Communications
Our Bachelor of Design in Communications program prepares students to become future leaders in diverse fields.
This program is structured to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of effective communication across diverse media. As you explore design's social, cultural, environmental, and ethical dimensions, you’ll be challenged to question norms, confront the issues posed by a proliferation of information, combat disinformation, and address complex social issues through your design work.
We integrate a multitude of technologies into communication design practices to ensure you have access to relevant tools, software, and resources to explore print and digital media—creating dynamic and responsive systems. Working alongside faculty and peers, you’ll learn to cultivate a proactive mindset, refine your skill sets, and gain a deep understanding of the contexts in which your design work is situated.
This interdisciplinary approach allows you to explore connections between Design and other fields, such as human-computer interaction, psychology, business, and the arts—encouraging you to think beyond traditional design boundaries. You are encouraged to explore these interconnections, developing a comprehensive understanding of how your ideas can both influence and be influenced by these larger contexts.
Our goal is to graduate communications designers who are thinkers who can design, who can creatively solve problems, and who have the aesthetic sense to visualize their ideas and the technical skill to execute them.
Design Hero Posters
In Communications Studio II, students choose their “Design Hero” and gather, curate and write their own content. Their research moves through five deliverables: An informational poster, a 16-page booklet, a mobile experience prototype, an animated video and a multi-page responsive website.
These are posters for Alvin Lustig, Dunne & Raby, and Muriel Cooper.
By Proud Tarant, Shannon Wei Lee, and Sarah Xi
In Communications Studio II, students choose their “Design Hero” and gather, curate and write their own content. Their research moves through five deliverables: An informational poster, a 16-page booklet, a mobile experience prototype, an animated video and a multi-page responsive website.
These are posters for Alvin Lustig, Dunne & Raby, and Muriel Cooper.
By Proud Tarant, Shannon Wei Lee, and Sarah Xi
"Design Hero" Booklet
Booklet spreads for Iris Van Herpen, a Dutch fashion designer known for fusing technology with traditional haute couture craftsmanship.
By Dorothy Li
Booklet spreads for Iris Van Herpen, a Dutch fashion designer known for fusing technology with traditional haute couture craftsmanship.
By Dorothy Li
One Small Change
Moving Pictures provides students with a practical, technical and theoretical foundation in video work. Students leaving this class have gained knowledge of developing a moving picture from start to finish. students storyboard/scamp, plan/scout, production, and post-production. Whether shooting tradition film, working in Cinema 4d or hand animating students develop their own visual esthetics in the creation of 4 short moving pictures.
“Metaphoric Narrative”: For this assignment students are asked to make a film that functions both literally and metaphorically to tell a layered story.
By Jacky Lococo (BDes '24)
Moving Pictures provides students with a practical, technical and theoretical foundation in video work. Students leaving this class have gained knowledge of developing a moving picture from start to finish. students storyboard/scamp, plan/scout, production, and post-production. Whether shooting tradition film, working in Cinema 4d or hand animating students develop their own visual esthetics in the creation of 4 short moving pictures.
“Metaphoric Narrative”: For this assignment students are asked to make a film that functions both literally and metaphorically to tell a layered story.
By Jacky Lococo (BDes '24)
“Design Hero” Mobile Experience & Billboard Kiosk Prototypes
Mobile experience and billboard kiosk prototypes for Karim Rashid, Mitsuo Katsui, Shigeru Miyamoto, Guang Yu, April Greiman, Andre & Coqueline Courreges, and Dunne & Raby.
By Phoebe Lee, Yuer Zhu, Dion Lewis, Caleb Sun, Sophia Hao, Amber Li, Shannon Wei Lee
Mobile experience and billboard kiosk prototypes for Karim Rashid, Mitsuo Katsui, Shigeru Miyamoto, Guang Yu, April Greiman, Andre & Coqueline Courreges, and Dunne & Raby.
By Phoebe Lee, Yuer Zhu, Dion Lewis, Caleb Sun, Sophia Hao, Amber Li, Shannon Wei Lee
An interactive narrative by Yoshi Torralva.
House of Cards
Using the blank House of Cards templates, students are asked to weave a compelling visual narrative. The subject matter can range from the future of design to the dynamic landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and explore its evolving role in arts, culture, and daily existence. House of Cards is akin to a book with front and back covers, serves as a vessel for advocating, substantiating, and challenging the implications of our visual world.
By Caleb Sun (BDes '25)
Using the blank House of Cards templates, students are asked to weave a compelling visual narrative. The subject matter can range from the future of design to the dynamic landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and explore its evolving role in arts, culture, and daily existence. House of Cards is akin to a book with front and back covers, serves as a vessel for advocating, substantiating, and challenging the implications of our visual world.
By Caleb Sun (BDes '25)
The Illustrated Man
This special edition pairs Ray Bradbury’s 1951 book with imaginative illustrations that capture the essence of each narrative, bringing dimension to the classic science-fiction novel. The book features eighteen tipped-in ink block illustrations and a dust jacket visualizing elements of the collective stories. Also included are a poster-scale reproduction of a letterpress-printed ink block, original ink-block prints, a collection of woodblock stamps representing the stories and other commemorative artifacts.
By Caitlyn Baensch (BDes '23)
This special edition pairs Ray Bradbury’s 1951 book with imaginative illustrations that capture the essence of each narrative, bringing dimension to the classic science-fiction novel. The book features eighteen tipped-in ink block illustrations and a dust jacket visualizing elements of the collective stories. Also included are a poster-scale reproduction of a letterpress-printed ink block, original ink-block prints, a collection of woodblock stamps representing the stories and other commemorative artifacts.
By Caitlyn Baensch (BDes '23)
“Design Hero” Animated Video - Susan Kare
A video for Susan Kare, who designed interface elements and typefaces for the first Apple Macintosh personal computer.
By Hayoon Choi
A video for Susan Kare, who designed interface elements and typefaces for the first Apple Macintosh personal computer.
By Hayoon Choi
Lead Image
Digital Imaging is at its core a illustration class. Regardless if students hand draw or use photographs it is about storytelling and narrative construction. The class Is also about helping students define their own aesthetics and voice as a designer.
“Lead Image”
For this assignment students were given a news/magazine article and asked to create a three-image illustration. One image will function as the cover or lead image and the others will pull out important details and work to support the lead image. You will asked to understand and audience, occasion and purpose.
By Susan Ni
Digital Imaging is at its core a illustration class. Regardless if students hand draw or use photographs it is about storytelling and narrative construction. The class Is also about helping students define their own aesthetics and voice as a designer.
“Lead Image”
For this assignment students were given a news/magazine article and asked to create a three-image illustration. One image will function as the cover or lead image and the others will pull out important details and work to support the lead image. You will asked to understand and audience, occasion and purpose.
By Susan Ni
Professional Associations
- American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) (National and local chapters)
- Interaction Design Association (IxDA)
- Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD)
- Society of Illustrators
- Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI)
Alumni
Our students find jobs in very diverse companies: Adobe, Apple, Google, IBM, Microsoft, New York Times, Washington Post, , Asana, Landesberg Design, EA Games, and more. Others continue their education and pursue advanced graduate degrees.