Department of Art

Our curriculum is designed to cultivate highly competent and creative designers who are courageous and adaptable. Through exposure to a wide range of design practice, we build generalist skills and creative dexterity, leaving space for exploration and specialized interests. Our graduates are critically-aware professionals and valuable members of their communities.

Curriculum Highlights

• Our required classes are offered either fall or spring semesters.
• Incoming freshmen take their first graphic design class in their first semester with portfolio review at the end of the first year.
• Transfer students should start in the fall and take their first Graphic Design class their first semester. Portfolio review takes place at the end of their first year.
• Transfer students should be able to graduate in three years if they transfer to App with 30 hours.
• Students who do not pass the portfolio review can apply a second time or choose to complete a minor in Graphic Design by taking one more graphic design class.
• Students who start as freshmen are able to go on study abroad fall or spring semester in their junior year and still graduate in four years.

A detailed list of the BFA in Graphic Design program’s requirements and course descriptions can be found in the University Bulletin.

Graphic Design Requirements

First Year Fall

• ART 1006 – Digital Foundations (3 credits)
• ART 1132 – Introduction to Graphic Design (3 credits)

First-Year Spring

• ART 1232 – Introduction to Typography (3 credits)
• ART 1332 – Idea Lab* (3 credits)
• Graphic Design Candidacy Portfolio Review

Second-Year Fall

• ARH 2230 – History of Graphic Design (3 credits)
• ART 2132 – Static Design Systems I (3 credits)

Second-Year Spring

• ART 2232 – Dynamic Design Systems I (3 credits)

Third-Year

• Either ART 3132 – Static Design Systems II (3 credits), Fall 
  or  ART 3232 – Dynamic Design Systems II (3 credits), Spring

Fourth-Year Fall 

• ART 4132 – Graphic Design Senior Seminar (3 credits)
• ART 4232 – Graphic Design Senior Studio I (3 credits)

Fourth-Year Spring

• ART 4332 – Graphic Design Senior Studio II (3 credits)
• ART 4432 – Graphic Design Professional Practice [CAP] (3 credits)

Graphic Design Electives (12 Credits)

• ART 2302 – Hand-Lettering (3 credits)
• ART 3020 – Illustration (3 credits)
• ART 3132 – Static Design Systems II (3 credits)
  If not already fulfilling Intermediate Studios requirement
• ART 3232 – Dynamic Design Systems II (3 credits)
  If not already fulfillng Intermediate Studios requirement
• ART 3260 – Branding and Visual Identity (3 credits)
• ART 3312 – Motion Graphics (3 credits)
• ART 3322 – Sign, Symbol, Image (3 credits)
• ART 3332 – Design Methods (3 credits)
• ART 3602 – Special Topics in Graphic Design (3 credits)
• ART 3900 – Internship (1-6 credits)
• ART 4302 – Interface and Experience Design (3 credits)
• GCM 2012 – Introduction to Printing and Finishing (3 credits) 
  or GCM 3570 – Client Collaboration (3 credits)
• Other with written approval of your advisor

Additional Degree Requirements

• Foundations (12 credits). Including ART 1006 taken first-year fall
• Studio Art and Photography (12 credits)
• Art History (12 credits).  Including ARH 2230 taken second-year spring
• Professional Development  (6 credits)
• General Education (41 credits)

Year One: Introductions

Students interested in studying graphic design at Appalachian start in the first semester of their first year here. They have a lot to learn and discover. Why wait?

Our program’s first year exposes students to a wide range of practice while building foundational graphic design skills. Most students who come here don’t really know what it means to be a graphic designer.

In their first year, they’ll work on projects that show them what design can do and who it could be for. They begin cultivating a design process, exploring the possibilities of what can be before deciding what works best.

They’ll begin learning the language of type, our raw material. They’ll learn about its anatomy—apex, barb, counter, stress and shoulder—along with some of its history and rules. They’ll also break some rules.

In Idea Lab, they’ll experiment with strategies to develop form and concepts. In design sprints, they’ll learn how to work quickly and not get too attached to ideas before evaluating them. They’ll generate ideas, refine them, scrap some or all before starting over. They’ll learn that making is a way of thinking and build the foundation of what it means to be a valuable member of a design team.

After all this, our students should have an idea of what it is like to be a graphic designer. If they want more, they can submit a portfolio for admission into the BFA program. If not, they can choose to complete a minor by taking one more class.

Years Two & Three: Systems

After passing our portfolio review, students learn how to work with and create design systems. Design systems organize elements to create a consistent visual language and message along multiple applications. These systems help designers organize content on a page, within a publication and on a website or app. They help a business or organization establish and maintain its brand identity. They give projects a rhythm and allow for surprises. They create design that is flexible, resilient and effective.

Second year students will focus on learning how to use design systems. Third year students learn how to make them and how to work with others to implement them.

All students will work with systems that adapt and change—during and after their creation. They’ll learn more about how they fit within a design team. They’ll discover their strengths and weaknesses. They’ll gain experience managing and leading projects as they collaborate with others.

As second and third year students explore design systems, they’ll have the opportunity to develop a Throughline Project. This project will start in Static Design Systems I and can be carried forward into our other design systems classes. The Throughline Project provides a way for students to create work in a variety of forms and media around a central theme or topic, building and testing its system along the way.

The Third Year

The curriculum path described above is for incoming freshmen. At its start and end, the path to a BFA in Graphic Design is straightforward. Courses in the first and last years must be taken the whole year and in sequence.

The second and third years can be compressed into one for:

• Freshmen who do not pass our portfolio review in the spring and who apply again and are accepted the next fall
• Students who started as freshmen interested in studying abroad during their junior year
• Transfer students, enabling them to complete the BFA in three years if they pass the portfolio review the first time.