Courses

Visual Communication

Elective Courses in Visual Communication
  • HER-A 261 Introduction to Computer Imagery I (3 cr.) P: Foundation Program. An introductory course providing hands-on learning experiences in using the Macintosh computer and Adobe Photoshop, a pixel-based paint and image-editing software package, to create, scan, and manipulate images. A studio elective open to all Herron degree-seeking students with little or no computer experience who have completed the foundation year.
  • HER-A  453 Professional Practice Internship (3 cr.) P: A301, A331 OR V310, V312 and A341.  3.0 GPA, and consent of instructor. Program offers students the opportunity to learn by working with professionals in a design studio or corporate design firm. Students must apply to the IUPUI Professional Practice Program and are required to interview by portfolio review.
  • HER-A  461 Professional Practice Studio (3 cr.) P: A301, A331 OR V310, V312 and A341.  3.0 GPA, and consent of instructor. Structured like a working design studio. Students are given an opportunity to design projects for clients of the Herron Design Center. Projects span all media from print to interactive multimedia and Web design. Managing time schedules, budget considerations, client/designer relationships, and general work ethics are covered.
Graduate Courses in Visual Communication
  • HER-A  453 Professional Practice Internship (3 cr.) P: A301, A331 OR V310, V312 and A341.  3.0 GPA, and consent of instructor. Program offers students the opportunity to learn by working with professionals in a design studio or corporate design firm. Students must apply to the IUPUI Professional Practice Program and are required to interview by portfolio review.
  • HER-A  461 Professional Practice Studio (3 cr.) P: A301, A331 OR V310, V312 and A341.  3.0 GPA, and consent of instructor. Structured like a working design studio. Students are given an opportunity to design projects for clients of the Herron Design Center. Projects span all media from print to interactive multimedia and Web design. Managing time schedules, budget considerations, client/designer relationships, and general work ethics are covered.
  • HER-V 501 Introduction to Design Thinking (1.5 cr.)
  • HER-V 502 Introduction to Human Factors in Design (1.5 cr.)
  • HER-V 510 Collaborative Action Research in Design I (3 cr.)
  • HER-V 511 People-Centered Design Research (1.5 cr.)
  • HER-V 520 Collaborative Action Research in Design II (3 cr.)
  • HER-V 521 Methods for Design Analysis (1.5 cr.)
Required Courses for Visual Communication Majors
  • HER-A  341 Production for Design I (3 cr.) P: V220, V221, V222 Students learn to prepare graphic design work for commercial printing. Includes field trips, lectures, and discussions on various printing processes, ink and paper selection, proofing methods, and binding. In a final group project, students prepare artwork digitally to be printed on a four-color offset press.
  • HER-V 210 VC 1: Elements (3 cr.) P: Foundation Program. C: V211, V212. Studio course. Introductory skills development for visual communication majors. Exploring varied means of graphic representation utilizing formal elements and principles of visual communication design. Identifying, contrasting, and analyzing techniques for the invention of two-dimensional form with the purpose of communicating information, concepts, and emotions.
  • HER-V 211 Typography 1: Elements (3 cr.) P: Foundation Program. C: V210, V212. Studio course. Introductory skills development for visual communication majors. Typography as a medium of visual communication. Focusing on the formal properties of letterforms within the roman alphabet and the relationship between visual and verbal forms of language. Terminology, typographic history, and technical issues.
  • HER-V 212 Image 1: Elements (3 cr.) P: Foundation Program. C: V210, V211. Studio course. Introductory skill development for visual communication majors. Imagery as strategy for visual communication and symbolic representation. Focusing on the production and critical examination of visual forms and formats as indexes of representation. Basic visual semiotics. Using a learner-centered method to examine and find meaning in visual representations.
  • HER-V 214 A History of Visual Communication Design: 1800 to Present (3 cr.) P: ENG W131 or equivalent. Examining the cultural, social, political, economic comma and technological forces that shape visual communication design solutions. Focusing on the audiences and contexts to which designers must respond. A Western European and American perspective on the period from 1880 to the present.
  • HER-V 220 VC 2: Design Methodology (3 cr.) P: V210, V211, V212 and V214 C: V221 and V222. Studio course. Application and integration of knowledge and skills for visual communication majors. Defining communication problems; evaluating analytical, synthetic, intuitive approaches to problem solving; creating visual concepts to represent complex messages; and developing critical thinking. Integrating professional service for civic communication with reflection on personal values.
  • HER-V 221 Typography 2: Making Messages (3 cr.) P: V211. Studio course. Intermediate skills development for visual communication majors. Exploring communication potentials using text type and typographic technology. Focusing on congruency between visual and verbal hierarchies, formats for informational organizational problems, and technical details of typographic specifications and layout.
  • HER-V 222 Image 2: Narratives (3 cr.) P: V212 C: V220 and V221. Studio course. Intermediate skills for visual communication majors. Imagery as a strategy for visual communication and symbolic representation. Focusing on the production and critical examination of visual narratives within specific cultural contexts. Examining the roles of message makers, media, audiences, and contexts in the production and interpretation of meaning.
  • HER-V 310 Identifying Problems (3 cr.) P: V220, V221, V222. C: V311, V312. Studio course. Application and integration of knowledge and skills for visual communication majors. Methods of managing complex communication design needs of institutions. Directing inquiries in unstructured situations with undefined problems. Managing expressions and impressions. Integrating professional service for civic communication with reflection on personal values.
  • HER-V 311 Typography 3: Systems (3 cr.) P: V221 Studio course. Advanced skills development and applied research for visual communication majors. Structuring systems of typographic form according to information hierarchies, user needs, and multiple modalities of visual representation. Applications to the organization of tables, charts, displays, and publications.
  • HER-V 312 Image 3: Systems (3 cr.) P: V222. Studio course. Advanced skills development for visual communication majors. Focusing on production and critical examination of image making as strategy for persuasion and power within dominant and subcultural discourses. Examining the roles of message makers, media, audiences, and contexts in the manipulation and reinterpretation of meaning.
  • HER-V 320 VC 4: Facilitating Solutions (6 cr.) P: V310. Studio course. Application and integration of knowledge and skills for visual communication majors. Methods to facilitate solutions to unframed community issues. Exploring social roles of designers as researchers, reporters, and editors in collaborative teams. Integrating professional service for civic communication with reflection on personal values.
  • HER-V 401 Exhibition Planning and Design I (3 cr.) V401 prepares students to synthesize existing design practice and apply it to exhibition planning and design (EPD). This process is explored through integrated theory and practice. Students learn research methods, exhibit development, design process, and other skills through hands-on exercises. Students create design documents and contribute to the EPD process.
  • HER-V 402 Exhibition Planning and Design II (6 cr.) V402 builds on the basic skills and application learned in EDP I, with an emphasis on refining and developing greater interpretive capacity. Capacity is developed through exploration of relationships of visual and three-dimensional form, light, and materials. Students contextualize meaning by designing and planning relevant exhibit experiences through applied community-based projects.
  • HER-V 410 VC 5: Designing for Innovation (6 cr.) P: V320 or permission of instructor. Studio course with cross-disciplinary team collaboration. Application, integration, and synthesis of knowledge and skills for visual communication majors and subject matter experts. Advanced methods for designing for innovation. Discovering and shaping opportunities for socially relevant innovations. Integrating professional service for civic communication with reflection on personal values.
  • HER-V 420 VC 6: Capstone Portfolio (3 cr.) P: V410. Capstone studio course. Application, integration, synthesis, and evaluation of knowledge and skills for visual communication majors. Applying tools for managing complexity to develop professional career plans. Reflecting on personal, academic, preprofessional experiences. Analyzing and evaluating transferable skills. Developing portfolios that demonstrate depth, breadth, adaptiveness of knowledge, and critical thinking.
  • HER-V 421 Designing People-Centered Services I (3 cr.) An introduction to Service Design, exploring diverse concepts, theories and cases in service design, students will understand the difference between designing objects and designing experiences. In addition to a general understanding of service design, the course includes individual/group projects, which students identify opportunities to enhance human experience in various contexts.
  • HER-V 422 Designing People-Centered Services II (6 cr.) Built on the prerequisite course (HER-V 421), this course focuses on developing service offerings and customer experiences based on a systems-aware, holistic, and people-centered relationship model. Key concepts including: methods and process in co-designing, experience prototyping, design synthesis, optimization, and evaluations.