About the Major

With an emphasis on process, conceptual strategy, and professional practices, students are given broad opportunities to develop a unique voice, vision, and viewpoint. Working with typography, photography, and illustration, they create and combine symbols, images, and text to represent ideas and messages. Using both print and digital formats, they produce projects that demonstrate an understanding of visual communication through brand strategy, interactive design, and typographic systems. This diverse body of work is refined into a strategic professional portfolio aimed at accomplishing each student’s education and employment goals.

Graphic design students at San Diego City College can earn a Certificate of Achievement or Associate Degree in Graphic Design. The 30-unit certificate is ideal for students who want to gain the skills and portfolio to get an entry-level position in the field. The Associate Degree includes the same courses but adds general education and electives to meet the minimum of 60 units for the degree.

Degree Requirements

Semester One

100 Basic Graphic Design
106 Typography
118 Graphic Design History
125 Digital Media

Semester Two

124 Page Layout
133 Branding & Packaging
120 Illustration or
174A Book Arts
Elective Course *

Semester Three

206 Advanced Typography
148A Portfolio A
Elective Course *

Semester Four

148B Portfolio B

* One elective is required for the degree. Additional electives are recommended for building specialized skills.
+ Non-major general education courses are required for the Associate Degree.

Semester One

100 Basic Graphic Design
106 Typography
118 Graphic Design History
125 Digital Media

Semester Two

124 Page Layout
133 Branding & Packaging
120 Illustration or
174A Book Arts
Elective Course *

Semester Three

206 Advanced Typography
148A Portfolio A
Elective Course *

Semester Four

148B Portfolio B

* Electives courses are recommended for building specialized skills.

Courses

ARTG 100
Basic Graphic Design

Develop your skills by learning to use digital tools important to graphic communication.

ARTG 106
Typography

Grow your understanding and skills by studying and generating letterforms by hand and computer.

ARTG 118
Graphic Design History

Discover design styles through a comprehensive survey of historical art and design movements.

ARTG 120
Illustration

Learn conceptual ideation techniques and creative problem solving.

ARTG 124
Page Layout

A study of design layout for two-dimensional graphic projects in print and digital formats.

ARTG 125
Digital Media

Develop your skills by learning to use digital tools used in graphic communication.

ARTG 133
Branding & Packaging

Intermediate level students will create three-dimensional packages and logotypes.

ARTG 148A
Portfolio A

Students will evaluate their work and strategize about what will be included in their final portfolio.

ARTG 148B
Portfolio B

This advanced course is the culmination of the graphic design program.

ARTG 174A
Book Arts

This hands-on class will teach you the basics of creating unique books.

ARTG 206
Advanced Typography

Students will utilize advanced typographic principles to solve design problems.

Electives

ARTG 126
Intermediate Digital Media

Students will work with advanced Photoshop techniques to create realistic photographic rendering of projects.

ARTG 135
Professional Practices

Students in this course will learn about the professional aspects of being a successful designer.

ARTG 138
Process and Production

This course is a practical study of creative processes as they relate to graphic design production.

ARTG 143
Interaction Design 1

This course focuses on practices and strategies to deliver effective website experiences.

ARTG 148C
Portfolio Building

Conceptual development, research and ideation techniques to solve challenging design problems.

ARTG 153
Interaction Design 2

This course focuses on practices and strategies to deliver effective mobile experience design.

ARTG 163
Interaction Design 3

Learn the design and development of websites through a series of technical workshops.

ARTG 173
Interaction Design 4

This advanced studio course exposes students to the latest applications of interaction design.

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