Design Courses

321: Images in Communication

Unique: 21940 / 21945 / 21950
Instructor: Michael Ray Charles / Vic Rodriguez Tang / Catalina Alzate

Studio course. Explores the selection and creation of images appropriate to specific communication goals and contexts, such as promotional images, infographics, logos, instructions, and/or narratives.

325: Typography I

Unique: 21960 / 21965 / 21970
Instructor: Tasheka Arceneaux-Sutton / TBA / Kelcey Gray

Studio course. Projects introduce the fundamental principles, conventions, and techniques of typography.

326: Objects and Spaces 

Unique: 21975 / 21980
Instructor: Brooke Davis / Kate Catterall

Studio course. Projects introduce rendering and prototyping techniques used for solving problems in three-dimensional media such as product design, packaging design, environmental graphics, and/or architectural/landscape design.

131: Portfolio/Performance Review

Unique: 22010 / 22015
Instructor: Cathryn Ploehn

Develop and review a portfolio of work, guided by feedback from the instructor, group critiques, and reviews with visiting critics.

334C: Interaction Design I 

Unique: 22020
Instructor: TBA

Explore theories, methods, and techniques for designing time-based and interactive experiences, including video, motion graphics, and web and mobile applications.

346: Project Studio

Unique: 22030
Instructor: Jon Freach

Studio course. Professional experience solving real-world problems, including commissioned projects, student-initiated projects, and/or pro bono projects.

347: Publication Studio

Unique: 22035
Instructor: Kevin Auer

Studio course. Advanced publishing projects in print and/or digital media.

350: Advanced Interaction

Unique: 22040
Instructor: Cathryn Ploehn

Studio course. Projects focusing on contemporary design practice, featuring approaches and subfields not represented elsewhere in the curriculum.

160I: Internship in Design -wb

Unique: 22045
Instructor: N/A

Participate in a professional design internship in a field of interest.

374: Capstone Design Project

Unique: 22050 / 22055 / 22060
Instructor: Vic Rodriguez Tang & Tasheka Arceneaux-Sutton / José Perez / Jon Freach

Studio course. Students define their own research problem and propose appropriate design solutions, guided by feedback from desk critiques with the instructor, group critiques, and reviews with a visiting critic.

376: Independent Study: Design

Unique: 22070

Student-defined projects completed under faculty supervision.

NEW! DES 130T: Retro Futures

Unique: 21984
Instructor: Monica Penick

Explore how designers from the past imagined living in the future. Course can count as design history credit.

NEW! DES 330T: Participatory Design

Unique: 21995
Instructor: Cataline Alzate-Mora

Development of design projects through situated and participatory processes. Focus on Social Justice. Studio class.

DES 350: Advanced Interaction

Unique: 22040
Instructor: Cathryn Ploehn

Projects focusing on contemporary design practice, featuring approaches and subfields not represented elsewhere in the curriculum.

DES 330T: Branding for Diversity -wb

Unique: 21985
Instructor: Cheryl Miller

Guided research, investigation and design creation/portfolio prep of color palettes, typography, iconography, culture, and design trends of North American brands in global regions.

DES 330T: Design Lab Print Studio

Unique: 21994
Instructor: Henry Smith

Print Studio is an exploration of printmaking basics across new and old technology, while encouraging students to push the boundaries of the concept of “print.”

NEW! DES 330T: Branding for Social Change

Unique: 21993
Instructor: Vic Rodriguez Tang

This course approaches logo design and branding through the lens of social change. In this class, we will look at working for a range of clients whose primary purpose is to publicly question, critique, and generate new ways of thinking about the most pressing issues of our day. Students will research contemporary social topics, define an area of opportunity, and design logos, brand guides, and other supporting design materials that respond ethically to these issues or challenges. Through research-driven projects, students will explore the possibilities and limitations of brand design in addressing complex political and sociocultural realities. Themes may include race, colonization, labor, surveillance and data-driven systems, incarceration, immigration, climate, conspiracy, health, equality, human rights, and other topics of interest to the class.

DES 330T: Ecocentric Design

Unique: 22000
Instructor: Jiabao Li

Decentering the human being in a world of ecological uncertainty and recalibration, this course explores eco-centric design and co-creation with non-human species such as animals, plants, robots.

DES 130T: Digital Fabrication

Unique: 21983
Instructor: Jose Perez

Designers will use CAD software and digital tools to abbreviate the process from concept to physical artifact. Students will utilize additive and subtractive manufacturing processes such as 3d printing, laser cutting, and CNC machining to increase the fidelity of their projects.

AET 330T: Mixed Reality for the Masses

Unique: 21690
Instructor: Jose Kozan
DES Seats: 6

Discover an introduction to augmented reality platforms and hands-on development of social media AR for Instagram and Snapchat, and AR experiences delivered via the web (WebAR). Explore creative AR interactions with 3D models, animated characters, sound assets, and visual effects, to promote learning opportunities and branded marketing.

AET 339: Themed Entertainment Design

Unique: 21690
Instructor: MK Haley
DES Seats: 10

Explore best practices behind the design of themed entertainment experiences through a variety of lectures, group projects, and individual study