BFA in Design with concentration in Visual Communication Design
Shape the information people see, use, and experience.
Visual Communication Design, also known as Graphic Design, empowers students to combine creative problem solving, and a mastery of digital and analog processes to craft compelling visual systems that clarify ideas, spark engagement, and connect humans with experiences and information. At KU, students explore the rich intersection where information, branding, and public spaces meet, learning to design for audiences who move between screens, environments, and physical materials.
Our curriculum blends form-making, brand expression, experience design, motion design, brand identity design, typography, information design, packaging, and publication/editorial design. Through research-driven inquiry and iterative prototyping, students learn how visual communication shapes behavior, influences decision-making, and creates meaning across diverse contexts from mobile interfaces to museum exhibits to city streets and national parks.
Graduates enter the world as adaptable designers, ready to work in graphic design, UX/UI, branding, marketing, content creation, motion graphics, and emerging areas where communication, technology, and human experience converge.
The BFA in Design: Visual Communication Design follows a carefully sequenced four-year path, with studio courses offered in fall or spring terms to support progressive development in concept, craft, and professional practice.
| Year 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| BDS 101 (Studio) | 4 | VISC 101 (Studio) | 4 |
| BDS 103 (Studio) | 4 | IXD 101 (Studio) | 4 |
| Core 34: English (SGE)010 | 3 | ADS 340 | 3 |
| HA 100 or 151 (Core 34: Arts and Humanities (SGE))060** | 3 | Core 34: English (SGE)010 | 3 |
| ADS 320 | 1 | MATH 105 (Core 34: Math and Statistics (SGE))030 | 3 |
| 15 | 17 | ||
| Year 2 | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| VISC 202 (Studio) | 4 | VISC 302 (Studio) | 4 |
| VISC 204 (Studio) | 4 | VISC 304 (Studio) | 4 |
| ADS 345 or 346 | 3 | IXD 302 | 3 |
| ADS 320 | 1 | ADS 320 | 1 |
| Core 34: Natural and Physical Sciences (SGE)040 | 4 | Core 34: Social and Behavior Science (SGE)050 | 3 |
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Year 3 | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| VISC 405 (Studio) | 4 | VISC 402 (Studio) | 4 |
| Major Studio Elective (ADS, IXD, VISC) | 4 | Major Studio Elective (ADS, IXD, VISC) | 4 |
| Core 34: Communications (SGE)020 | 3 | VISC 430 | 3 |
| Core 34: Social and Behavior Science (SGE)050 | 3 | ADS 402 | 3 |
| 14 | 14 | ||
| Year 4 | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| VISC 465 | 4 | VISC 470 (Capstone) | 4 |
| Major Studio Elective (ADS, IXD, VISC) | 4 | Major Studio Elective (ADS, IXD, VISC) | 4 |
| GenEd ElectiveCan be a Major Studio Elective | 3 | ADS 455 | 1 |
| Core 34: Arts and Humanities (SGE)060 | 3 | Core 34: US Culture (SGE)070 | 3 |
| Core 34: Global Culture (SGE)070 | 3 | ||
| 14 | 15 | ||
| Total Hours 120 | |||
Major Studio Electives (16 credits)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| VISC 310 | Letterpress | 4 |
| VISC 410 | Digital Letterpress | 4 |
| VISC 435 | Book Arts | 4 |
| VISC 440 | Bookmaking | 4 |
| VISC 414 | Publication and Editorial | 4 |
| VISC 415 | Motion Design | 4 |
| VISC 426 | Experiential Design | 4 |
| VISC 450 | Typographic Universe | 4 |
| IXD 402 | Interaction Design 2 | 4 |
| IXD 404 | Dataviz and Digital Storytelling | 4 |
| IXD 415 | Emerging Technologies 1 | 4 |
| ADS 531 | Internship Credit | 1-6 |
| ADS 532 | Study Abroad: _____ | 3 |
| ADS 533 | Study Abroad Documentation | 3 |
| ADS 560 | Topics in Design: _____ | 4 |
Notes:
* - This course is a Required major course and is also part of Core 34: Systemwide General Education. If this course is not taken to fulfill the Core 34:SGE requirement, it must be taken in place of elective hours.
** - This course is a Recommended Core 34: Systemwide General Education course. This specific course is not required but is recommended by the program’s faculty.
*** - This course is a Required Core 34: Systemwide General Education course. This program is approved by the Kansas Board of Regents to require this specific Core 34:Systemwide General Education course. If a student did not take this course it must be taken in addition to other degree requirements.