What courses do Graphic Design require? Find out here!

Author: Tasnuva Elahi | George Mason University student | Art & Visual Technology, B.A.



Hey guys. Welcome back once again to my blogs. This week I will list and talk about the courses you need to successfully finish and obtain a degree in Graphic Design. It is very important that students sign up for the right classes and work closely with their school advisers not just for Graphic Design but all other majors also. I will begin by writing about the courses I have taken over the years and will be taking in the next couple of years.

First of all, if you are planning on transferring to a four year university after getting an Associates from a community college, please make sure you know where to locate the transfer guide online. It is extremely important that you know what courses you should take while you are in two year college, because one wrong course can make you face a lot of hassles down the line. 

TRANSFER GUIDE REMINDER:

I was one of those students who did not know where to begin or what major I should concentrate in. Once I decided I will be transferring to another university, I looked up the transfer guide and started taking courses according the guide. It is usually found on the website of the university of your choice. 

COURSES that are MUST:

Before you even get to learn about design aspects, you need to learn about the basics which is areas like color, illustration, and image manipulation--then develop your skills through concept development and implementation courses. 

• Drawing 1 - (Focuses on basics - lines, colors, drawing basic shapes, colored pencils)
• Drawing 2 - (More advanced - Drawing nude models, still life, self-portraits, pastels)
• Fundamental of Designs - (Sculptures using chicken wire other hard wares, only black and white; no color)
• Introduction to Graphic Skills - (You work with MAC computers, introduces you to Adobe Creative Suit software, stamp projects - on computer, no hands on work except for drawings/thumbnails which you then transfer it to digital)
• Photography/Digital Photography - (Black and white photography, how to develop photos in a red room, projects dealing with nature, self, model photography)
• Typography 1 - (Teaches you about typefaces, how to create typefaces, edit/design articles on In-Design, teaches you about all the basics that I discussed in my previous blog - Click Here)
• Typography 2 - (More advanced - teaches you how to create a book/children's book, self illustration, magazine covers, spreads and introduces you to printmaking, publishing)

Yes, looks like a lot for just basics, right? Once you transfer and select your concentration in Graphic Design, you will go more into depth. You’ll focus on Graphic Design, following a more directed course of study. Choose the Graphic Design concentration and you’ll take a more traditional approach, studying product packaging, posters, art direction, and publication design. Graphic Design concentration focuses on interactive design and development, working across media platforms from mobile devices to desktop computers.

• Advertising concepts
• Form and space, including advanced layout design
• Package design
• Business of graphic design
• Publication design
• Art direction
• Editorial design
• Corporate design/branding

TECHNOLOGIES/TOOLS 

Some of these courses will also introduce you to these software; Adobe Master Collection, including, After Effects, Bridge, Dreamweaver, Flash Professional, Illustrator, In-Design, Photoshop, Premier and hardware including; Apple workstations DSLR cameras Large-format printers HD video cameras.

So, that's about it! I hope I helped those of who are interested to know about the courses in Graphic Design. The sources that I used are linked down below as always. Also, every university catalogs are different, so make sure to talk to an adviser when signing up for classes.  A lot of these are very time consuming as I always say but also, very fun as well. If you are interested, I have a very fun short clip that talks about what Graphic Design really is and what do graphic designers do basically. I guarantee you will like it. Click Here to watch the video.

NEXT BLOG:

Next week, I will write about how to build a portfolio; what should you include in it, how and where to add work from so please stay tuned! :)


SOURCES:
Art Institutes | Areas of Study
George Mason University | Programs of Study

Typography 101

Author: Tasnuva Elahi | George Mason University student | Art & Visual Technology, B.A.

Welcome back my wonderful readers. Today I will be blogging about typography. In order to be a successful graphic designer, you need to know what typography is, the uses of it and what tools/software you need to be expert at. So lets begin.

WHAT IS TYPOGRAPHY?

Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces/fonts, point size, line length, leading/spacing, adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters and adjusting spaces between each lines of the text. Before we get more deeper into typography, lets learn about the vocabulary first. 

BASIC VOCABULARY

You may not realize it, but you play with typography almost everyday if you are a student. Even now, lets say you are done writing your blog, next thing you do is to find a professional looking typeface (Font), color, and try to place photos that aligns with your text so that it looks visually attractive. Then you change the size of the font (Point size). You may also have headings and sub headings, which you treat them differently by making them bold or bigger in size or maybe even separate it by having it in a different font. When you do that you are playing with the structure aka hierarchy. All of that is typography. However, a professional typographer or a graphic designer would also pay attention to the spacing of each letters (Kern) and words (Lead) especially when it comes to magazine spreads, books, or posters. Also they will think about what style of typeface best fits the theme of their designs; serif, sans serif, slab serif, grotesque, neo-grotesque, humanist, mono spaced, black letter, old style, transitional, modern, geometric, many more. There are lot more vocabulary to learn from, but these are the basics that you must know.

Yes, it may sound a little boring and time consuming, but once you get into it, you will enjoy your time creating something you care about and the end results will be wonderful. Typography also lets you create you own typeface if you prefer a design to be personal. 

To the right is a student-made typeface and a great example of using/creating your own font. In order to do these, you need to be able to know how to operate these following software; Photoshop, In-Design and Illustrator. These are the main tools that makes designers/typographers lives so much easier. 

Typography is everywhere. Type is a component of design that’s present in the world around us. Road signs, magazine covers, posters, TV ads, film intro sequences — you don’t have to look far to find typography.When you look at type, think about what you’re looking at and why it’s the way it is. Soon, you will notice the minor nuances of setting type that often make a big difference between good and bad typography. Before I end my blog, here are some great typography design advertisement. 

If you like to see more examples of typography in advertising, please visit the link below. Also, the sources I used in this blog are listed down below. Thanks for reading.

NEXT BLOG:
For my next blog, I will write about the courses and degrees that one needs to successfully land on a job after graduation.


SOURCES:
40 Awesome Examples of Typography in Advertising
Examples of Beautiful Typography
Creative Bloq | Typography

Graphic Design 101

Author: Tasnuva Elahi | George Mason University student | Art & Visual Technology, B.A.

As a graphic design major, I have done many research on this subject over the years and made myself pretty familiar with every aspect of it. Through this blog, I would like to share my knowledge of what I have learned so far and help others who are just as interested as I am in Graphic Design.




WHAT IS GRAPHIC DESIGN?
To put it simply, its visual communication. Suppose you have a message that needs to be communicated, or maybe you want to sell or announce something, how would you get the word out? Yes, you can tell people one by one or broadcast it by radio or loudspeaker. That would take a long period of time. Graphic design helps that process much simpler and efficient.  A graphic designer would advertise by using  a form of visual communication; Like making a poster, type a letter, create a business logo, a magazine ad/spread, a whole magazine, books, an album cover, computer printouts, any form of visual communication you can think of, is called graphic design.


WHAT DO GRAPHIC DESIGNERS DO?
Graphic designers work with drawn, painted, photographed, or computer-generated images or pictures, but they also design the letter forms that make up various typefaces found in movie credits and TV ads; in books, magazines, and menus; and even on computer screens. Graphic design is a part of your daily life. It is everywhere and we may not always pay attention to it. If you think about it, you will realize we are surrounded by graphic design. From road signs to market banners. Designers create, choose, and organize these elements-typography, images, and the so-called “white space” around them-to communicate a message. From little things like gum wrappers to huge things like billboards to the T-shirt you’re wearing, graphic design informs, persuades, organizes, stimulates, locates, identifies, attracts attention and provides pleasure.

Graphic design is a creative process that combines art and technology to communicate ideas. The designer works with a variety of communication tools in order to convey a message from a client to a particular audience. The main tools are image and typography.


So this is it for my first blog. A brief introduction to Graphic Design. If you like to read more about it, I found a great source for all your answers. Link is down below; the official site of AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts, AIGA, the oldest and largest professional membership organization for design and is now known simply as "AIGA, the professional association for design.”


WHATS IN THE NEXT BLOG?
Next, I will be writing about what typography is and why you must know how to work with it and in what softwares you need to be expert at in order to be a successful graphic designer. 


SOURCE:
AIGA | the professional association for design