Graphic Design
Western Michigan University offers a graphic design program that will prepare you to practice graphic design professionally. The environment is challenging and focuses on critical thinking and discovery through process, enabling you to work in any medium necessary to creatively and innovatively propose and solve design problems.
As a graphic design student at WMU, you will study theory and history, learn to master in-studio visual communication methods, and complete an internship experience. You will design promotional materials, educational materials, identity systems, signs and symbols, architectural and directional systems, books, packages and exhibitions. You will design for film, television, video, interactive computer interface, and other electronic media.
You will learn to work in teams and develop an understanding of the business aspect of design. You will also learn how to build working relationships with writers, artists, technicians, and others from a wide variety of disciplines.
If you decide to major in graphic design at WMU you will be required to successfully complete an internship experience to further develop your conceptual and visual design skills outside the classroom and studio.
You will also have the opportunity to join the AIGA, the professional association for design. The purpose of the AIGA Western Michigan University Student Organization is to create an affiliation with the national AIGA and to provide student activities that integrate an understanding of design business ethics and design practice.
Recent WMU graduates with degrees in graphic design are working as:
- Graphic designers
- Artists
- Teachers
Among the organizations they work for are:
- Schools
- Advertising agencies
- Architectural firms
- Record companies
- Corporations
- Kalamazoo