Graphic Design Minor

In today's world, we are literally surrounded by graphic design, from billboards to soda cans, from social media posts to political ads. The graphic designer develops engaging material that communicates a pointed message and persuades an audience. The form of the communication can be physical or virtual, and may include images, words, or graphic forms. The work can happen at any scale, from the design of a single postage stamp to a national postal signage system. It can also be for any purpose, whether commercial, educational, cultural, or political. However you define it, graphic design is ubiquitous.

The interdisciplinary minor in Graphic Design asks students to learn, reflect, and act as designers, preparing students for work in the increasingly complex role of design in virtually all facets of business, in both for-profit and not-for-profit fields. The minor complements students’ other fields of study, with the concepts, theories and competencies of design.

Part of being a graphic designer is using Adobe digital graphics software, which is upgraded frequently. Hence, designers also must keep up with the changes in the software. The graphic design courses feature a few software tutorials, but students are expected to train themselves in the digital graphics software. Numerous tutorials for the Adobe software are available through LinkedIn Learning, which is free to all Fairfield students, staff, and faculty members.

Goals and Learning Outcomes

Graphic Design students demonstrate the following knowledge and skills:

  • Acquire, articulate, and apply specialized terminology and knowledge relevant to graphic design including relationships to other disciplines and to contemporary global issues.
  • Assess, predict, and articulate the influence and importance of graphic design issues within the human environment from social responsibility, sustainability and interdisciplinary perspectives.
  • Acquire and demonstrate competency in technical skills applicable to graphic design.
  • Demonstrate the ability to use design thinking strategies in an iterative design process.
  • Demonstrate the ability to analyze, synthesize, and develop probable solutions.

The Graphic Design minor prepares students for a range of post-graduate opportunities, including in the non-profit sector and graduate school.

For an 18-credit minor in graphic design, students complete the following:

Select two classes from the following that focus on learning to see and analyze visual art:6
Exploring Art History: Technology and Art
Exploring Art History: Migration and Art: Raids, Trade, Pilgrimage
Exploring Art History: Life, Death, and the Afterlife in Art
Exploring Art History: Art, Politics, and Propaganda
Exploring Art History: Sex, Sacrilege, Scandals: From Caves to Culture Wars
Exploring Art History: Destruction, Plunder, and Preservation
Art of East Asia
Art of Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas
Art of Asia
History of Architecture
Jewish Art: Moses to Modernity
Greek Art and Archaeology
Roman Art and Archaeology: Colosseum to Catacombs
Art and Archaeology of Ancient Egypt: Images for Eternity
Medieval Art: Catacombs to Cathedrals
Celtic and Early Irish Art
Early Renaissance Art in Italy
High Renaissance and Mannerism in Italy
Modern Art
American Art and Media Culture
African-American Art
History of Photography
Art and Mythologies of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Bolshevik Russia: Comparative Systems & Outcomes
Mass Media and Society
Visual Communication
American Cinema History
American Television History
Global Cinema
Documentary Cinema
Filmmaker Studies
African American Cinema
American Film: Decades
Film Genres
Select two classes from the following that focus on making art, keeping a sketchbook, and visual composition:6
Introduction to Sculpture
Introduction to Drawing
Introduction to Figure Drawing
Introduction to Printmaking
Introduction to Painting
Introduction to 2-D Design
Digital Tools in Art Making
Experimental Drawing Practices
Color Workshop
Sculpture: Construction and Subtraction
Alternative Processes Photography
Digital Photography
Artist Book Construction
Motion and Time-Based Art
From Drawing to Painting
Watercolor
Advanced Painting
Advanced Printmaking
Advanced Sculpture
Advanced Photography
Advanced Drawing
Advanced Projects Seminar
Design for Stage & Screen
Scene Painting
Costume Design
Scene Design
Select two classes that focus on graphic design. Students may only enroll in these courses after they have completed the requirements above:6
Graphic Design I: Making Meaning
Graphic Design II: Clients and Collaboration
Total Credits18