Undergraduate · Studio · 4 credits
Advanced Graphic Design
Building a complete design practice — systems, identity, and professional positioning.
PREREQUISITES
GD1, GD2
OFFERED
odd fall
LEVEL
300-level
The third course in the graphic design sequence. Students develop complete brand identity systems for larger projects, build their own personal identity and portfolio, and design UX/UI solutions for real community issues. The course marks the transition from student to practicing designer — work is rigorous, research-driven, and built for the real world.
Syllabus
Key information — full syllabus available as PDF
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Design complete, multi-deliverable systems that function cohesively across print and digital applications
Make strategic decisions about when and how to use analog techniques within professional workflow
Write professionally across multiple modes: brand strategy, academic research, production specifications, case studies, and reflective analysis
Develop production knowledge: paper, print specifications, binding, vendor communication
Curate and present a graduation-ready professional portfolio
Document a semester of learning through a comprehensive process book
Evaluate work against industry standards, not just academic ones
STRUCTURE
4 major projects + Process Book
Project 1: Comprehensive Brand Ecosystem (Weeks 1–5)
Project 2: Branding an Emotion (Weeks 6–9)
Project 3: Editorial Publication System (Weeks 10–13)
Project 4: Senior Portfolio (Weeks 13–15)
Project 5: Process Book (Finals Week)
Writing Intensive: 50–60 pages of professional design writing across all projects
Mid-semester individual conferences
Final formal portfolio presentations
ASSESSMENT
This course uses an ungrading approach. Students receive detailed narrative feedback throughout the semester focused on learning, growth, and mastery of professional design practice. Self-assessment and metacognitive reflection are central to the course structure.
At the end of the semester, students propose their own final grade in conversation with the instructor, supported by their process book, self-assessments, and the full arc of their work.
TEEXTBOOKS
Readings assigned per project from design theory, professional practice, and contemporary criticism.
No single required textbook.
Students are expected to locate and cite scholarly sources independently for written components.
Projects
Major projects per semester:
Advanced GD Project 3: Civic UX — Designing for Behavioral Change
Students identify a real local or regional issue — food access, transit, digital equity, civic participation, environmental behavior — and design a UX system that ethically leverages behavioral psychology to encourage meaningful change. Deliverables include a research document, system map, user journey, wireframes, and high-fidelity mockups.
Course Overview
- Advanced Graphic Design serves as the final course in a three-part sequence — GD1 developed perceptual literacy through basic analog methods, and GD2 explored material integration and complex systems. This course challenges students to meet professional standards, shifting the focus from competence to readiness. It involves four major projects and a comprehensive process book, each requiring written components such as brand strategy, research, production details, case studies, and reflections. The combined writing amounts to 50–60 pages, developed throughout the semester with feedback and revisions, integrating writing into the design process rather than adding it separately.
Analog techniques are optional; students should decide when analog methods add value. This judgment, known as material intelligence, is a key skill. For example, screenprinting a pattern for packaging because it offers a unique texture is a strategic choice, unlike doing it solely out of personal interest. Both are valid, but only one is strategic.
The course concludes with portfolio presentations during finals week, where students showcase their work professionally, with a case study for each project, clear process and rationale, and openness to critique.
Course Reflection
- GD1 and GD2 develop students who can see and speak, while advanced GD explores what it means to communicate professionally. This is a different challenge—it's not just more refined craftsmanship but a new relationship with the work. The audience shifts from the instructor to a potential client, employer, or collaborator. Students must learn to balance both the internal standards gained through three years of training and the external standards that define professional quality.
The writing component consistently creates resistance in this course. Students see themselves mainly as visual practitioners. The requirement to write extensively in various professional tones initially seems secondary to their main focus. However, it is crucial, as brand strategy documents, production specifications, and case studies are essential deliverables in a professional design practice. A designer unable to articulate a brand strategy or explain a production decision is not yet a professional, regardless of visual strength.
The ungrading approach is intentional. At the senior level, self-assessment is key—honestly evaluating one's work, recognizing what’s needed, and taking responsibility to improve. A grading system that assigns a fixed worth to work doesn't foster this skill. Instead, detailed narrative feedback, individual meetings, and the process book serve as assessment tools. The final grade discussion, where students present and justify their grade with evidence, is often the most meaningful critique of the semester.
The process book is used to showcase evidence of thinking, not just documentation. This distinction is significant yet challenging to teach. Students who understand it create process books that argue—they demonstrate not only what they made but also why, what they reconsidered, and what they learned from the gap between their initial and final work. Students who don’t grasp this tend to produce archives. I am still working on how best to teach the former.
Selected Student Self-Reflections