3000 Level Visual Communication Course Descriptions

VISCOM 3001
Intermediate Graphic Design
Experiments in visual communication challenge the student to further refine visual thinking and integrate basic studies through applied problems. The importance of flexibility of approach is stressed at this level. Through experimentation, the problem is defined and organized; imagery and message are manipulated; awareness of potential solutions is increased. A student’s portfolio must be pre-approved by the Visual Communication department prior to enrollment in this course. Prerequisite: VISCOM 2001 and VISCOM 2014.

VISCOM 3003
Package Design
Students produce simple and complex three-dimensional studies. Principles of abstraction combined with packaging construction techniques serve as the basis for developing solutions. A variety of assignments are given that explore the integration of typography, image, and form. Prerequisite: VISCOM 2001 and VISCOM 2014.

VISCOM 3005
Digital Image and Type Design
Juniors, seniors, and graduate students with at least one year of exposure to the Macintosh are aided in developing new possibilities in creating and manipulating image and type. Adobe Photoshop and a color scanner are used to reinterpret images and create new context and meaning. Advanced image editing features of Photoshop and technical advantages and limitations of the Macintosh for offset printing are demonstrated. Fontstudio is used as a digital tool for developing custom typography from new fonts to altering existing typefaces. Design of type ranges from those that are apparently hand-drawn, to traditional forms, to those that are visibly electronically generated. Prerequisite: VISCOM 2014.

VISCOM 3008
Digital Interaction Design
This course is an introduction to the realm of interaction design. The fundamentals of programming are covered, exploring the syntactical and mathematical rigors of the process while pursuing the expressive potential of self-generated code. Additionally, the class will address the emerging possibilities of dynamic environments. How are composition and structure reinterpreted when all elements of a project can be manipulated in real-time? How are traditional designer-determined hierarchies disrupted by user input and computer-triggered random events? How is the reading of information altered when touch, sight, and sound are mixed together? How can designers create responsive, innovative, and satisfying 4-D experiences? Prerequisite: VISCOM 2503

VISCOM 3012
Scientific Illustration
This course introduces the use of visual representation for presenting scientific research findings. Focus is placed on translating the three-dimensional aspects of natural forms into illustrations, and on using drawing techniques to communicate scientific specifications.

VISCOM 3013
Natural History Illustration
This course deals with painting plants, birds, and various types of animals in a representational manner. Botanical structure and basic anatomy are covered, as well as specific morphological information on plant textures, feathers, and fur. Watercolor and gouache are used.

VISCOM 3020
Design Issues
A topical review of issues affecting the contemporary design field. This course includes reading, lectures, and discussions of design developments within their social context.

VISCOM 3025
Modern to Experimental Typography
This intermediate-level typography class begins by examining information theory in relation to the use of type and the organization of language in print. The course then progresses through a study of experimental typography in contemporary design movements. Prerequisite: VISCOM 2014.

VISCOM 3027
Educational CD-ROM Design
Based on the use of multimedia to design educational materials, this class explores all aspects of prototype development. Students analyze existing CD-ROMs, study and critique different design methodologies, research a topic, develop a planning diagram, and create a visual segment. The course utilizes Director, but previous knowledge of the program is not required.

VISCOM 3053
Word and Image in Motion
The relationship between graphic design and time-based mediums such as film and personal and commercial video are examined. Students choose from existing films, text sources, and performance work to create opening titles and credit sequences. Two-dimensional storyboards are developed and critiqued, then translated into moving type and image. The coursework utilizes Director or other appropriate computer programs; previous knowledge of these programs is not required. Joint projects with students from other departments (who are working in film, video, or performance) are encouraged for practical experience in group work process. Prerequisite: VISCOM 2014.

VISCOM 3055
Photoshop: Image Manipulation
An intermediate level course which applies Adobe Photoshop and color scanning devices to the creation of images for design. Students learn advanced image editing features as well as the technical advantages and limitations of the Macintosh environment within offset printing. Pre-press preparation of information is covered as well as the interface of Photoshop with other programs. Prerequisite: VISCOM 2003 or 2203.

VISCOM 3090
Women and Design
This course examines the impact of feminine gender issues on graphics, marketing, advertising, interior design, and product design, using historical and contemporary U.S. examples. Along with these gender issues, students will explore the influence of design on American society and culture. Case studies include the design of the telephone (as discussed in design curator Ellen Lupton’s Mechanical Brides) and marketing for girls (as in play at American Girl Place). We also explore the contemporary impact of the practices of women designers such as Lorraine Wild, Marlene McCarty, and Sheila Levrant de Bretteville. Course readings include texts by architectural historian Dolores Hayden, design historian Penny Sparke, historian Victoria de Grazia, and others. Students will investigate the role of the emotional, the “rational,” the factual, and the fictive when expressing social issues. Through combining image and text students experiment with narratives based on traditional linear structure, non-traditional linear structures, as well as experimental and non-linear structures. The course will interweave reading and discussion with studio practice. Studio sessions will focus on how designers develop a deep understanding of communicating to an audience/viewer. Using the context of gender as a model, students will explore how individual concerns, when based in gender, race, sexual orientation, class, or other social issues, can be combined with knowledge of visual communication strategies to create effective personal expression in design. No previous studio experience is required. Prerequisite: ARTHI 1001 and ARTHI 1002.

VISCOM 3225
The Visual Narrative:
Letterpress Bookworks
Students in this course will design and produce visual communication via the letterpress method, with emphasis upon the integration of materials, structure, and content within visual/verbal formats such as single sheets, traditional books, artist’s books, and 3-D sculptural multiples. Instruction encourages an interdisciplinary approach with a thrust toward expanding the media’s boundaries. Lectures and video documentaries provide a historical and cultural context for type design and the printing revolution. Field trips provide exposure to the expanding applicability of letterpress in contemporary design. This course may be repeated for credit, to allow intermediate and advanced undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to broaden and refine their skills through technical and theoretical problem-solving that focuses on the creation of meaning through independent, self-structured projects. Prerequisite: VISCOM 2001 and VISCOM 2014.

VISCOM 3230
Truth, Perception, and Story-Telling
A multi-level class using multiple-page forms (such as the book) as well as paper architecture such as movable paper structures to explore notions of truth in expression. How can a fictional approach help us express emotional “truths?” How can multiple and contradictory views of a situation reveal “truth?” How can perception or beliefs be called into question through story construction? Students will explore issues/events of personal interest and then construct their own visual/verbal stories. Explorations involving multiple viewpoints, linear and non-linear narratives, and a variety of structural techniques will be incorporated in the class.

VISCOM 3250
Typography Design for Artists
This course will explore the technological application of texts within the realm of the visual arts. Studio projects and discussion of existing commercial and fine arts image-texts will expose students to relations acroos word and picture fields, and demonstrate ways in which texts are elicited or repressed by visual representation. Emphasis will be on three particular aspects of the textual component: the functional aspect (what is the function of a text in or on a picture/object/ environment), the formal aspect (what meanings derive from specific typographic letterforms and compositions), and the technological aspect (what resources are available for generating texts and how the chosen inscription method affects meaning). This studio course will be of interest to students in painting, printmaking, art and technology, creative writing, and others interested in tapping the meaning-conferring potential of typography and image-text composition. Students are expected to have basic Macintosh computer skills.

VISCOM 3500
Communication Via Page and Screen
This course examines the informational structures of print and interactive media. How do the possibilities for narrative structure in print affect the design? How do the evolving possibilities of web, CD-ROM, and 4-D sequencing affect information design? Students design for both print and screen media. This class prepares students for advanced design courses focused on either 2-D or 4-D. Prerequisite: VISCOM 3001 and VISCOM 3025.

VISCOM 3550
Communication Explorations: 2D / 3D / 4D
To provide an overview of the full spectrum of visual communication design and the range of opportunities for designers, this team-taught studio course will explore forms and content structures in 2D, 3D, and 4D media, ranging from the tactile (print) to the experiential (environments) to the virtual (cyberspace). Students will consider alternate informational, narrative, free associative, or interpretive methodologies, to develop exploratory design projects that will foster transdisciplinary design capabilities. This course prepares students for advanced studios in the physical realm (communication via object and space) and the synthetic realm (communication via page and screen). Prerequisite: VISCOM 3001.

VISCOM 3600
Communication Via Object and Space
This course is an introduction to the realm of three-dimensional graphic design. At this interdisciplinary crossroads, students are introduced to spatial design aesthetics and methodologies, three-dimensional form development, planning and programming strategies, and particular design factors (audience, behavior, orientation, viewing, movement, ergonomics, and urban sociologies) that are unique to the design of experiential communications. Students focus upon exploratory projects that examine the authenticity of content related to the urban context to form a conceptual basis for subsequent courses. Prerequisite: VISCOM 3001 and VISCOM 3025.