Studios, Labs, & Letterpress
Students work in spacious facilities that include small and large format printers, a RISO printer and large plotter, Macs and tablets, a Letterpress Studio, and more.
Communication Design BFA students gain a robust working knowledge of print design, information design, branding, and dynamic media.
Communication Design BFA students learn how to develop creative solutions in a range of media, implement visual language and graphic form, and design user-focused systems. Through coursework with practicing designers and design educators, students work on:
- Package design
- Publication design
- Web and app design
- Interactive communication
- Advertising
- Creation of graphic identities and brand systems
Becca Kirlew, Communication Design
Curious House, Design, 2020
Cara Tarmey, Janina Yutkins-Kennedy, Communication Design
Kindred (App), Mobile Application Design, 2019
Sofie Hodara
The Pursuit of Happiness, Installation, 2018
During their time at MassArt, Communication Design students receive critique on their work and learn how to thoughtfully critique the work of others.
Students are encouraged to complete an internship to gain experience producing design work for clients, and discover the application and demands of the profession in different environments.
Sophomore Studios class with Nancy Hughes.
Sophomore Studios class with Faculty member Fish McGill.
Making Meaning class in the Tower building with Ryan Diaz and Katherine Hughes.
Making Meaning class (Communication Design) in the Tower building with Ryan Diaz & Katherine Hughes.
Making Meaning class (Communication Design) in the Tower building with Ryan Diaz & Katherine Hughes.
Making Meaning class (Communication Design) in the Tower building with Ryan Diaz & Katherine Hughes.
Making Meaning class (Communication Design) in the Tower building with Ryan Diaz & Katherine Hughes.
Alumni
Graduating students have mastered a wide range of technical and craft skills and gained a realistic understanding of how to implement their knowledge in a professional design environment.
Because MassArt’s program is both broad-reaching and conceptual, and provides rigorous training in typography and information architecture, our graduates enjoy an excellent reputation in the profession. Alumni are in demand in multiple industries, including UX design, exhibition design, branding, type design, publishing, editorial design, web design, and design management.
Learning Outcomes
Students who complete the Communication Design BFA program are expected to be able to demonstrate the following learning outcomes.
- Practiced a wide variety of approaches to problem solving through design
- Demonstrated proficiency in developing concepts as well as in implementing visual language and graphic form
- Designed for a variety of media including print, time-based and interactive, and gained expertise in matching media to content
- Applied the fundamental concepts of visualizing complex information
- Gained experience in designing systems that allow users to logically and easily interact with data
- Demonstrated proficiency in typography for both print and screen environments
- Developed competent critical language for analyzing and evaluating their own design work and the work of others
- Learned how to research and evaluate user and audience needs
- Worked effectively in a team
- Acquainted themselves, through readings and presentations, with current trends and people in historical and contemporary design
- Mastered a wide range of technical and craft skills, and gained a realistic understanding of how to implement their knowledge in a professional design environment
Information for