging. Recent figures indicate that design is the fastest-growing sector within the creative industries worldwide and it is also increasingly playing a key strategic role in an evolving global economy.

Our graduate design program is entirely project-based and our students learn in a dynamic studio environment. Entering students choose a primary path in either brand design or experience design, providing a throughline that focuses and prepares them to hit the ground running qualified for current industry design positions in branding and UX.

All students enroll in RE, our product-based open studio that combines entrepreneurial design and critical making. RE is where we prepare our students to think and act as designer-founders, who imagine, design, develop, make, and launch products that have the potential to become design-driven startups.

And all students will also develop their individual portfolios for industry positions in BookLab, our creative laboratory whose purpose is to evolve student project work within a professional portfolio that captures and expresses an original, individual vision that can guide a successful career in design.

The common thread is that all of our entering students recognize the power of design as an adaptive tool to realize their creative potential as professionals. As a matter of course, our graduates go on to become design-based leaders in a variety of positions in top creative companies.

Here a short list of positions our graduates have taken:.

And here are additional areas our recent graduates are trending toward:.

They also become part of an exceptional creative industry network comprised of our graduates working at top companies.

The Masters in Strategic Communication Design (MSTCM) is an immersive 39-credit hour program typically completed in a full calendar year consisting of Fall Semester, Spring Semester, and Summer Session D, beginning in August of one year and ending in August of the next.

Our project-based program is for students who feel they already have foundational skills in design software and the basics of design. These skills may be from the previous professional or educational experience. You can still apply for the program if you do not have those skills however, you will be expected to learn the basics as part of your advanced coursework.

MSTCM is a human-centered program that evolves students into design leaders, and they will gain advanced skills needed to lead teams, build strategies, and influence business leaders. Students will deepen their skills in screen-based design but extend themselves into new areas by designing and building products beyond the screen that challenge existing conceptual and execution norms.

The professional master degree program in design consists of 39 hours of courses over three contiguous semesters, as follows:.

Focuses on the challenges of designing brands targeted to customer needs and desires. The course is structured around the process of identifying brand opportunities, idea generation, design, testing and launch opportunities. Through a series of projects, students address aspects of practice and theory, from brand adaptation of cultural values to maintenance of brand integrity and global design strategies. Where applicable, case studies will supplement studio execution.

Provides a comprehensive understanding of design thinking and its processes to design innovative branded experiences and exchanges in a variety of strategic communication contexts. Students learn design methods applications that can be applied not only to experiential design, but to a problem where design thinking is meaningful to branded experiences. They learn standard and currently practiced design methods and, through repeated application, internalize them into a personal design aesthetic.

Brings students' attention to design as a form of social innovation and develops awareness of the social, political and economic contexts of design. They become literate in re the often implicit narratives embedded in design products and services, then use scenarios and storytelling to generate new strategies, build and test prototypes and write a case study detailing what was learned.

Dedicated to building out an industry ready professional portfolio, this immersive studio consists of four client facing projects sponsored by and developed in collaboration with the program industry partners. BookLab may be repeated up to 9 total credit hours.

Builds on and extends concepts and executions covered in Foundations of Brand Design. While Foundations of Brand Design grounds the students in core branding concepts and applications, this course expands both executional skillsets and conceptual frameworks through the development of a unified theory of branding that transforms objects into meaning bearers. Through research, strategic definition, identity, expression, communications and behavior study, students will learn create opportunities for complex, meaning-centered relationships between people and things.

APRD 5004 Interaction Design and the Digital Delivery of Products and Services.

Builds on and extends concepts and applications introduced in Experience Design Foundations with a concerted focus on prototyping quickly and often the best way to both communicate and improve one design. Students will learn to integrate prototyping activities, along with research and testing techniques, into every stage of the design process. Students will also learn choose the appropriate method to suit different dimensions of a design problem at different stages in the process and the resulting pitfalls of each approach.

APRD 5008 Access to Tools for Entrepreneurism by Design.

Develops awareness of and access to necessary tools, smart objects for example, that can enable complex dynamics among people, objects and information via a combination of physical and digital design methods, all with an eye to design driven innovation for social change. This course shifts the usual strategic communication design point of view from the typical perspective of trend noise and market driven models to identifying actual problems and providing possible design solutions to those problems.

Dedicated to building out an industry ready professional portfolio, this immersive studio consists of four client facing projects sponsored by and developed in collaboration with the program industry partners. In a series of three-week intensives, students will work from design briefs to concept, design and solve a variety of design problems for real world clients. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours.

Introduces students to advanced practices and tools of the experience design profession. Topics vary to reflect current and emerging trends in the profession, but the core focus of the course consists of three broad themes: information design principles, understanding and defining user behaviors, and designing for emerging cross-channel experiences.

Summer Semester D further provides an opportunity to explore an experimental capstone approach to our final (summer) semester in the following areas: brand design, design leadership, and entrepreneurial design. The special topics designation allows us to introduce and explore the newest (and current) trends and innovations in concept and executions regarding brand, leadership, and entrepreneurism. will take place in the Summer Semester D they will be announced in the early Spring semester of each year.

Takes an in-depth look into engagement with challenges of designing for sustainability. Moves beyond the cradle to grave approach to designing for cradle to cradle with immersion into design ethics and the power of visual communication. Students are taken beyond the project brief to investigate why a brand or service should exist and the consequences of its existence.

The MSTCM program takes a full calendar year to complete, consisting of Fall Semester, Spring Semester, and Summer Session D. Accelerated and transformative, the program begins in August of one year and ends in August of the next. The degree program is immersive and, as a result, is repeatedly successful at turning students into design leaders within a calendar year.

Students are required to remain in good academic standing, per the requirements of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling admissions basis for the MSTCM professional master degree. We evaluate applications as they are completed, which means acceptances are provided on a first-come, first-served basis for each prospective student. Once an application is complete with all supporting documents, we review it through the online form and follow up within a matter of days from the completion of your application.

Our rolling admissions process provides applicants with a brief wait time from completed application to notice of acceptance for the year-long masters program. We take no than 18-24 students per year into the program in order for our classes to maintain a student to teacher ratio of no than 12:1.

Once an application is complete with all supporting documents, we review it through the online form and get back to you within three weeks from the completion of your application.

We will continue to review applications on a rolling basis until the cohort is full. Once a cohort is full we then continue to accept students for the following cohort. This rolling admission process allows students to have substantial time to make plans well in advance for their immersive year-long masters program.

In certain circumstances, we will consider students who discovered design after an unexceptional experience with an ancillary degree like pre-law or business. This is where you write and explain your discovery and path to design.

Your application will be listed under Strategic Communication Design on the Graduate School site. The online Graduate School application is available here. This is sometimes a confusing experience for applicants. We are available to help prepare with the process.

If you have a design portfolio, include a link to in your personal statement.

The graduate program (MSTCM) is situated within CMCI STUDIO. It is dedicated to learning, innovation, and exploration across disciplines to reimagine possible alternative futures for a rapidly changing world.

As a result, CMCI STUDIO lives at the intersection of academia and industry. providing an intellectual and physical space where technology and design professionals work together to redefine the boundaries of product and service design through collective creativity and innovation by design.

Communication Society Residence Academic Program (CMCI CommRAP).

PhD in Emergent Technologies and Media Art Practices (ETMAP).

PhD in Media Research and Practice (Strategic Communication track).

PhD in Media Research and Practice (Journalism Studies track).

PhD in Media Research and Practice (Media Studies track).

Visual Communication Design Master of Fine Arts Degree.

A series of tablets with various mobile app, user interface, and game designs on them.

In our visual communication design degree, you'll shape interactive experiences by integrating graphic design, user experience design, design studies, motion graphics, and 3D digital design into your work.

Outcome Rate of RIT Graduates from this degree.

Median First-Year Salary of RIT Graduates from this degree.

This visual communication degree offers a comprehensive opportunity to investigate the intersection of graphic, interaction, and motion design. You will focus on conceptualizing and creating user-centered design wherever there is a screen or digital experience. This major reinforces the importance of user experience design by combining insight from all areas of design. Choose to focus your studies or combine course sequences from communication design, interaction design, motion design, and design studies. By combining historical, communication and aesthetic theory, principles, and creativity, your work will anticipate design evolution and lead innovation.

The MFA in visual communication design focuses on all areas of design, including graphic design, user experience interaction design, design studies, motion graphics, and 3D digital design. The MFA program embraces this new technology through its curriculum, which addresses these merging skill sets.

The MFA in visual communication design provides a learning environment for the advancement in innovative research, user-centered design, and professional practice by focusing on the creative potentials of visual communication through a full spectrum of media. You will advance your design knowledge and technical skills by choosing an option in communication design, interaction design, or motion and 3D digital design.

The cross-disciplinary nature of the program offers a greater potential to foster innovation and creativity in visual communication design. The program reflects the current views and changes occurring in the professional design field. The skill sets required of graphic, interactive, and digital design have now crossed over and are interrelated.

Text that reads: 45% tuition scholarship for graduate study.

Text that reads: Master up N Y that is overlayed on top of a wireframe outline of the state of New York.

30% Tuition Scholarship for NY Residents and Graduates.

Many programs accept applications on a rolling, space-available basis.

Salary and Career Information for Visual Communication Design MFA.

At the graduate level, and paired with an advanced degree, cooperative education and internships give you the unparalleled credentials that truly set you apart.

Co-ops and internships take your knowledge and turn it into know-how. Co-op in the College of Art and Design provides hands-on experience that enables you to apply your artistic capabilities in dynamic professional settings while you make valuable connections between classwork and real-world applications.

Cooperative education, internships, and other experiential learning opportunities are encouraged for graduate students in the MFA in visual communication design.

Visual Communication Design MFA students to dive deep into emerging and future design, technology, interaction and motion trends.

Including animating the main on end titles for the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel.

The College of Art and Design at RIT offers distinctive graduate degrees that combine the best of art, design, creativity and technology. Our diverse portfolio of graduate program offerings includes.

Visual Communication Design, MFA degree, typical course sequence.

This seminar focuses on a basis in the history of design, which complements the overall graduate studies in the School of Design. Interdisciplinary in nature, the course is thematic and emphasizes performance on the part of the student in dynamic dialogue on course topics. The course content focuses on subjects relative to the history and theory of design (people, processes, products, environment, culture and places), critical thinking and contextual historical issues. Students are expected to read seminal design articles, write critical essays and questions and to participate in weekly discussion groups. On-line technology is utilized in addition to slide lectures.

This course is an introduction to digital three-dimensional visualization. Students learn all aspects of 3D design, from modeling all the way through rendering the final images to setting keyframes for animation. Once familiar with the basics of production, students are encouraged to focus on specific topics such as lighting and texturing and the creation of visual effects for gaming, broadcast, visualization and education. (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

This course provides an in-depth look at human-centered interface design. Emphasis is placed on the integration and application of design skills applied to information architecture, user navigation and orientation. (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

This course examines the historical, theoretical, and perceptual aspects of typography for print and screen use. Grid structure, composition, hierarchy, message conveyance, and formal aspects of typographic design are explored with an emphasis on developing harmonious type and image integration into cohesive, sequential design applications. How temporal structural elements such as rhythm and pacing affect visual communication in a dynamic medium is also investigated and applied. (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

This course focuses on motion design from story reels to the final project. Course content focuses on visual components, and assignments translate production techniques used in traditional filmmaking into the online environment. This includes the use of line, space (two and three-deminsional), composition and framing, simulated camera movements, color, and sound. Using a time-based application as the authoring tool and the techniques outlined in this course, a student will be able to produce interactive stories, such as online graphic novels and webisodes. (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

This seminar will approach critical views of design studies from an interdisciplinary perspective. The course will require readings, discussion, critical thinking, and writings as we examine the impact of history, theory and critical analysis as related to the interpretation and understanding of design. Lecture 2 (Spring).

This course provides students with the necessary skills to further develop a research plan into a specific design inquiry with an application component. Emphasis is placed on identifying connections and integrating content between this course and the culminating first-year experience in the MFA Visual Communication Design program. Students will chose a topic, write a design proposal, and design and implement a project from inception to conclusion. This involves research, development, evaluation, refinement, completion of a finished creative project, and documentation of the process. (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Lab 3 (Spring).

Research is the backbone for any project. This course will focus on the design research and planning stages of a thesis project. Students will define a design problem that provides a significant addition to the design field while addressing needs in the local, regional and or global community. Course content addresses establishing content, planning, scheduling, and research seeking innovative solutions through the process of concept development, ideation, and in-process evaluation. (Prerequisites: VCDE-718 or VCDE-722 or equivalent course.) Thesis 3 (Fall).

This course will focus on the physical thesis project. Students will continue with concept development concluding with the implementation and retrospective evaluation of their chosen design problem. Solution is presented in a public exhibition, complemented by a written articulation of how the theories and methods employed in the project impact the current and future state of design in society. (Prerequisites: VCDE-790 or equivalent course.) Thesis 9 (Spring).

This course is an introduction to programming for students with a background in design. Students will write programs to construct and control interactive, media-rich experiences. Students will employ fundamental concepts of object-oriented computer programming such as classes, variables, control structures, functions, and parameters in their code. Students will develop their problem solving skills and begin building a logical toolkit of algorithms and program design strategies. Programming projects will be required. (Prerequisites: VCDE-709 or equivalent course and graduate standing in VISCOM-MFA.) Lec Lab 3 (Spring).

The course focuses on implementing advanced, newly developing ideas in visual communication design. The specific subtopic for this course varies each time it is taught. As a result it may be repeated with a different subtopic. Students can take than one Experimental Workshop in a term, as long as the subtopic is not repeated. (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Lecture 2 (Fall, Spring).

This course covers first the design of characters and then the creation of them using three-dimensional software, inverse kinematics, parent and rigid binding, bones, and deformers. Students design characters using techniques like interpretant matrices, model sheets, sketches, and maquettes followed by development of the actual character in software. Characters are designed for incorporation into motion graphics, games, real time applications, performance, or visualization. (Prerequisites: VCDE-706 or equivalent course.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

This course covers advanced modeling techniques useful in developing environments, both interior and exterior. The content of the course covers proportions appropriate to a variety of environments, lighting for spaces, surface design to replicate real world materials, and building to an appropriate level of detail for the circumstance. (Prerequisites: VCDE-706 or equivalent course.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

This course covers the use of basic electronics so that students can develop embedded systems or controllers for games, design environments with ambient intelligence, design interactive museum exhibits and point of purchase installations, or embed electronics in clothing. Students use micro controllers, sensors, switches, lights, and motors to implement their designs. (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Lecture 2 (Spring).

In this course, students design levels for games or virtual worlds for a variety of applications. Once the design is complete, the design is implemented using high-end three-dimensional software. In many cases the projects will be large and will be executed by teams of students. Versioning systems will be used to keep track of the most recently developed assets. Models are imported into real time software engines for manipulation. (Prerequisites: VCDE-706 or equivalent course.) Lecture 2 (Fall, Spring).

This course focuses on three-dimensional special effects using 3D software in combination with other techniques. Course content addresses particle systems and dynamic simulations in a 3D environment. Physical reality concepts such as water flow, air movement, smoke, clouds, fire, and gravitational effects are explored in relation to their effects on cloth, hair, and fluids. Students will incorporate these dynamic simulations in practical design contexts for film, broadcast, and online. (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Lecture 2 (Spring).

The course focuses on designing and constructing hard surface models including machinery, furniture, vehicles, electronics, and robots. Students explore the use of different modeling techniques in the process and are particularly interested in the flow of the topology within the geometry. Some attention is given to creating controls for moving the hard surface models. (Prerequisites: VCDE-706 or equivalent course.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

Students will learn the general production workflow of creating and integrating three-dimensional rendered elements into a two-dimensional motion graphics setting. The production process will include an of modeling, lighting, shading and rendering techniques in a 3D application. Then the course will also explore integrate these assets into a 2D animation setting and techniques of creating a professional, polished result quickly and efficiently. (Prerequisites: VCDE-706 or equivalent course.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

This course will examine methods of synthesizing analog and digital tools to create visual works that communicate complex information through compelling visual interactions. Projects will prompt students to remix materials, techniques, and design elements in unexpected ways to create new hybrid forms. Course content will cover analog and digital image-making techniques, 2D and 3D design, photography, coding, experimental visual manipulation, and unconventional design tools. Students will research, design, and implement their own unique processes that capitalize on a variety of form-making tools, and move fluidly in and out of the computer. At the completion of this course, students will have developed a vast library of interdisciplinary ideas and techniques for visualizing design that integrate a wide range of materials, forms, and methods. (Prerequisites: VCDE-708 or equivalent course.) Lec Lab 5 (Fall or Spring).

This course investigates a systems thinking approach for the purpose of clear, unified communication. The complexity of multiple components are integrated into a common framework to solve graphic design problems. Conceptual mapping, design process strategies, user-centric goals, visual symbolism, the balance of design with cultural, environmental and technological factors, design writing, and design evaluation are integrated into the course. Both theoretical and applied problems will be developed. (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Studio 5 (Spring).

This course applies design methodologies to multimedia applications. Students communicate ideas and information to specific audiences through interactive, instructional applications. Course work will integrate content research, developing measurable objectives, and information architecture with interactivity. At the completion of this course students will be able to design site maps and flowcharts, implement an effective graphical user interface, communicate layered information through a hierarchical structure, control user navigation and feedback using interactivity, and design cross-platform projects for entertainment, games, information systems, and education. (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Lecture 2 (Spring).

The development of digital deliverables and experiences is the central focus of this course. Interpretive projects will be composed of a sequence of text and images applying formal visual principles. (Prerequisites: VCDE-722 or equivalent course.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

This course focuses on motion graphics as an extension of traditional design that incorporates a temporal or time-based element into the message. Students are exposed to video compositing software and learn the craft, practice, and theory of what it takes to make it in the fast-paced, competitive world of motion graphics design. Computer software is used to composite visual effects in both animation and live video. Sequencing, storyboarding, digital audio, titling, and animation are integrated to produce time-based projects for film, broadcast, and the web. (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Lecture 2 (Spring).

This course focuses on the visual look of a three-dimensional model. Students apply lighting methods to illuminate 3D models and spaces. The interaction of light and pigment, use of light in painting, photography, and film are used as examples. Techniques in using shading networks are incorporated into the projects. Displacement textures are used to create detail in models. This course also covers a contrast and comparison of various methods and resolutions of rendering and outputting information from 3D software. (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

This course provides an examination of the role of design in brand strategy and cohesive identity systems. Historical and current systems will be researched and analyzed. Development of formal proposals, research, and design strategies for developing integrated solutions are explored. (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

Emphasis is placed on digital video and audio design, production, and integration in multimedia applications. Course projects focus on shooting, digitizing and editing video plus recording, editing and mixing of audio for digital movies. (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

This intensive studio course investigates principles and theories related to systems thinking and application from diverse inter and cross-disciplinary perspectives. Systems thinking is explored through many lenses that include concept, language, information, aesthetics, format, context, materiality and temporal considerations. Message-making, organization and implementation strategies are key components of this course. Students discover and practice design systems across a diverse range of studio, lecture and presentation experiences. The VCDE-717 Design Systems course is not a prerequisite for this course, but may be taken prior to this Design Systems Intensive course. Lecture 2 (Fall).

This course explores design strategies related to researching, identifying and implementing a digital user experience for online web and app development. Students will apply design research methodologies to gather and evaluate source material to design and implement user interactive solutions. Projects will include defining client and user goals, user identification, user empathy, content organization, information architecture, wire-framing methods and validation through user testing across various platforms. At the conclusion of the course students will design and document several different interactive projects. (Prerequisites: VCDE-707 or equivalent course.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

This course focuses on the functions of environmental graphic design in a three-dimensional environment. Through studies of theory of environmental design, exploration and conceptual development, design solutions are directed to assist users in negotiating, or wayfinding, through a space or environment, to identify, direct and inform. Topics include learning methods, communication theory, ergonomics, visual hierarchy, design principles and process. Areas of application include architectural graphics, signage systems, dynamic environments, mapping, exhibit design, museum experiences, and themed environments. Students also explore integrate both two and three-dimensional components to develop physical and digital-based environments. (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

This course explores the importance of reader and user responses to written and visually presented information. Problem-solving, functional requirements, information transmission, accessibility and design structure are integrated while investigating a variety of formats (i.e. charts, diagrams, business forms, tables, maps, instructional materials, wayfinding systems, and technical data.) Applied problems are solved through principles of language, structure, diagrammatic interpretation and the visual display of information. Solutions will be developed for both print media and digital use (i.e. mobile devices, computer screens, kiosks, etc.). (This course is restricted to students in the VISCOM-MFA, GRDE-MFA and CMGD-MFA programs.) Studio 5 (Fall).

Visual Communication Design Independent Study will allow students to obtain instruction in specialized areas of interest to enhance their individual course of study.

Design and Visual Communications is available on-campus only.

To be considered for admission to the Visual Communication Design MFA program, candidates must fulfill the following requirements:.

Hold a baccalaureate degree (or US equivalent) from an accredited university or college.

Submit English language test scores (TOEFL, IELTS, PTE Academic), if required.

International applicants whose native language is not English must submit one of the following official English language test scores. Some international applicants may be considered for an English test requirement waiver.˅ More Details