Communication Design (Minor)

Overview

The Communication Design minor is offered through Parsons School of Design.

In this minor, students learn to apply design in developing effective communication strategies. Ideas are conceived and implemented in various contexts through applied critical thinking, visualization methods, hierarchical systems, and storytelling. Students learn the fundamentals while also exploring one area in communication design, such as editorial, branding, motion design, and spatial design, among others.

The Communication Design minor requires successful completion of 18 credits across four subject areas, as outlined in the chart below.

Course availability may vary from semester to semester. Some courses may be in development and offered at a later time. Students seeking to pursue alternative coursework to fulfill the minor should consult with their advisors.

Curriculum

Learning Outcomes

A student who has completed this minor should be able to demonstrate:

• Understanding of current and historical professional practices, processes, and methods of the graphic design industry
• Competence in the usage of typography and its variables to convey and augment the inherent message of textual content, express it meaningfully, and aid the viewer in processing information
• Competent knowledge of the design vocabulary used in communication design and related fields, including conceptual terms and software-related expressions
• Ability to follow a design brief and apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to communicate
• A strong understanding of the iterative making process in graphic design, using incremental methods such as prototyping, user testing, and evaluation to build toward more advanced work
• Competence in presenting, evaluating, and critically analyzing communication design projects, including one's own

Eligibility

The Communication Design minor is available to all undergraduate students at The New School, with the exception of students enrolled in the BFA or AAS in Communication Design. 

For questions regarding this minor's curriculum, including requests for course substitutions, please contact Shira Inbar, Assistant Professor of Communication Design, at inbars@newschool.edu.

How to Declare or Change a Minor

General guidelines for declaring a minor are available here. Current students can declare or change a minor by logging in to my.newschool.edu, clicking on the Academics tab, and then clicking on the link to Major/Minor Declarations.