Inside this book is just about everything you need to know about Graphic Design at York College of Pennsylvania.
B.F.A. in Graphic Design www.ycp.edu
#ycpgd
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ork College of Pennsylvania’s BFA in Graphic Design program combines studio work, design theory and criticism, and history with a strong academic curriculum to provide you with the tools you will need to become a successful professional in your field. At YCP, you will learn not only about the tools and techniques, both traditional and digital, necessary to make your ideas come to life, but also the ways in which your work relates to our culture and society. Coursework in graphic design history gives you a valuable perspective on where the discipline has been, where it is going, and how technology a ects the way people communicate. Graphic designers are valuable members of multi-disciplinary teams that produce many different kinds of communication, both in print and on screen, at and 3-dimensional, linear and interactive, and public or private. • Publication Design • Motion Graphics
Do You Have What It Takes to be a Graphic Designer? Contrary to popular belief, talent and a laptop are not the only requirements for success in the graphic design field! See what your GDQ (Graphic Designer Quotient) is by checking the items that apply to you! I spend a lot of time doodling. I love technology. I love making things with my hands. I am not afraid of hard work. I love words. I am a good listener. I love color. I am naturally curious. I am competitive. I am a team player. I have a solid work ethic. I have a sense of humor.
• Typeface Design
I take direction well.
• Identity Systems
I show up.
• Handlettering
I am able to take (and give) constructive criticism.
• Informational Graphics • Illustration • UX/UI Design • Printmaking • Website Design • Letterpress • Display Design • Package Design • Technical Publication Design • Broadcast Graphics
If you checked 5 or more of these boxes, you may have what it takes to enjoy a great career as a graphic designer! Don’t worry about the boxes you didn’t check. You’ll acquire those skills as you study graphic design in college. Your faculty, peers and visiting designers will help you learn about process, concept and professionalism.
What You’ll Take and When
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B.F.A.. in Graphic Design • 125 credits raphic Design majors at YCP start their major area of study immediately upon arrival, with foundations in graphic design, manual and digital craft, and drawing. You’ll begin to examine graphic design’s history and role in culture and society. You’ll learn effective time management and application skills. And you’ll hone your ability to draw what you see, which is an essential tool for every graphic designer. The program is sequential for a reason. You learn a lot, then you move on and use what you’ve learned. Practice makes perfect. So the closer you follow the progression, the better you’ll be when you graduate. Get to know your advisor and seek his or her help each semester. Advisors are your friends, at least where your academics are concerned. <3
Sophomore Portfolio Review Graphic Design majors undergo a second portfolio review in the Sophomore Portfolio Review. It’s a 1-credit pass/fail course. You need to pass it to remain in the major. It’s a good opportunity to see how you’re doing and decide where to concentrate your focus.
There are lots of great art electives to choose from including but not limited to Lettering Arts, Book Arts, Introduction to Letterpress, Web Design II, Printmaking II, Jewelry and Small Sculpture I & II, Illustration I through IV, Photography I through IV, History of Photography, and The Modernist Impulse. Your advisor will suggest other electives to add to your graphic designer’s toolkit.
Bachelor of Fine Art in Graphic Design Course Progression Freshman Year Fall ART200 Intro to Graphic Design ART206 Elements of Computer Graphics ART215 Drawing I FYS100 First Year Seminar FCO105 Rhetorical Communication Sophomore Year Fall ART205 Survey Western Art II ART220 Painting I ART247 The Digital Image ART290 Print Production F Global Citizenship Junior Year Fall ART287 Printmaking I ART296 Publication Design ART340 Web Design I ART3XX Art History Elective DP Humanities
Spring ART204 ART218 ART265 F F
Survey Western Art I Typography I Drawing II Quantitative Fluency Advanced Communication
Spring ART219 ART2XX ART299 ART389 DP DP
Typography II Art Elective Sophomore Portfolio Review History of Graphic Design Social and Behavioral Science Arts
Spring ART398 ART399 ART436 ART3XX DP
Junior Design Studio Motion Graphics Professional Development Seminar Art Elective Natural and Physical Science
Spring ART441 ART3XX FE FE C C
Senior Exhibition Art Elective Free Elective Free Elective Constellation III Constellation IV
Summer ART498 Internship/Independent Study Senior Year Fall ART432 Senior Design Studio ART3XX Art Elective ART3XX Art History Elective C Constellation I C Constellation II
Outside the Studio Internships Internships are an invaluable part of your education. Student graphic designers gain work experience in the real world as well as develop professional relationships and networks. Talk to your advisor about when to do an internship and how to get one. AIGA Student Group When you get to campus, you’ll want to join our vibrant and active AIGA (American Institute for the Graphic Arts) student group. A national organization for professional graphic designers, YCP’s group organizes exciting events and gives you opportunities to show off your stuff. AIGA membership is a requirement for graphic design juniors, but recommended for students of all levels. Visit national AIGA’s website at www.aiga.org. The York College Galleries The YCP Galleries are dedicated to providing opportunities to explore the visual arts in a setting that promotes learning, discovery, and appreciation. Comprising two adjacent galleries, these spaces serve the college and the community. The exhibition calendar features a varied program of nationally touring exhibitions and invitational shows as well as faculty and juried student shows. Artist and curator lectures, workshops, book signings, and other events complement the schedule. Visiting Artists You’ll get the opportunity to hear, meet and work with major names in the world of graphic design, as well as knowledgeable regional and local visiting designers. Each year, a nationally-known designer serves as the juror for the Annual Juried Student Graphic Design Exhibit.
Some important visitors have been: • Yomar Augusto, calligrapher/muralist www.yomaraugusto.com • Ken Barber, House Industries www.houseind.com • Matteo Bologna, designer/typographer www.mucca.com • Robbie Conal, guerrilla posterer www.robbieconal.com • David Carson, legendary designer www.davidcarsondesign.com • Ellen Lupton, writer, curator, educator www.elupton.com • Paul Sahre, designer, author, lecturer www.paulsahre.com • PostTypography, designers, educators www.posttypography.com • Rick Valicenti, graphic designer www.3st.com Graphic Design Semester in Italy Spend the spring semester of your junior year studying in one of the world’s most important centers of graphic, industrial and fashion design, Milan, through YCP Graphic Design’s articulation agreement with NABA (Nuovo Accademia di Belle Arti). Buona fortuna!
Your Faculty
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our faculty are all practicing graphic designers with a variety of areas of interest. While dedicated to YCP’s philosophy, each prof has his or her own unique set of perspectives and processes. From typography to motion graphics, from publishing to production, you will be challenged to be the best graphic designer you can be. Visit www.ycp.edu for YCP’s faculty roster and bios.
“Each student designer uses their graphic design skill in a unique and expressive way. Employers are looking for that kind of creativity, and I love seeing so many of our grads making their voices heard out in the world. “ Melanie M. Rodgers, M.F.A. Associate Professor, Graphic Design
“Graphic designers at York College are thinkers and doers both on the screen and by hand making. A creative process is fostered here to advance each student’s vision.” Troy Patterson, M.F.A. Assistant Professor, Graphic Design
How to Submit Your Portfolio
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n addition to fulfilling all of York College’s admissions requirements, a student seeking admittance into the Graphic Design program is required to submit a portfolio of 10 to 20 examples of artwork. The portfolio should contain the student’s best work to date, reflect a range of abilities, interests and concepts, and demonstrate experience in a variety of media. In addition, an introductory artist’s statement must be included, and should be a brief synopsis of the applicant’s experience, who or what has been an influence and how, and what aspirations are for the future. The portfolio is to be submitted via York College’s online submission system at york.slideroom.com. Hitting the submit button is the final step in the process. The applicant will then receive confirmation of receipt by email with a confirmation number and approximate decision date. A portfolio will only be reviewed after the applicant has been accepted to York College. Acceptance to York College does not guarantee acceptance into art programs.
Evaluation Criteria The Portfolio Review Committee wants to get a sense of who the applicant is as an artist, through reading the artist’s statement and viewing his or her best work to date. Experience in a variety of media, interesting perspectives and subject matter indicate to the committee that the applicant has potential for success in a college level art program and beyond. A numerical score is given to the applicant, in areas, listed below. These numbers are then averaged for a final rating. The committee asks these questions during the evaluation of a portfolio: • Are the images of good quality in terms of focus and lighting? • Is the artist’s statement clear and substantive? • Is there a good sampling of several of the following media: ink, pencil, pastel, oil, acrylic, collage, digital, photography, sculpture, fabric, jewelry, ceramics, printmaking, video or web? • Is there drawing from both real and still life? • Has there been experimentation with both realistic and expressive drawing and composition? • Are there varied subjects and concepts in the portfolio and s the subject matter a reflection of the applicant’s interests?* * Avoid cartoon action figures, fairies, monsters, anime, graffiti art, cute pets, drawings from photos, and images of vacations, sunsets and flowers.
Submission Deadlines Deadlines for submission are Jan. 31st and March 15th for Fall entrance, and Nov. 1st for Spring entrance. Portfolios will be reviewed on an as-received basis after these dates, as space in the program permits. This status is available from the admissions office. The Division of Art reserves the right to cap entrance to the Graphic Design program as space indicates to preserve optimal class size and quality. For Transfer Students The portfolio should contain a minimum of two examples of work from each art course the student wishes to transfer to York College. Provisional Graphic Design Majors Students who are interested in becoming a Graphic Design major, but are not yet ready to submit a portfolio, may declare themselves as Provisional Graphic Design majors. This status indicates that the student’s intent is to eventually apply to Graphic Design, and assures assignment to an advisor who knows how to give guidance towards the goal of acceptance into the major. New incoming students should inform admissions of their intent to apply to Graphic Design upon acceptance to the college, and will then be processed as Provisional majors. New incoming Provisionals will receive a block schedule containing courses applicable to their desired eventual major, as space permits, with preference given to accepted and declared Graphic Design majors with deposits paid.
Check us out @ #YCPGD!
Painted Lettering Ashley Rosenberger ’19
Illustration Sketchbook Stacy Pineda ’19
Self-Promotional Package Design Kerrie DeFelice ’19
Typographic Book Design Chase Monico ’19
Spot Illustrations Lauren Bupp ’20
Need to Build Up Your Portfolio? Want to add some more pieces to your portfolio? Not sure how to proceed? Try a few of these time-tested, tired and true projects. You can do them on computer, by hand or both. Foreign Customs Poster Find a custom of a country other than your own that you find really amazing, weird and different. Research it, get to its roots, then design a poster that briefly describes it. Include the name of the custom, a graphic to accompany it. 18 x 24 is a good size, tall or wide.
Currency Design Design a piece of currency that could function as a worldwide monetary device. Name the unit and design a 1 unit, 5 unit and 10 unit note. Make it immediately understandable by all languages and as universal as possible (ie: graphic!) Do your research and check out the currency designs of various other countries (many use the Euro now, so look before that!) Poem Interpretation Select a short poem or lyric that means something to you. Compose the piece using only typography to express the meaning of the poem... how it should be read, where the emphasis should be. Use limited color, as the size and style and position of the type should be the most important thing. Playing Cards Design a set of playing cards that are particular to something you are interested in. You can replace the King, Jack, Queen, etc. with something else if you wish. This is a fun project that can be a real illustration and type workout.
@ycgraphicdesign www.ycp.edu
rev. 02/19