Graphic Design

Graphic designers bring order and clarity to the myriad graphic messages that saturate every aspect of daily life. In a world increasingly influenced by interactive media and time-based messaging, graphic designers have evolved from being makers of static ephemera. Designers today are collaborative and multidisciplinary information strategists, whose work involves effectively communicating complex messages and understanding the many ways in which those messages are received by audiences over time.

Training at Endicott for a career in the modern practice of graphic design includes traditional foundation-level and research-based skills as well as coursework that reflects the rapid pace of digital design technology. The BFA in Graphic Design addresses the steady morphing of the design profession to include interactive and time-based media among its required proficiencies, recognizing the growing number of post-graduate employment opportunities that specify interactive and front-end development skills in additional to the more traditional aspects of brand development.

In the graphic design curriculum, courses build in sequence so that students become thoroughly versed in the design process from concept to finished product. Students develop a growing body of knowledge and expertise in research, conceptualization, composition and layout, typography, and image creation, learning more advanced methods and techniques as the course sequence continues. Students develop their visual and conceptual acuity through traditional forms, such as print media, as well as through animation, video, web, and multimedia, developing both digital and traditional hand skills.

The BFA in Graphic Design includes two optional, recommended study tracks - advertising/brand development and web design/development - that leverage the resources available in both the School of Communication and computer science area, reflecting the need for collaborative coursework and technical skills within the modern design profession. These study tracks distinguish the Graphic Design program at Endicott by highlighting the unique interdisciplinary opportunities available to students who attend an “art school” within a liberal arts college.

In turn, Endicott’s liberal arts philosophy of education frames the graphic design curriculum to provide a broad understanding of historical, cultural, and social issues that deepen a student’s professional studies. The graphic design program is part of a holistic education that balances the professional major with coursework in the humanities, literature, science, mathematics, and the social sciences. Students learn the impact of communication design and images in a global environment along with skills needed to succeed in their respective fields. Opportunities also exist to study design abroad at formally affiliated schools, as well as through personally tailored independent studies.

Computer Requirements for Graphic Design Students

The School of Visual and Performing Arts requires that graphic design students purchase Apple laptop computers. Specifications are available from the school. They are also available in Academic Technology’s Student Computer Guide to Hardware/Software Recommendations.

Recent graphic design internship sites include:

Avid Technology, Inc.
EBSCO Publishing
GAP Promotions
Hunt & Gather
MIT Media Lab
Mullen Advertising
Peabody Essex Museum
Puma North America
RCA Records
Reebook, Inc.
Rockport Publishing
Sky World Interactive
Tank Design
TD Banknorth Garden and the Boston Bruins
Yale University Graphics