Graphic Design Curriculum

The KCAI curriculum is a NASAD-approved, BFA program developed under the advisement and ongoing involvement of Joyce C. Hall Distinguished Professor of Design, Katherine McCoy.

Sophomore design fundamentals

Sophomore design fundamentals address iterative, exploratory design methodology and rigorous skills to prepare students for their KCAI study and eventual professional practice. Both hand and digital craft are emphasized, as well as a visual acumen in typography, image and form making, drawing and color. Screen and print based projects are both integrated into the sophomore visual communications studios.

Typography

Four sequential studios stress the crucial role of typography in graphic design. These courses address all aspects of typography, including letterform anatomy and design, typographic composition, legibility, hierarchy, expression, history and text/image relationships. The studios increase in complexity and detail, investigating both formal and theoretical aspects of typography.

Image Making

Students are introduced to methods for creating meaning and communication through the digital photographic image, and developing image creation skills tailored to graphic design practice. Narrative, documentation, temporal qualities and the cultural roles of photographic imagery are explored and analyzed.

Communications design theories

Theories including semiotics, rhetoric, narrative and communications models are integrated throughout courses beginning in the sophomore year. The junior level Visual Language course focuses on how meaning is made through projects that bridge theory and practice, and stress both generative and analytical methods.

Multimedia, sound, motion, interactivity, information architecture

The program weaves interactivity and information architecture throughout most studio courses. A focused upper-level course sequence provides an in-depth grounding in theory and skills, such as narrative theory, non-linear interactivity, mapping, etc. Students are encouraged to be open and flexible regarding specialization and to make appropriate tool choices for their assignments to prepare them for the media integration found in contemporary professional practice.

Design advocacy, social/cultural/political impact

Design’s persuasive power and its role as a social and cultural force is explored and analyzed at all levels through projects that integrate contextual and audience-based factors. Visual Advocacy is a required senior level course exploring ethics, responsibility, sustainability, and the designer’s relationship to corporate culture.