Every so often, I'm curious about the actual classes I took in University. Right now, I've been reflecting on how these courses shaped how I work and have influenced my career thus far. Each time, I have to go searching the Internet Archive to find the pages with the course descriptions of my studies (the Bachelor of Graphic Design has since evolved into Graphic & Experience Design, so it's a bit different these days, as it likely should be).
This isn't holistic—it's just focused on the courses explicitly part of my studies in Graphic Design.
I'm using the Wayback When Machine to get to the Course Catalog during my studies North Carolina State University.
For funsies: this is the website of the College of Design from 2007 (the year I applied, interviewed, and started).
Graphic Design Department
I studied and received a Bachelor of Graphic Design. This is the what the College of Design's description of the degree was, at that time:
Graphic Designers create books, websites, magazines, film titles, catalogs, typefaces, signage systems, television graphics, posters and postcards. From complex identity programs to single logos, graphic designers give a face and a “visual voice” to retail and cultural enterprises, to entertainment, manufacturing and service industries, governmental and political interests. Simply put, graphic designers give meaningful visual form to content in all media: from print to screen; business cards to billboards; computer interfaces to movie screens. But the most critical skill graphic designers offer is their unique ability to communicate specific messages through the artful manipulation of typography and images, systems and structures. Their work promotes, educates, directs, informs, exposes, clarifies, beautifies and delights.
The Graphic Design Department The Graphic Design department at the College of Design is nationally recognized for the quality of its program, the contributions of its faculty and the capabilities of its graduates. Students begin study in the discipline in the freshman year, and matriculate through a series of core, topic, and focus studios. The unique “in-residence” classroom structure grounds an open culture of exchange that fosters creative responses to a range of topical design issues.
The work of the faculty and students in the Graphic Design department has been featured nationally in journals such as Visible Language, Design Issues, AIGA Journal and Loop (American Institute of Graphic Arts), and Statements (American Center for Design), as well as in Emigré, Print, Metropolis, and I.D. magazines. Internationally their writing and design has been represented in publications from Switzerland (Novum Gebrauchgraphik) to England (Visual Communication and Eye Magazine) to Russia (KAK). Faculty is frequently invited to lecture and present work at professional and educational design conferences. Students in the Department consistently win national merit scholarships as well as recognition for their work from institutions such as the American Center for Design and AIGA.
The department, college and university extend numerous classroom and extra-curricular opportunities that help students become progressively responsible for their work, which culminates in coursework that anticipates professional practice. Graduates hold positions in design offices large and small, in-house creative offices in public institutions and private corporations within North Carolina and across the nation. Many teach graphic design in the United States and abroad.
Bachelor of Graphic Design
The Bachelor of Graphic Design program includes the study of visual, theoretical, historical, and technical aspects of the discipline. The curriculum provides comprehensive experiences in the analysis of communication problems, the development of creative solutions to those problems, and the implementation and evaluation of those solutions.
Required support courses in typography explore the role of words and language in graphic communication, while courses in imaging provide students with experiences in a range of photographic, videographic, and motion graphic media. Instruction in computer software programs is fully integrated in graphic design studios and support courses and is not taught as a separate activity. In their studios, graphic design majors prepare for careers in the field through the execution of demonstration projects of varying complexity and scale. In the last studio, graduating students prepare their portfolios for job searches and demonstrate their expertise in a senior project.
The Courses
- Design Fundamentals (GD102)
Introductory studio in fundamental two-dimensional and three-dimensional concepts of graphic and industrial design. Basic design principles and invention of visual and spatial form within contexts relevant to design of communication and products. - Graphic Design Theory and Practice (GD200)
An examination of theories and critical perspectives shaping graphic practice. The course includes a discussion of contemporary design strategy in business and the role of visual communication in the information age. - Graphic Design Studio I (GD201)
Principles and language of graphic design. Analysis, organization, invention of two-dimensional form for the purpose of communicating information, concepts, emotions. Varied means of graphic representation are explored. - Graphic Design studio II (GD202)
Methods and processes of graphic design problem solving. Student exercises define communication problems; evaluate analytical, synthetic, and intuitive approaches to problem solving; develop critical thinking, oral presentation, and writing skills. Emphasis on the appropriateness of form to a given context. - Graphic Design Studio III (GD301)
Students apply theoretical information related to semiotics and communication theory through demonstration projects. Projects center on tailoring communication to audiences and acknowledging the role of context in the interpretation of form. - Imaging for Graphic Design I (GD210)
Introduction to the technical and formal issues of photography and photomechanical processes as they relate to visual communication; terminology; photographic history within the context of graphic design. - Imaging for Graphic Design II (GD310)
Intermediate photography and introduction to digital imaging as they relate to visual communication design; simple serial imaging; using movement and point of view; discussion of examples from photography and graphic design history. - Imaging for Graphic Design III (GD410)
Advanced photography and digital imaging; introduction to multi-media and narrative as they relate to visual communication design; discussion of authorship and images in culture and the communication environment. - Typography I (GD217)
Typography as a medium of visual communication. Student exercises focus on type as image and the relationship between visual and verbal language; the expressive characteristics of letter forms and text explored. Terminology, typographic history, technical issues related to typography. - Typography II (GD317)
Exploration of design using text type and typographic technology. Student exercises explore congruency between visual and verbal hierarchies, expressive use of typographic form, format/informational organization problems, and technical details of typographic specification and computer layout. - Typography III (GD417)
Systematic approaches to structuring typographic form according to information hierarchies, user needs, and visual expression. Application to the organization of tables, charts, books, magazines, and corporate identities. - History of Graphic Design (GD342)
Events, ideas, movements, designs and individuals that have historical significance and influence on contemporary graphic design and the graphic design profession. Concentration on graphic design of the last 100 years. - Introduction to Animation (ADN319)
An intensive introduction to animation which integrates traditional hand generated animation, digital techniques and technology. Students will explore animation's fundamental principles of linear formats, sequenced movement and time-based imaging. - History of Art from the Renaissance Through the 20th Century (HA202)
Art from the Northern Renaissance in Europe through the 20th century in Europe and America: painting, sculpture and architecture recent mixed media techniques such as collage, and trottage.
Courses I maybe took?
- Type IV (GD517)
Advanced problems of typographic expression/communication in which typographic variables are used to alter, enhance, or reinforce verbal meaning. Historic precedent and experimentation with the conventions for typographic form are explored. The impact of the computer on changes in typographic aesthetics, including motion graphics, typeface design, and website design. - Imaging for Graphic Design IV (GD510)
Advanced problems in the visual design and structuring of information in interactive multimedia presentations. Topics include the design of interfaces, navigation, motion graphics, and websites as well as exploration of narrative and hypermedia approaches to the organization of content.