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Overview
This program is designed to prepare students for creative professions like graphic design and other communications-related fields that rely on visual imagery. Students will gain an understanding of design theories and practices related to production in all areas of graphic design for traditional and emerging digital media. Upon completion of the program, students will have advanced craft, theory, process, and technical skills, and the ability to produce thoughtful and informed work in such areas as institutional branding and identity, new media, web development and interactivity, package design, publication design, advertising, illustration, signage and exhibition design, sustainability, spirituality, or social change.
Career Introduction
The traditional role of design has been to improve the visual appearance and function of messages and information. The publishing industry relies on designers for printed and online books, magazines, and newspapers that inform, delight, and support the interests of readers. Designers distinguish businesses from their competitors in the marketplace through innovative approaches to branding, the comprehensive design of messages, products, and services that express the character of a company and define its relationships with consumers. Advertising design promotes the marketable qualities of commercial products and services through a variety of communication media. And information designers translate complicated numerical and textual explanations into visual forms that help people see patterns in data and relationships among the components of complicated ideas. In all these practices, designers use typography, photographs, illustrations, and graphic elements to construct messages that attract attention, cause us to think about their meaning, and stay in our memories over time.
Creative professions like graphic design provide satisfying and rewarding careers for talented and strategic-minded visual artists and communicators.
Concordia graphic design majors offer a unique emphasis on the art and craft of typography and applied graphic design practice. Interwoven throughout these programs are communication and interactive studies and the practices of new and emerging digital media.
Whether engaging traditional or new media, the design principles you acquire through training and practice remain the same. Early sequential courses are structured to stress advanced craft, theory, process, and technical skills to ensure refined success in your later project work. Advanced courses and the senior project capstone experience can be customized to reflect individual interests.
As a graphic design major, you will be taught by an experienced faculty of active professionals with close ties to the vibrant Twin Cities creative community. You will have access to a state-of-the-art Macintosh computer lab with the latest software and large format digital printing, plus direct exposure to some of the most recognized graphic designers and design firms in the country.
What is Design? AIGA–professional association for design www.aiga.org/what-is-design
Student Outcomes
Career Opportunities
Art Director
$
94,220
Art directors are responsible for the visual style and images in magazines, newspapers, product packaging, and movie and television productions.
Graphic Designer
$
52,110
Graphic designers create visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers
Multimedia Artist and Animator
$
75,270
Multimedia artists and animators create images that appear to move and visual effects for various forms of media and entertainment
Additional Career Opportunities
Packaging Designer
$46,904
Web Designer
$49.104
Multimedia Designer
$57,645
Advertising Designer
$62,930
Publication Designer
$72,184
User Interface Designer
$78,080
User Experience Designer
$89,250
Indeed Career Guide
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/graphic-design-jobs
Career Support
Throughout the graphic design curriculum, students explore professional opportunities and career options. They network and participate in the thriving Twin Cities creative community. Course projects and student portfolios answer to the highest expectations of an extremely competitive profession.
