Undergraduate Programs
Degree Programs
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Visual Communication
The B.F.A. in Visual Communication is a professional undergraduate degree for students desiring theoretical and studio experience with an emphasis in design. Students in the program develop critical thinking skills, refine their intellectual and creative processes, and learn contemporary aspects of design and design thinking.
Degree programs in the Department of Visual Communication prepare design leaders to proactively manage change and innovation processes toward improving the civic, cultural, and commercial experiences that people encounter in their daily lives. The programs focus on a collaborative design process for identifying root problems and facilitating meaningful solutions to complex issues. This approach is intended to harness the power of design to clarify, humanize, and energize the issues that are central to life in a pluralistic society.
As members of a professional art and design school on the IUPUI campus, Visual Communication majors prepare for a design career by integrating learning in visual studies with coursework in the liberal arts and sciences. The learning experience is structured to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a field that requires both highly specialized skills and the ability to make intellectual connections within a broad range of general knowledge. Successful students achieve all the learning outcomes that have been defined by the National Association of School of Art and Design and AIGA (the professional association for design) as essential competencies for design professionals. These include: the ability to solve communication problems, including the skills of problem identification, research and information gathering, analysis, generation of alternative solutions, prototyping and user testing, and evaluation of outcomes; the ability to describe and respond to the audiences and contexts which communication solutions must address, including recognition of the physical, cognitive, cultural, and social human factors that shape design decisions; the ability to create and develop visual form in response to communication problems, including an understanding of principles of visual organization/composition, information hierarchy, symbolic representation, typography, aesthetics, and the construction of meaningful messages; an understanding of tools and technology, including their roles in the creation, reproduction, and distribution of visual messages. Relevant tools and technologies include, but are not limited to, drawing, offset printing, photography, and time-based and interactive media (film, video, computer multimedia); the ability to perform basic business practices, including organizing design projects and working productively as a member of teams.
Students must pass Sophomore Advancement Review before being admitted into the major in Visual Communication.
Visual Communication Suggested Plan of Study
Sophomore Year
Fall
- HER-V 210 VC 1: Elements & Principles (3 cr.)
- HER-V 211 Type/Image 1 (3 cr.)
- HER-V 214 History of Design (3 cr.)
- Studio Elective (3 cr.)
- Humanities Elective (3 cr.)
Total: 15 credit hours
Spring
- HER-V 220 VC 2 (6 cr.)
- HER-V 221 Type 2/Image 2 (3 cr.)
- Studio Elective (3 cr.)
- Social Science (3 cr.)
Total: 15 credit hours
Junior Year
Fall
- HER-A 341 Production for Design (3 cr.)
- HER-V 310 VC 3: Identifying Problems (6 cr.)
- HER-V 311 Type 3/Image 3 (3 cr.)
- Life Science (3 cr.)
Total: 18 credit hours
Spring
- HER-V 320 VC 4: Facilitating Solutions (6 cr.)
- HER-V463 or V461 VC elective: VC Design Practicum or Internship (3 cr.)
- Studio elective (3 cr.)
- Humanities elective (3 cr.)
- Social/Behavioral Science elective (3 cr.)
Total: 18 credit hours
Senior Year
Fall
- HER-V 410 VC 5: Designing for Innovation (6 cr.)
- HER-V 401 or HER-V 421 VC studio elective in declared track (3 cr.)
- Studio elective (3 cr.)
- Life/Physical Science elective (3 cr.)
Total: 15 credit hours
Spring
- HER-V 420 VC 6: Capstone Portfolio (3 cr.)
- HER-V 402 or HER-V 422 VC studio elective in declared track (6 cr.)
- Academic elective (6 cr.)
Total: 15 credit hours
Last updated: April 2012