Graphic Design

Design doesn’t stand still, and neither will you. In this course, you’ll explore how ideas take shape across media, from still images to motion and beyond. You’ll apply design principles using professional vector, raster, and temporal design tools, discovering how innovation happens when technology meets creativity. You’ll leave ready to see connections, spot patterns, and turn imagination into impact.

Great designs often start with a single point and line. In this course, you’ll master the art of vector creation, building scalable graphics, icons, and illustrations that speak with clarity and precision. Using industry-standard tools, you’ll explore balance, rhythm, and proportion through shapes and curves that communicate ideas with purpose. You’ll gain not just technical fluency, but the creative confidence to turn simple paths into powerful visuals.

Pixels tell stories, if you know how to guide them. In this course, you’ll learn the art and craft of digital imaging: from photo editing and compositing to visual storytelling and texture creation. You’ll use professional raster design software to explore contrast, depth, and realism while developing and/or refining your own creative process. By the end, you’ll see every pixel as a tool for emotion, clarity, and visual impact.

Curiosity is a designer’s best tool… and this course introduces students to fresh, evolving, and sometimes unexpected corners of the design world. Each offering opens a door to something new: emerging tools, creative techniques, or cultural shifts shaping visual communication. If you're eager to explore beyond the basics, step in and see where your ideas can go. With each offering a unique title and description will be provided that will be certain to spark your curiosity.

This course is repeatable for credit.

Every breakthrough starts with a spark. In this course, you’ll learn to think like a designer… empathizing, ideating, and innovating your way through creative challenges. You’ll explore brainstorming strategies, UX principles, and design thinking frameworks that help transform problems into possibilities. You’ll leave knowing how to generate ideas with purpose, confidence, and impact.

Type isn’t just letters — it’s voice, tone, and rhythm. In this course, you’ll explore how typography shapes meaning and emotion through form, spacing, and composition. You’ll experiment with type design and layout, crafting letterforms that both complement and command attention. By learning to design with type and through type, you’ll discover how to make words not just readable, but unforgettable.

Design meets communication in this course on digital and print publishing. You’ll bring together words, images, and layout to craft materials that inform, inspire, and persuade. Using industry-standard desktop publishing software, you’ll explore hierarchy, readability, and flow, learning to balance structure and creativity. You’ll walk away with the skills to design publications that not only look good, but move people to action.

Design comes alive when it moves. In this course, you’ll blend graphics, typography, and video to tell stories that unfold across time. Using industry-standard tools, you’ll explore animation principles, pacing, and rhythm… transforming static visuals into dynamic experiences. You’ll leave understanding not just how to make things move, but how to move people through motion.

Step into the third dimension of design. You’ll build skills in 3D modeling, texturing, and lighting… the same foundations that power animation, product design, and prototyping. You’ll leave ready to think and create in all dimensions.

Creativity doesn’t wait for a syllabus. This flexible course opens the door to new, emerging, and experimental topics in design. Each offering is unique… a chance to dive into something fresh, relevant, and real-time with industry and cultural trends. If it sparks your curiosity, take the leap; it might just reshape the way you create. Each special topics course will be provided with a unique title and description. 

This course is repeatable for credit.

A great brand isn’t just seen, it’s felt. In this course, you’ll dive into the strategy behind visual identity, blending creativity with psychology and design thinking. You’ll create logos, style guides, and brand systems that communicate personality and purpose. Through iterative design and user empathy, you’ll learn how to build brands that inspire trust, connection, and impact.

Every frame holds possibility, and every movement tells a story. In this course, you’ll explore the principles of 2D animation… timing, motion, and character design… bringing concepts to life with professional tools. By the end, you’ll see movement not just as motion, but as a medium that can communicate, captivate, and make ideas truly come alive.

The real world is your next classroom. Through this professional internship, you’ll apply your design knowledge in real contexts… collaborating, problem-solving, and growing as a creative professional. You’ll experience the rhythm of the design industry firsthand, developing both technical skills and the power-skills that fuel long-term success. You’ll walk away with confidence, connections, and clarity about your path forward.


Can take 1-6 credit hours as needed

This is where your skills are tested, shaped, and strengthened. In The Creative Forge, you’ll take everything you’ve learned about design and put it into motion; working with real clients, solving complex problems, and creating work that matters. You’ll lead teams, navigate feedback, and adapt to the unpredictable flow of real-world projects. It’s not about perfection; it’s about transformation. By the end, you’ll leave with more than a portfolio, you’ll leave with proof of what you can create when the pressure’s on and your creativity ignites.

This is where everything comes together. In your final design experience, you’ll curate your portfolio, refine your voice, and complete a capstone project that defines your creative identity. You’ll apply design thinking, self-direction, and professional strategy to present yourself as a designer ready to make an impact. You won’t just finish a degree,  you’ll launch a career.

At this level, design becomes exploration with intention. This course pushes students into the frontier of advanced, innovative, and industry-driven topics that challenge how design works… and how designers lead. Each version of the course taps into cutting-edge practice, critical discourse, or emerging technologies that define the future of the field. If you’re ready to stretch your expertise and experiment at a professional level, this is your space. Each offering will include a unique title and description. 

This course is repeatable for credit.