Bachelor of Science in Visual Communication Design
The 58-unit Bachelor of Science in Visual Communication Design encompasses and integrates graphic design and interactive design while offering additional study addressing advanced concepts and a changing technological landscape. Students are prepared to collaborate with other design disciplines in technology, user experience, and creative problem-solving.
Design Programs are no longer impacted. We are requesting to have 6 units of Foundation Requirement (these classes articulate to Community College offerings), and the department maintains a Laptop Requirement. See the School of Design website for details.
Program Learning Outcomes
- SKILLS AND TECHNOLOGY:
Upon graduation students will be able to:
- Demonstrate proficiency in skills pertinent to design practice and its applications, including but not limited to: typography, composition, color, selection of media, sequence, motion, material exploration, creative coding, systems thinking, storytelling, experiential design, information architecture.
- Use software and technology intended for design and its diverse applications. - PROCESS:
Upon graduation students will be able to:
- Apply a structured design process to various situations of different scope and complexity, incorporating elements of design thinking and user-centered design. Design process stages might include: research, ideation, prototyping, testing and refinement, finalizing, implementation and evaluation. - CONTEXTUAL DESIGN:
Upon graduation students will be able to:
- Recognize how design theories, principles, and practices have changed over time in response to shifting contexts.
- Critically identify how design responds to, reflects and/or interacts with its broader contexts, including but not limited to: community, cultural, accessible, socioeconomic, technological, environmental, social, political.
- Use their understanding of context to inform their own practice of responsible design. - RESEARCH:
Upon graduation students will be able to:
- Analyze the design landscape and think critically about the users and stakeholders, feasibility, functionality, aesthetics, and broader social impact of the design.
- Identify appropriate research and testing methods for the context, user needs, and outcome.
- Apply findings throughout the design process. - VISUAL AND MATERIAL LITERACY:
Upon graduation students will be able to:
- Demonstrate fluency in visual language and design vocabulary.
- Demonstrate familiarity with critical theory and principles of perception, semiotics, rhetoric, and cultural context across relevant and evolving media.
- Select and utilize materials and approaches based on their relevance to the context of use, user needs, and their environmental and cultural impact. - PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION:
Upon graduation students will be able to:
- Document and present work according to professional expectations employing verbal, visual, and written means, including but not limited to: process books, creative briefs, technical documentation, critiques, summary documents, and portfolio. - INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION:
Upon graduation students will be able to:
- Collaborate effectively with others both within and outside the field, including but not limited to: community organizations and industry partners. - SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARENESS:
Upon graduation students will be able to:
- Identify and critically evaluate how design impacts and is impacted by systemic bias and discrimination.
- Develop a socially just, ethical, respectful, responsible, and inclusive practice.
- Demonstrate knowledge about traditionally excluded, non-Western, and emergent design practices. - ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE DESIGN:
Upon graduation students will be able to
- identify fundamental aspects of environmentally sustainable design practice, including but not limited to: sustainable materials and manufacturing processes, product life cycle, environmental impact.
Admission
At the time of admission to the University, all students may elect to be Visual Communication Design majors. No special permission, application, or portfolio is required. Before advancing to courses at the 300 level or higher, however, all majors must:
Visual Communication Design (B.S.) — 58 units
All courses for the major must be completed with a grade of C or better, except for DES 305, DES 370, and DES 576, which must be completed with a CR grade.
General Education Requirements Met in the Major
The requirements below are deemed “met in the major” upon completion of the courses listed (even though the courses and their prerequisites are not approved for GE). This is true whether or not the student completes the major.
- Upper-Division General Education, Arts and/or Humanities (UD-C) is satisfied upon completion of DES 356 .
Foundation Requirements (9 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| DES 200 | Visual Design Literacy | 3 |
| DES 222 | Digital Design Foundations I | 3 |
| DES 228 | Introduction to Web Design | 3 |
Core Requirements (13 Units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| DES 300 | Design Process | 3 |
| DES 322 | Digital Design Foundations II | 3 |
| DES 324GW | Research and Writing for Design - GWAR | 3 |
| DES 356 | A History of Design and Technology | 3 |
| DES 370 | Introduction to The School of Design | 1 |
Major Requirements (15 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| DES 325 | Graphic Design I | 3 |
| DES 327 | Interactive Design I | 3 |
| DES 425 | Graphic Design II | 3 |
| DES 427 | Interactive Design II | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Graphic Design III: Advanced | ||
| Interactive Design III | ||
Major Electives (15 Units)
The Major Electives are intended to build a professional design portfolio, and as such, upper-division courses are strongly encouraged. Select five classes from the list below. Take no more than two classes (6 units total) at the lower-divison.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| CSC 101 | Introduction to Computing | 3 |
| DES 220 | Introduction to Drawing for Designers | 3 |
| DES 226 | Modern Letterpress Printing: Traditional and Digital Techniques | 3 |
| DES 252 | Rethinking Digital Visual Media: History, Technology, and Content | 3 |
| DES 256 | Design and Society: Contemporary Design Issues and Applications | 3 |
| DES 277 | Exploration in Meaning and Discourse Through Design | 3 |
| DES 305 | Lab Safety Basics | 1 |
| DES 310 | Product Design I | 3 |
| DES 311 | Image Making for Designers | 3 |
| DES 320 | Drafting and Sketching for Design | 3 |
| DES 321 | Technical Drawing I: Introduction to CAD | 3 |
| DES 367 | Introduction to Game Design | 3 |
| DES 377B | 3 | |
| DES 405 | How to Develop, Patent, and Market an Idea | 3 |
| DES 448 | User Experience Design | 3 |
| DES 456 | Design Thinking Principles and Practices | 3 |
| DES 475 | Topics in Design | 3 |
| DES 523 | Information Design I: Data Visualization | 3 |
| DES 525 | Graphic Design III: Advanced 1 | 3 |
| DES 527 | Interactive Design III 1 | 3 |
| DES 575 | Contemporary Design Workshop | 3 |
| DES 576 | Practical Experience: Internship | 3 |
| DES 625 | Graphic Design Practicum: Design Working Group | 3 |
| DES 627 | Advanced Projects in Visual Communication Design | 3 |
| DES 628 | Design Gallery: Exhibitions and Communications | 3 |
| DES 677 | Exploration in Delightful Design | 3 |
| DES 699 | Independent Study in Design | 3 |
| JOUR 235 | Photojournalism I: Foundations of Photojournalism | 3 |
| JOUR 450 | Publication Design and Graphics | 3 |
| Other electives as approved by an advisor | 1-3 | |
Culminating Requirements (6 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| DES 505 | Senior Design Project (to be taken in the last semester) | 3 |
| DES 570 | Professional Practices for Designers | 3 |
- 1
DES 525 and/or DES 527 can be counted as elective credit if they were not used to satisfy the major requirement. If both courses are taken, students will get credit for both the Major Requirement and Major Electives, but if only one is taken, students will get credit for the Major Requirement only.
General Education Requirements
| Requirement | Course Level | Units | Area Designation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Communication | LD | 3 | A1 |
| Written English Communication | LD | 3 | A2 |
| Critical Thinking | LD | 3 | A3 |
| Physical Science | LD | 3 | B1 |
| Life Science | LD | 3 | B2 |
| Lab Science | LD | 1 | B3 |
| Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning | LD | 3 | B4 |
| Arts | LD | 3 | C1 |
| Humanities | LD | 3 | C2 |
| Arts or Humanities | LD | 3 | C1 or C2 |
| Social Sciences | LD | 3 | D1 |
| Social Sciences: US History | LD | 3 | D2 |
| Lifelong Learning and Self-Development (LLD) | LD | 3 | E |
| Ethnic Studies | LD | 3 | F |
| Physical and/or Life Science | UD | 3 | UD-B |
| Arts and/or Humanities | UD | 3 | UD-C |
| Social Sciences | UD | 3 | UD-D |
| SF State Studies | |||
| Courses certified as meeting the SF State Studies requirements may be upper or lower division in General Education (GE), a major or minor, or an elective. | |||
| American Ethnic and Racial Minorities | LD or UD | 3 | AERM |
| Environmental Sustainability | LD or UD | 3 | ES |
| Global Perspectives | LD or UD | 3 | GP |
| Social Justice | LD or UD | 3 | SJ |
Note: LD = Lower-Division; UD = Upper-Division.
First-Time Student Roadmap (4 Year)
The roadmaps presented in this Bulletin are intended as suggested plans of study and do not replace meeting with an advisor. For a more personalized roadmap, please use the Degree Planner tool found in your Student Center.
SF State Scholars
The San Francisco State Scholars program provides undergraduate students with an accelerated pathway to a graduate degree. Students in this program pursue a bachelor’s and master’s degree simultaneously. This program allows students to earn graduate credit while in their junior and/or senior year, reducing the number of semesters required for completion of a master’s degree.
General Advising Information for Transfer Students
- Before transfer, complete as many lower-division requirements or electives for this major as possible.
- The following courses are not required for admission but are required for graduation. Students are strongly encouraged to complete these units before transfer; doing so will provide more flexibility in course selection after transfer.
- a course in U.S. History
- a course in U.S. & California Government
For information about satisfying the requirements described in (1) and (2) above at a California Community College (CCC), please visit http://www.assist.org. Check any geographically accessible CCCs; sometimes options include more than one college. Use ASSIST to determine:
- Which courses at a CCC satisfy any lower-division major requirements for this major;
- Which courses at a CCC satisfy CSU GE, US History, and US & CA Government requirements.
Remedial courses are not transferable and do not apply to the minimum 60 semester units/90 quarter units required for admission.
Additional units for courses that are repeated do not apply to the minimum 60 units required for upper-division transfer (for example, if a course was not passed on the first attempt or was taken to earn a better grade).
Before leaving the last California Community College of attendance, obtain a summary of completion of lower-division General Education units (IGETC or CSU GE Breadth). This is often referred to as a GE certification worksheet. SF State does not require delivery of this certification to Admissions, but students should retain this document for verifying degree progress after transfer.
Credit for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or College-Level Examination Program courses: AP/IB/CLEP credit is not automatically transferred from the previous institution. Units are transferred only when an official score report is delivered to SF State. Credit is based on the academic year during which exams were taken. Refer to the University Bulletin in effect during the year of AP/IB/CLEP examination(s) for details regarding the award of credit for AP/IB/CLEP.
Students pursuing majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines often defer 6-9 units of lower-division General Education in Areas C and D until after transfer to focus on preparation courses for the major. This advice does not apply to students pursuing associate degree completion before transfer.
Transferring From Institutions Other Than CCCs or CSUs
Review SF State's lower-division General Education requirements. Note that, as described below, the four basic skills courses required for admission meet A1, A2, A3, and B4 in the SF State GE pattern. Courses that fulfill the remaining areas of SF State’s lower-division GE pattern are available at most two-year and four-year colleges and universities.
Of the four required basic skills courses, a course in critical thinking (A3) may not be widely offered outside the CCC and CSU systems. Students should attempt to identify and take an appropriate course no later than the term of application to the CSU. To review more information about the A3 requirement, please visit bulletin.sfsu.edu/undergraduate-education/general-education/lower-division/#AAEL.
Waiting until after transfer to take a single course at SF State that meets both US and CA/local government requirements may be an appropriate option, particularly if transferring from outside of California.