Visual Communication Design
The BFA in Visual Communication Design is a professional undergraduate degree for students to gain theoretical and applied experience that will prepare them for numerous careers within the design discipline.
Visual Communication Design majors prepare for their career by integrating design studies with coursework in the liberal arts and sciences on the IUPUI campus.
Successful students achieve all the learning outcomes defined by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (Herron's accrediting body) and AIGA (the professional association for design) as essential competencies for design professionals.
Degree requirements
General Education30 credits corresponding to IUPUI's Statewide Transferrable General Education Core.
Foundation Studies20 credits
Art History, Theory, and Criticism12 credits distributed as follows:
- HER-H101 History of Art I (3 cr.) (may be used to fill Arts/Humanities General Education requirement)
- HER-H102 History of Art 2 (3 cr.) (may be used to fill Arts/Humanities General Education requirement)
- HER-V214 History of Visual Communication (3 cr.)
- HER-V201 Making Meaning (3cr.)
In their senior year students must select from two areas of focus, Digital Experience Design or Service Experience Design. In the Fall semester of their senior year, all majors complete Designing for People Centered Experiences, an 8-week course. On successful completion of this 400-level course, students select to continue in either Digital Experience Design or Service Experience Design for the second 8 weeks of the Fall semester. In the following Spring semester students continue in their chosen focus and complete a self-directed capstone project.
Students must complete 9 credits of 400-level coursework in their area of focus with all prerequisites and co-requistites for those courses.
36 credits distributed as follows:
HER-V 210 VC 1: Elements & Principles (4 cr.)
HER-V220 VC 2: Design Methodology (6 cr.)
HER-V211 Typography (3 cr.)
HER-V 301 Print Design Outcomes (1.5 cr. 8W)
HER-V 302 Digital Design Outcomes (1.5 cr. 8W)
HER-V310 VC 3: Identifying Problems (5 cr.)
HER-V311 Type & Image (3 cr.)
HER-V320 VC 4: Facilitating Solutions (6 cr.)
HER-V453 Internship (3 cr.)
HER-V410 VC 5: Design Methods for Innovation (3 cr.)
HER-V400 Designing for People Centered Experiences (3 cr.) 8W 1
HER-V420 VC 6 Portfolio (3 cr.)
HER-V421 Service Experience Design I (3cr.) 8W2 or HER-V403 Digital Experience Design I (3 cr.) 8W 2
HER-V422 Service Experience Design II (6 cr.) or HER-V404 Digital Experience Design II (6 cr.)
18 credits
Academic elective (3 cr.)Total: 125 credits
Recommended Associated Subjects for Academic Electives:- Anthropology and cultural studies
- Business
- Communication and rhetoric
- Engineering
- History
- Psychology and human factors
Recommended Associated Subjects for Studio Electives:
- Book Arts
- Drawing
- Emerging Technologies
- Illustration
- Photography
- Printmaking
- Time-based media / Video
Last updated: March 2016
