School of Design First Year Core
The School of Design at UArts redefines what it means to educate a 21st century designer, providing creative, cross-disciplinary and business practices in the curriculum. Its key innovation is a celebration of the reality that the boundaries between all sorts of contemporary design practices are more permeable than ever before, and that a modern designer needs a greatly expanded skill set at their disposal.
The School of Design 1st Year Core is a unique and critical first-year experience for all undergraduate design majors. These collaborative courses will expose you to multiple modes of practice and technologies while providing a solid grounding in design thinking, drawing as thinking, communication, audience and meaning, design technology, and collaboration and team building. You'll complete projects that encourage experimentation and develop your unique artistic voice across a range of social, cultural, political, technological and historical topics. This year of focused studies will prepare you to enter your discipline successfully. During your first year in the School of Design, you’ll also take course modules in the university’s Makerspace and Center for Immersive Media.
Undergraduate Degree Programs in the School of Design
Are you a designer, but unsure of which major to pick? The School of Design’s General, Undeclared program is a first-year option for new Design students.
Course Schedule
Total credits: 15
Fall: 9 credits
Drawing as Seeing (3c)
Design Process, Theory & Communication (3c)
Digital Design Lab (3c)
Spring: 6 credits
Drawing as Thinking (3c)
Design Studio (3c)
School of Design First Year Core Classes
Click on the images below to learn more about each class and to see student work.
Assigned projects will explore process as well as the formal elements of line, gesture, space, scale, texture, shape and tonal structure using a variety of drawing materials including pencil, charcoal, pen-and-ink and wash and more. Projects range from the figure and still life to perspective and the environment. You'll keep a sketchbook to document visual explorations and thoughts outside the classroom.
Through a combination of studio projects, exercises, workshops and readings, you'll develop a common critical vocabulary for design thinking, making and discourse. This course is structured to promote the interaction between design majors, encourage cross-disciplinary activity and showcase professional possibilities in the Freshman Design Forum.
Best practices for technology will be covered. Experimentation with tools to explore image, layout, motion, sound and telecommunication technologies will prepare you to solve complex design challenges in future studies.
Projects expose you to a wide range of techniques and media experiences including digital drawing. You'll keep a sketchbook to document visual explorations and thoughts outside the classroom. Issues covered and developed in this course are the basis for critical thinking in all future design courses.
You'll learn the fundamentals of typography, further develop your skills in using form, structure and color, and be introduced to concepts of marketing, business and professional practice. Coursework will strengthen habits of mind, including effective time management and project planning, as well as technology use, presentation and collaborative skills. This course is structured to promote the interaction between design majors, encourage cross-disciplinary activity and showcase professional possibilities in the Freshman Design Forum.