Graphic Design

Graphic Design to me is definitely the design of communication. Ya know, usually design is more business driven. So it’s not necessarily emotional in the way that a fine artist is. There’s definitely some kind of brief or project that at the end there’s a necessary solution. Graphic designers are visually organizing space with type and image. Oakland’s Graphic Design faculty has worked in the field so they have professional experience um and they also teach you the critical theory behind design. Conceptual thinking is valuable in any type of design or art making because that’s what gives you some kind of context or interest to the work. Graphic design or any type of work that deals with that it’s not just about making things beautiful, it’s about making them function. So you have to be able to think conceptually to understand why you’re making decisions. Graphic design spans across a lot of mediums. I’ve had a web design class where we were learning to code. I’ve had a motions graphics class where we were working within After Effects to create film title sequences and I’ve also had a design illustration class where we studied the process of artists. You’re getting a broad education so you have art history courses where you’re able to look at art and analyze them and then you can come into the graphic design classroom and you get to look at the work of your peers and your own and do that same kind of thinking process. Class critics are the most important part of graphic design class. It’s what I look forward to and it helps you to be a better designer in the end. It really helps you in the long run. Design is really a collaborative process. Design doesn’t just have to work for you, it has to work for everybody. Outside of what you do teaching, part of your responsibility is to be professional and do your own research so everyone has a specific thing they’re interested in um and so it varies person to person but I think that that’s the great thing about OU is that if you are interested in a variety oftopics there is usually a faculty member that can talk you through that. Throughout the design program, you’re kinda learning the fundamentals along with shaping your own style and your own process. Our goal at the end of the day is to help you figure out how you’re going to use this degree when you leave and having student involvement in kinda forming the curriculum obviously gives you a feeling of community here.