Graphic Design
Arts and Humanities
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Major Brochure | Courses | Sample Plan of Study

The graphic design program at Defiance College is intended to prepare students to express ideas visually in service to their employers and the wider good of society.

Graphic design majors focus on using graphics and text to communicate ideas and emotions. Everything we do begins with the need to communicate. After we determine what our client is trying to say and the emotions they want to convey to the audience, we brainstorm graphics that may serve our purpose. Once we have some sketches that might work, we draw from a wide range of digital tools to make those sketches into finished products. Need a resizable graphic like a logo? Look at a vector program. Need motion graphics? Draw on video or animation. Sensitivity to the client’s needs, creativity in the design process, and proficiency in a variety of digital tools come together to make great graphic design.

Graphic Design is a major for those who:

• Experience the world through sight
  
  
• Watch TV for the ads instead of the programs
  
  
• Doodle what others say instead of hearing what they say
  
  
• Experience frustration at having to read books and write papers
  
  
• See the ideas of the world as shapes and colors in space
  
  
• Enjoy freelance activities and are self-motivated
  
  
  

Major Brochure | Courses | Sample Plan of Study

Internships

Almost all graphic design students serve at least one internship before leaving Defiance College. Many students have three or more internship positions. Every semester, a graphic design student is a layout editor for the student literary publication Progeny. Students have worked for the local hospital, coffee shop, historical society, and automotive suppliers.

Unique Opportunities

Opportunities with McMaster School
Graphic design majors are actively involved in the McMaster School for Advancing Humanity participating in projects and producing materials for students and faculty to use overseas.

Exchange Program
Defiance College has a junior year exchange program with The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Students can spend their junior year at the The Art Institute developing a concentration in Interior Design, Photography, Media Arts and Animation, Game Art and Design, Interactive Media Design, Video Production, or Visual Effects and Motion Graphics. The 30 hours the student earns at The Art Institute are accepted by Defiance College as major courses. Students also have the option of additional courses at The Art Institute.

After College — What’s Next?

Graduates go on to many different positions in the graphic design industry. Current graduates are working for major corporations such as Sherwin Williams, running their own design firms, designing signs for a national franchise, and creating graphics and advertisements for the local newspaper. We have sent students on to Master of Fine Arts (MFA) programs but this is not a primary purpose of the program.

The Faculty

Professors of this major play with spatial objects just as their students do. They communicate powerful messages through their designs and are sensitive to the visual orientation of students as they help them develop a full sense of how to create and communicate.

Amy K. Drees, M.A., Assistant Professor of Arts and Humanities
419-783-2334 | adrees@defiance.edu | Faculty Profile

Steven J. Smith, M.F.A., Professor of Art
419-783-2451 | ssmith@defiance.edu | Faculty Profile

Douglas Fiely, M.A., Assistant Professor of Art
419-783-2452 | dfiely@defiance.edu | Faculty Profile