Search Course Listings
GRAPH 3223-05
TYPOGRAPHY III
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Typography III is the culmination of RISD's typography sequence, with an emphasis on typography and contemporary display platforms. Advances in software and hardware have created new opportunities for how language is written, sequenced and accessed. Projects in this semester depend on altered states, where the content, composition, and context all are potentially at play. Students will continue to develop proficiency in designing for static compositions while extending the meaning and voice of that work across multiple platforms. Students will have ample opportunity to further shape their perspective and individual voice in relation to contemporary typography. This is a studio course, so some class time will be used for discussions, most of the time we will be working in class, often on a computer. There is an expectation that students work both individually and in groups and be prepared to speak about their own work and the work of their peers in supportive and respectful ways. A laptop and relevant software are required.
Please contact the department for permission to register.
Major Requirement | BFA Graphic Design
GRAPH 3223-99
TYPOGRAPHY III
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Typography III is the culmination of RISD's typography sequence, with an emphasis on typography and contemporary display platforms. Advances in software and hardware have created new opportunities for how language is written, sequenced and accessed. Projects in this semester depend on altered states, where the content, composition, and context all are potentially at play. Students will continue to develop proficiency in designing for static compositions while extending the meaning and voice of that work across multiple platforms. Students will have ample opportunity to further shape their perspective and individual voice in relation to contemporary typography. This is a studio course, so some class time will be used for discussions, most of the time we will be working in class, often on a computer. There is an expectation that students work both individually and in groups and be prepared to speak about their own work and the work of their peers in supportive and respectful ways. A laptop and relevant software are required.
Please contact the department for permission to register.
Major Requirement | BFA Graphic Design
GRAPH 3225-01
HISTORY OF GRAPHIC DESIGN
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Chronological survey of graphic design through slide lectures. The course will study how graphic design responded to (and affected) international, social, political, and technological developments since 1450. Emphasis will be on printed work from 1880 to 1970 and the relationship of that work to other visual arts and design disciplines. In addition to the lectures, the course will schedule a studio section in which design projects are integrated with research.
Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graphic Design Students.
Major Requirement | BFA Graphic Design, MFA Graphic Design (3yr)
GRAPH 3226-01
DESIGN STUDIO 3
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Students are expected to develop personal working methods and interests through more general questions posed by the faculty. Longer-term projects will be intermixed with shorter projects posed by visiting critics. Students should complete the Design Studio track with a developed sense of self, and able to start framing questions and lines of inquiries of their own. End forms will be more emphasized than in Design Studio 1 and 2, in part as evidence that craft and working methods are sufficiently evolved. The twice-a-week format is intended for juniors or advanced designers who have completed the first two semesters of Design Studio or an equivalent design principles track.
Please contact the department for permission to register.
Major Requirement | BFA Graphic Design
GRAPH 3226-02
DESIGN STUDIO 3
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Students are expected to develop personal working methods and interests through more general questions posed by the faculty. Longer-term projects will be intermixed with shorter projects posed by visiting critics. Students should complete the Design Studio track with a developed sense of self, and able to start framing questions and lines of inquiries of their own. End forms will be more emphasized than in Design Studio 1 and 2, in part as evidence that craft and working methods are sufficiently evolved. The twice-a-week format is intended for juniors or advanced designers who have completed the first two semesters of Design Studio or an equivalent design principles track.
Please contact the department for permission to register.
Major Requirement | BFA Graphic Design
GRAPH 3226-03
DESIGN STUDIO 3
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Students are expected to develop personal working methods and interests through more general questions posed by the faculty. Longer-term projects will be intermixed with shorter projects posed by visiting critics. Students should complete the Design Studio track with a developed sense of self, and able to start framing questions and lines of inquiries of their own. End forms will be more emphasized than in Design Studio 1 and 2, in part as evidence that craft and working methods are sufficiently evolved. The twice-a-week format is intended for juniors or advanced designers who have completed the first two semesters of Design Studio or an equivalent design principles track.
Please contact the department for permission to register.
Major Requirement | BFA Graphic Design
GRAPH 3226-04
DESIGN STUDIO 3
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Students are expected to develop personal working methods and interests through more general questions posed by the faculty. Longer-term projects will be intermixed with shorter projects posed by visiting critics. Students should complete the Design Studio track with a developed sense of self, and able to start framing questions and lines of inquiries of their own. End forms will be more emphasized than in Design Studio 1 and 2, in part as evidence that craft and working methods are sufficiently evolved. The twice-a-week format is intended for juniors or advanced designers who have completed the first two semesters of Design Studio or an equivalent design principles track.
Please contact the department for permission to register.
Major Requirement | BFA Graphic Design
GRAPH 3226-05
DESIGN STUDIO 3
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Students are expected to develop personal working methods and interests through more general questions posed by the faculty. Longer-term projects will be intermixed with shorter projects posed by visiting critics. Students should complete the Design Studio track with a developed sense of self, and able to start framing questions and lines of inquiries of their own. End forms will be more emphasized than in Design Studio 1 and 2, in part as evidence that craft and working methods are sufficiently evolved. The twice-a-week format is intended for juniors or advanced designers who have completed the first two semesters of Design Studio or an equivalent design principles track.
Please contact the department for permission to register.
Major Requirement | BFA Graphic Design
GRAPH 3226-99
DESIGN STUDIO 3
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Students are expected to develop personal working methods and interests through more general questions posed by the faculty. Longer-term projects will be intermixed with shorter projects posed by visiting critics. Students should complete the Design Studio track with a developed sense of self, and able to start framing questions and lines of inquiries of their own. End forms will be more emphasized than in Design Studio 1 and 2, in part as evidence that craft and working methods are sufficiently evolved. The twice-a-week format is intended for juniors or advanced designers who have completed the first two semesters of Design Studio or an equivalent design principles track.
Please contact the department for permission to register.
Major Requirement | BFA Graphic Design
GRAPH 3237-01
WEB AS MEDIUM 1
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Web as Medium 1 is an introduction to creating communicative media for the web, from both conceptual and technological perspectives. Through engaging in readings, student-led presentations, and projects, students will explore cultural, social, and historical contexts around network technologies, and discover the Internet's potential as a space for social exchange and independent expression. Throughout workshops and hands-on exercises, students will learn fundamental design principles as well as a basic understanding of HTML/CSS/Javascript. Studio projects will guide students in exploring methods for conceptualizing, designing, and developing websites. While outcomes won’t always prioritize practicality or strict functionality, the emphasis lies on cultivating a poetic understanding of design and the Internet as mediums for critical research and action.
GRAPH 323G-01
GRADUATE STUDIO I
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This studio course, as groundwork for the graduate thesis, will emphasize inquiry as a primary means for learning. Through making, reflection, collaboration, and critique, we will explore the underlying principles that design objects require, and synthesize theory and practice as necessary partners in graphic design. We will look at the designer's role in the process of revealing and making meaning - as an objective mediator, and as an author/producer, integrating content and form across projects as visual expressions of the preliminary thesis investigation.
Major Requirement | MFA Graphic Design
GRAPH 327G-01
GRADUATE THESIS I
SECTION DESCRIPTION
The MFA degree requires completion of a graduate thesis. The thesis, as a major undertaking for advanced study and personal development, also assists the student to direct a program of study for an experience that best serves that individual's interests and needs. The thesis is an inquiry into the process, expression and function of the visual in graphic design. Visual search is the primary means by which to develop and substantiate original work which provides proof of concept for the thesis argument, critique, or point of view. The graduate student is encouraged to go beyond established models and to project his/her unique character in the thesis rather than to evidence vocational training, which is implicit. The productions can involve any medium suitable to need and content. Ultimately the thesis is submitted as a written document supported by a body of visual work that is a meaningful synthesis of the visual and verbal, and a lasting contribution to the field of graphic design. Two copies of the document remain, one for the Library and one for the department. Completion is required before graduation as stipulated by the College.
Major Requirement | MFA Graphic Design
GRAPH 3286-01
IDENTITY DESIGN
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Designing an identity and identity system is a critical skill practiced by today's designers. In this course, students will create two identity systems: one for an arts organization and one for a socially constructive campaign. While a traditional identity system is defined as a logo and a set of rules for governing that logo's application across a range of media, the goal of this class is to expand upon the ways an identity can be conceived through the manipulation of language, materials, and audience expectation/participation.
Elective
GRAPH 330G-01
GRADUATE STUDIO ELECTIVE I
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This graduate-level studio elective – Data Narratives – will explore the use of data visualization in creating complex narrative experiences for viewers and readers. The course will serve as a technical primer in how to write code that compiles, analyzes and visualizes data, but it will also deepen the abilities of students that have some existing skill set in these areas.
“Data” will be defined in a broad sense, and course examples will include formats like text and image analysis, as well as spatial data and cartography. Students will be encouraged to work with subjects and sources that intersect with other projects they’re undertaking at RISD.
The course will examine the core design considerations in the creation of world-class visualization, as well as approaches to the field’s “hard problems” such as variability and uncertainty. It will also interrogate the fundamental tensions that exist within storytelling across all mediums, with reading and discussion on story structure, narrative ethics, and the narrative lens.
Elective
GRAPH 3319-01
WKSHP: SCREENPRINTING
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This workshop will focus on establishing a basic understanding of a variety of screen printing techniques and how to make use of those techniques in making your projects. Through in-class demos and out-of-class assignments, this workshop will encourage interplay between screen prints and digital prints. The class will start with simple paper stencils and move quickly into making screens from images and text generated digitally. No previous experience required.
Elective
GRAPH 3319-02
WKSHP: SCREENPRINTING
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This workshop will focus on establishing a basic understanding of a variety of screen printing techniques and how to make use of those techniques in making your projects. Through in-class demos and out-of-class assignments, this workshop will encourage interplay between screen prints and digital prints. The class will start with simple paper stencils and move quickly into making screens from images and text generated digitally. No previous experience required.
Elective
GRAPH 3319-03
WKSHP: SCREENPRINTING
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This workshop will focus on establishing a basic understanding of a variety of screen printing techniques and how to make use of those techniques in making your projects. Through in-class demos and out-of-class assignments, this workshop will encourage interplay between screen prints and digital prints. The class will start with simple paper stencils and move quickly into making screens from images and text generated digitally. No previous experience required.
Elective
GRAPH 3324-01
NEWLY FORMED
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course focuses on advanced composition in Graphic Design and Typography using an array of materials, techniques and formats. Form remains an area of study in graphic design that does not need an application, only a surface. Emphasis will be placed on experimental form-making/image-making using generative and iterative approaches. Form need not follow function. Studio assignments are supported by lectures showing contemporary graphic form, from historical to contemporary work, that are effective and evocative. This elective aims to build a collection of work that can be shared with the larger graphic design community.
Elective
GRAPH 3324-02
NEWLY FORMED
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course focuses on advanced composition in Graphic Design and Typography using an array of materials, techniques and formats. Form remains an area of study in graphic design that does not need an application, only a surface. Emphasis will be placed on experimental form-making/image-making using generative and iterative approaches. Form need not follow function. Studio assignments are supported by lectures showing contemporary graphic form, from historical to contemporary work, that are effective and evocative. This elective aims to build a collection of work that can be shared with the larger graphic design community.
Elective
GRAPH 332G-01
GRADUATE TYPOGRAPHY STUDIO I
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Graduate Typography I through III (GRAPH-332G/342G/352G) are a sequence of courses that focus on the subject of typography. This sequence covers the fundamentals of typography, its theory, practice, technology and history. Studies range from introductory through advanced levels. Grad Typography I includes: the study of letterforms, type design, proportion, hierarchy, legibility, and structures for composition of multiple type elements. Aspects of contemporary practice and theory are integrated into research and discussion.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Graphic Design Students.
Major Requirement | MFA Graphic Design (3yr)