Graphic Design

What Does Design Look Like?

• Posters
• Advertisements
• Product Packages
• Branding
• Information Visualizations
• Graphics and Illustrations
• Books, Magazines, and Newspapers
• Products
• Way-finding and Environmental Graphics
• User Interfaces and Experiences (UI/UX)
• Websites
• Mobile Applications
• Motion Graphics
• Most importantly, Creative Problem Solving in many forms

Who Becomes a Graphic Designer?

Is graphic design for you? Think about the qualities and interests that many designers share. Designers are observers and fanatics of useful and aesthetically pleasing things, forms of communication, and experiences. Designers may start out as creatively and visually inclined people, but over time they apply those skills to problems and processes. They pay attention as they move throughout the world, possessing a hyper-awareness. Designers strive for clear communication. They are intrigued by misunderstandings and puzzles, looking for possible solutions. Designers make connections and ask questions about how those things work, what they are, what they look like, how they are made, and what they mean. Curiosity is at the core of the designer.

People often become designers because they feel like fulfilling one interest is not enough. Many design fields overlap with a wide variety of interests leaving few opportunities for boredom or monotony. At QU, the Graphic Design program is housed within the School of Fine Arts & Communication. Our school structure allows for collaboration in the spirit of a liberal arts education.

Liberal Arts

A liberal arts education offers an expansive intellectual and personal grounding. By exploring issues, ideas, and methods across the variety of disciplines offered at QU—you will learn to read critically, write clearly, and think broadly. These skills will elevate your conversations in the classroom, within your profession, and as a contributing member of society.

A liberal arts education challenges you to consider not only how to solve problems, but also prompts you to ask which problems to solve and why. The marriage of the liberal arts with a degree in Graphic Design is the most effective way to prepare for the variety of opportunities and challenges presented to a Designer on a day-to-day basis.

BFA Art, Concentration in Graphic Design Degree Structure

At the core of the Graphic Design degree lies a variety of creative problem solving opportunities. Students take courses that engage in a wide array of design techniques, style, medium, modes of delivery, and applications of technology.

Core Graphic Design Courses:
ART 270 – Typography
ART 295 – Graphic Design
ART 380 – Motion Design
ART 385 – Web Design
ART 370 – User Experience & Interface Design
ART 465 – Design for Change
ART 470 – Advanced Graphic Design
ART 480 – Internship/Practicum
ART 495 – Senior Seminar

A strong foundation in studio art disciplines is a key to having an authentic creative vision.

Foundational Studio Art Courses:
ART 111 – Introduction to Drawing
ART 121 – 2D Design
ART 131 – 3D Design
ART 190 – Digital Studio

Core Studio Courses:
ART 241 – Introduction to Photography
ART 342 – Intermediate Photography
ART 251 – Introduction to Printmaking
ART 256 – Commercial Illustration
ART 497 – Senior Retrospective

Core Art History Courses:
AHI 383 – History of Graphic Design
(Choice of 2 from the following)
AHI 283 – Renaissance & Baroque Art
AHI 285 – 19th & 20th Century Art
AHI 381 – Contemporary Art

Additional Required Courses:
COM 395 – Visual Journalism and Publishing
CSC 150 – Intro to Programming
CSC 390 – Web Development

The Quincy University Difference

We have spacious studios, current software and technology used by professionals in the field, strong-ties to our local community and industry experts, and experienced, award-winning professors; the necessary tools to lay the foundation for a successful career.

Working directly with clients within the community, service-learning projects designing for non-profit organizations, interning in your field of study, and exhibiting creative work in QU’s Gray Gallery—the Graphic Design program takes you beyond the classroom and into the real world.

A Sample of Career Options With a Degree in Graphic Design

• Advertising Designer
• Apparel Designer
• Application Designer
• Art Director
• Commercial Illustrator
• Creative Director
• Digital Artist
• Editorial Illustrator
• Freelance Designer
• Illustrator
• Marketing Specialist
• Photo Editor
• Product Developer
• Publication Designer
• User Experience Designer
• User Interface Designer
• Web Designer

Popular Minors to Pair With a Degree in Graphic Design

• Communications
• Entrepreneurship
• Film & New Media
• General Business
• Management
• Marketing

Add a Graphic Design Minor as a Compliment to Your Major

A minor is a great way to compliment your major focus. Use your QU experience to explore something new. While exploring, you can build your resume and have an advantage over other people in your field who didn’t make that extra effort.

Partnering your major with a graphic design minor can have many benefits:

• Enrichment in your personal interests
• Broaden your skills
• Gain experience working with people in various areas
• Draw connections between multiple disciplines
• Prepare to be a better leader
• Demonstrates a willingness to go above and beyond the minimum requirements
• Have a creative outlet with practical implications
• Make yourself more marketable as a potential employee

Minor in Graphic Design Structure

(18 Credit Hours total)

Core Graphic Design Courses:
ART 190 – Digital Studio
ART 270 – Typography
ART 295 – Graphic Design

Additional Required Design Courses (Choice of 3)
ART 380 – Motion Design
ART 385 – Web Design
ART 370 – User Experience & Interface Design
ART 470 – Advanced Graphic Design
ART 465 – Design for Change
COM 395 – Visual Journalism and Publishing