Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Graphic Design

Our mission is to provide aspiring artists and graphic designers with intensive, integrative, relevant, and rewarding educational programs of excellent quality in a personal, supportive, and collaborative environment. We seek to graduate creative individuals who think critically and historically, communicate effectively, and act responsibly in our global society. We are also committed to providing studio and art history courses to non-art majors as part of Pacific's General Education Program and to contributing to the aesthetic quality of the campus. To accomplish this mission: Our undergraduate curricula include art and design theories, histories, and experiential learning in both traditional and contemporary visual arts media, providing a strong basis for informed reflection, critical thinking, independent inquiry, and imaginative expression. Our undergraduate curricula in Graphic Design and Studio Art combine a thorough visual arts education with a comprehensive grounding in the fertile, intellectual heritage of the Humanities and the liberal arts. Our faculty members inform and inspire; their teaching expertise is enriched by their professional experience as artists, designers, and historians. Undergraduate research, internships, and study abroad experiences are encouraged. We promote interdisciplinary partnerships and collaborations with other units within the university and within our community to create educational opportunities and reach to broader audiences. We engage in ongoing assessment of our programs. Bachelor of Fine Art in Graphic Design Solve communication problems, including the skills of problem identification, research and information gathering, analysis, generation of alternative solutions, prototyping and user testing, and evaluation of outcomes. Describe and respond to the audiences and contexts, which communication solutions must address, including recognition of the physical, cognitive, cultural, and social human factors that shape design decisions. Create and develop visual form in response to communication problems, including an understanding of principles of visual organization/ composition, information hierarchy, symbolic representation, typography, aesthetics, and the construction of meaningful messages. Understand design-related tools and technology, including their roles in the creation, reproduction, and distribution of visual messages. Relevant tools and technologies include, but are not limited to, drawing, offset printing, photography, and time-based and interactive media (film, video, computer multimedia). Demonstrate proficiency in communication, presentation, and business skills necessary to engage in professional practice in graphic design including the ability to organize and manage design projects and to productively collaborate with others in a team. This competency is based on an understanding of organizational structures and working patterns in design, intellectual, economic, technological, and political contexts. (Capstone Seminar Series) Demonstrate ability to form and defend value judgments about graphic design and to communicate art ideas, concepts, and requirements to professionals and laypersons related to the practice. Identify the major historical achievements, current issues, processes, and directions in the graphic design field as well as in art in general. Identify current intercultural and global issues as they relate to visual communication. Apply ethical reasoning to create sustainable and socially and environmentally responsible design solutions. Students must complete a minimum of 136 units with a Pacific cumulative and major/program grade point average of 2.0 in order to earn the bachelor of fine arts degree with a major in graphic design.