Starting in the 2013-14 academic year, Design Studies is proud to offer a new and updated three-year diploma. This website lists required courses for Year One of study. Year Two, Year Three, and Program Option course descriptions will become available as they are developed. Please watch this site for more information.
The Design Studies program at MacEwan University offers a curriculum featuring a three-year design diploma that will introduce you to new ways of seeing and thinking about design - and the world in which you live. Design is everywhere. Publications, documentaries, illustrations, photographs, and physical or virtual spaces impact and influence our daily decisions. The words, how they look, the images and sounds they are used with, and the medium give visual communication designers both the opportunity and the ability to have their messages stand out.
Get prepared for a career in the exciting, ever-changing and multi-disciplinary field of visual communication design.
SEE SOME OF THE COOL STUFF YOU'LL BE DOING- VISIT THE 2013 GRAD SHOW WEBSITE
SEE IAN ANDERSON OF THE DESIGNERS REPUBLIC GUEST LECTURE VIDEO
An education in visual communication design offers many possible career paths. At the end of their studies, our graduates possess a portfolio of work that demonstrates a concentration in one area while also showing a well-rounded skill set in the general aspects of visual communication design.
Over three years of study, students complete a required set of studio courses that develop general visual communication design skills. Through the selection of specific studio options, a student forms an area of concentration. Additional options outside this concentration can be explored to round out a designer's skill set. Students are required to take two English courses and two or more courses in humanities and social sciences.
In year one, students begin their studies by learning fundamental design skills that are common across all disciplines within the field. Students explore design theory, practices, principles and process, the meaning and significance of visual imagery, develop drawing and rendering skills, apply basic typography and learn the basics of industry standard software.
In year two, students learn the historical and contemporary cultural context of design and continue to develop creative, conceptual and visual design skills through required courses. Students also begin to select program option courses that form a concentration in an area of design and offer the ability to pursue other areas of interest.
In year three, students learn about the business of design, continue to develop skills in their chosen pathway, broaden their exposure to other areas of visual communication design and finalize a portfolio of work to gain employment.
Faculty Are More Than Teachers
Instructors in the Design Studies program at MacEwan University are professional graphic designers, photographers, illustrators and web designers who bring a wealth of practical and theoretical expertise to the classroom.
Faculty members are passionate about the practice and the teaching of design. They are active professionals, experienced instructors and innovators in their fields. Instructors do research on a wide range of subjects related to the practice and the teaching of design, and are regular exhibitors of their creative work. These activities find a way back to the classroom, enriching student learning and overall experience.
Succeed
Upon completion of their studies, graduates from MacEwan University's Design Studies program are prepared for a career in the exciting, ever-changing and multi-disciplinary field of visual communication design. They are experts in crafting visuals and communicate with impact on the printed page, the screen, and in physical environments in areas of discipline such as graphic design, illustration, interactive design, motion graphics and editing, brand integration and photography.
