In our complex world of expanding digital information, the need for effective communication has never been greater. Communicating information and ideas through insightful and compelling words and images is the primary focus of the Advertising, Graphic Design and Illustration programs.
Our faculty consists of many of Canada’s foremost practising communication design professionals, who bring current practiced-based studio standards into the classroom.
A structured curriculum ensures the development of advertising, graphic design and illustration skills to support design studio work, where precise and astute strategies, innovative concepts and captivating visuals are realized.
Proficiency in English comprehension and communication is critical in all areas of study in the communications disciplines. Students with less than adequate skills in this area are encouraged to supplement their program with assistance offered through the Writing & Learning Centre.
Please refer to the Design Programs: Introduction.
This communication design program provides students with essential two-dimensional, three-dimensional and four-dimensional knowledge and skills required to create intelligent, compelling and effective visual communication. OCAD U’s Graphic Design Program has a strong focus on conceptual design thinking. Graphic designers are currently working in diverse industries to enhance and shape our visual environments and communication media. By engaging students in problem recognition and creative problem solving, our program goal is to enable students to create graphically effective, principled solutions that are conceptually strong, engaging, visually dynamic and appropriate to the many types of problems and graphic tasks they will be challenged to solve in their chosen career. Students will be introduced to the impact graphic design can have in context to local commerce, complex global economies, design for humanity, diverse cultures and our engagement with ever-changing societies.
In this program, students will be introduced to the fundamentals, aesthetics and design rigor essential to branding, communication design, packaging, editorial design, wayfinding, photography, book design, motion graphics, multimedia, web applications, systems design and strategic design thinking. Students have the opportunity to take studio courses in specific areas of interest such as: Branding, Editorial & Publication Design, Guerrilla Entrepreneurship, Interactive Communication, Motion Graphics, Packaging Design, Typeface Design, Think Tank, Wayfinding/Information Systems, Design Process, Typography, Business, Graphic Production, and Graphic Image Making.
Unique to OCAD University, students are encouraged to take diverse, interdisciplinary, general design courses with students from Industrial Design, Environmental Design and Material Art & Design to broaden their design knowledge. Of particular note are our Think Tank courses, where students from each discipline come together to engage with design issues and problems that challenge each student, in the class, to bring their individual program expertise to entire group.
Working closely with a faculty mainly composed of practising graphic designers, design and academic theorists, as well as visiting design professionals, students complete projects that cover a wide range of issues and applications. Students are introduced to the necessary principles of business and entrepreneurship to be successful in the field of design. In their final year, students develop a focused, year-long core design and research-based project or design thesis reflecting their personal interest and values.
Please refer to the Faculty of Design's Degree/Diploma Requirements for information regarding degree and diploma requirements for Design program students.
All Faculty of Design programs are developed as semester groupings of related courses. In order to be best prepared to meet course expectations, students are normally required to complete all core courses in one semester before carrying on to courses in the next semester.
Students must achieve a minimum grade of 60% in their core studio course each semester (tagged with “†”) to advance to the following semester’s core studio.
A minimum overall average of 65% must be achieved at the end of fourth year in all designated courses (tagged with “∆”) of the student’s major/program.
Note: Students in this Major or Minor Program Area are included in the Laptop Program, and are required to pay the associated fees for software and support. Click http://www.ocad.ca/laptopprogram for further info regarding the Laptop Program. Click http://www.ocad.ca/students/financial_matters/tuition_fees/laptop_program_fees.htm for info regarding Laptop Program Fees.
| COURSE CODE | COURSE NAME | CREDIT |
|
100 LEVEL: FALL SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING ADVANCEMENT TO FUTURE COURSES. |
||
| GDES 1B09 | Communication Design 1 ∆ (If English is not your first language, consider enrolling in English Language Pathway, a special offering for ESL students in First Year Design.) |
0.5 |
| GDES 1B16 | Colour in Context | 0.5 |
| GDES 1B17 | Typography 1 | 0.5 |
| GDES 1B10 | Drawing Visualization | 0.5 |
| Must take LBST 1B03 (and one of LBST 1B11 or LBST 1B12 or LBST 1B13 if you don't take one in the winter) | ||
| LBST 1B03 |
Introduction to Visual Studies II: History and Culture since 1500 (LST) |
0.5 |
| LBST 1B11 | The Essay and the Argument: Mechanics (LST) (fall or winter) | 0.5 |
| or | ||
| LBST 1B12 | The Essay and the Argument: ESL (English as a Second Language) (LST) (fall and winter) (continues in winter) | |
| or | ||
| LBST 1B13 | The Essay and the Argument: Rhetoric (LST) (fall or winter) | |
|
100 LEVEL: WINTER SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING ADVANCEMENT TO FUTURE COURSES. |
||
| GDES 1B18 | Communication Design 2 †∆ (If English is not your first language, consider enrolling in English Language Pathway, a special offering for ESL students in First Year Design.) |
0.5 |
| GDES 1B19 | Photography for Communication | 0.5 |
| GDES 1B20 | Drawing: Translation | 0.5 |
| Must take LBST 1B02 (and one of LBST 1B11 or LBST 1B12 or LBST 1B13 if you didn't take one in the fall) | ||
| LBST 1B02 | Introduction to Visual Studies I: History and Culture to 1500 (LST) | 0.5 |
| LBST 1B11 | The Essay and the Argument: Mechanics (LST) (fall or winter) | 0.5 |
| or | ||
| LBST 1B12 | The Essay and the Argument: ESL (English as a Second Language) (LST) (fall and winter) (continues from fall) | |
| or | ||
| LBST 1B13 | The Essay and the Argument: Rhetoric (LST) (fall or winter) | |
|
200 LEVEL: FALL SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING ADVANCEMENT TO FUTURE COURSES. |
||
| VISD 2B36 | History and Evolution of Typography (LST) | 0.5 |
| GDES 2B03 | Think Tank 1: Awareness (SEM) | 0.5 |
| GRPH 2K01 | Graphic Design 1†∆ | 0.75 |
| GRPH 2A05 | Photography for Graphic Design | 0.25 |
| GRPH 2A04 | Typography 1: Letters and Words | 0.25 |
| GRPH 2A02 | Graphic Translation/Drawing | 0.25 |
|
200 LEVEL: WINTER SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING ADVANCEMENT TO FUTURE COURSES. |
||
| VISD 2B39 | Graphic Design History in the Twentieth Century (LST) | 0.5 |
| See Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences | Choose one liberal studies course | 0.5 |
| GRPH 2K02 | Graphic Design 2†∆ | 0.75 |
| GRPH 2B06 | Typography 2: Structures | 0.5 |
| GRPH 2A06 | Interaction Design Studio | 0.25 |
|
300 LEVEL: FALL SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING ADVANCEMENT TO FUTURE COURSES. |
||
| See Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences | Choose one liberal studies course | 0.5 |
| GRPH 3B18 | Graphic Design 3 †∆ | 0.5 |
| GRPH 3B14 | Typography 3: Advanced Structures | 0.5 |
| GRPH 3B20 | Research Methodologies for Graphic Design 1 †(SEM) | 0.5 |
Choose one expansion studio from the list provided at the end of this document. |
0.5 |
|
|
300 LEVEL: WINTER SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING ADVANCEMENT TO FUTURE COURSES. |
||
| See Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences | Choose one liberal studies course | 0.5 |
| GRPH 3B19 | Graphic Design 4 †∆ | 0.5 |
| GRPH 3B16 | Typography 4: Expressive | 0.5 |
| GRPH 3B08 | Graphic Design Open Studio | 0.5 |
Choose one expansion studio from the list provided at the end of this document. |
0.5 |
|
|
400 LEVEL: FALL SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING ADVANCEMENT TO FUTURE COURSES. |
||
| See Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences | Choose one liberal studies course | 0.5 |
| GRPH 4B17 | Advanced Typography 5 | 0.5 |
| Choose one: | ||
| GRPH 4C04 | Graphic Design Thesis 1 †∆ | |
| GRPH 4C02 | Graphic Design 5 †∆ | 1.0 |
Choose one expansion studio from the list provided at the end of this document. |
0.5 |
|
|
400 LEVEL: WINTER SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS. |
||
| See Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences | Choose one liberal studies course | 0.5 |
| Choose one: | ||
| GRPH 4C05 | Graphic Design Thesis 2 †∆ | |
| GRPH 4C03 | Graphic Design 6 †∆ | 1.0 |
| Choose one: | ||
| GDES 4B06 | Business and Studio Practice (SEM) | |
| GRPH 4B09 | Digital/Analogue Graphic Reproduction Processes (SEM) | 0.5 |
Choose one expansion studio from the list provided below. |
0.5 |
|
| Recommended Expansion Studio Courses (subject to being offered): | ||
| GDES 3B10 | Art of Presentation | |
| GDES 3B82 | Book Illustration | |
| GDES 3B13 | Compelling User Experience 1 | |
| GDES 3B73 | Critical Design Studio | |
| GDES 3B68 | Design (As) Research (SEM) | |
| GDES 3B02 | Editorial & Publication Design 1 | |
| GDES 3B22 | Editorial & Publication Design 2 | |
| GDES 4B02 | Editorial & Publication Design 3 | |
| GDES 3B40 | Exploration, Insight and Foresight in Design (SEM) (not offered in 2011/2012) | |
| GDES 3B70 | Game Design: Conceptual and Visual Approaches | |
| GDES 3B71 | Game Design: Digital Development | |
| GDES 3B11 | Graphic Narrative, Animation & Motion (formerly Motion Graphics 1) | |
| GDES 3B06 | Guerrilla Entrepreneurship | |
| GDES 3B48 | Illustrative Activism | |
| GDES 3B53 | Interactive Communication: Beyond the Screen | |
| GDES 3B27 | Interactive Communication: Clever Devices | |
| GDES 3B07 | Interactive Communication: Smart Screens | |
| GDES 3B32 | Kinetic Typography & Animated Communication (formerly Motion Graphics 2) | |
| GDES 3B04 | Packaging Design 1 | |
| GDES 3B31 | Packaging Design 2 | |
| GDES 3B91 | Special Topic: Introduction to Data Visualization | |
| GDES 3B09 | Strategic Brand Development 1 | |
| GDES 3B42 | Strategic Brand Development 2 | |
| GDES 3B54 | Think Tank 2: Consideration (SEM) | |
| GDES 4B08 | Think Tank 3: Action (SEM) | |
| GDES 3B03 | Typeface Design 1 | |
| GDES 3B30 | Typeface Design 2 | |
| GDES 3B56 | Universal Design | |
| GDES 3B59 | Urban Design Ecology (formerly Urban Landscape Ecology) (SEM) | |
| DIGF 3B01 | Virtual Communities and Environments (SEM) | |
| GDES 3B08 | Wayfinding/Information Systems 1 | |
| or |
Relevant course in Faculty of Art or Design (subject to approval - contact Design Office) Maximum 1.0 Art credits will be counted toward graduating. |
|
| Recommended Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences liberal studies courses (subject to being offered): | ||
| ENGL 2B01 | Introduction to Creative Writing | |
| HUMN 2B01 | Aesthetics (not offered in fall/winter 2011/2012) | |
| HUMN 2B16 | Twentieth Century Ideas | |
| HUMN 3B01 | Reading Popular Culture | |
| HUMN 3B08 | Ethics, Advertising and Design (not offered in fall/winter 2011/2012) | |
| HUMN 4B18 | Postmodernism: Critical Perspectives | |
| Media, Messages and the Cultural Landscape: Introduction to Communication Studies | ||
| SOSC 3B02 | Material Culture and Consumer Society | |
| SOSC 3B05 | Social Psychology and Consumer Behaviour | |
| VISD 2B01 | History of Modern Design | |
| VISA 2B07 | History of Modern Art | |
| VISD 2B36 | History and Evolution of Typography | |
| VISD 2B38 | Design Thinking | |
| VISD 2B39 | Graphic Design History in the Twentieth Century | |
| VISA 3B05 | Dada and Surrealism | |
| VISD 3B21 | Illustration and the Rise of Popular Culture | |
| VISD 3B38 | Advertising and the Art of Persuasion | |
| VISM 4B06 | Global Mesh: Internet, Networks, Globalization and Digital Resistance | |
| Also see Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences Special Topics liberal studies courses for 2011/2012 | ||
Last Modified:1/24/2012 12:57:32 PM