Pratt Institute

ComD Undergraduate Program
COMD 401 Senior Projects

This course prepares the student for the professional world through the creation of superb quality artwork which will comprise the student’s portfolio. The student is made acquainted with the fundamental business practices necessary to find an entry-level position in the field.

This independent study course is intended for seniors looking to work on self-directed, real-world projects. The assignment was to create a brand mark to promote tourism in a country of choice. The mark should include the first letter of the country’s name as well as visual language that represents that country. Once a final brand mark was realized, a series of applications followed.

Pratt Institute

Advanced Projects

An independent study course in conjunction with the office of publications at Pratt, students designed and produced posters, invitations, and other items to promote and inform the Pratt community.

Pratt Institute

Advanced Projects

An independent study course in conjunction with the office of publications at Pratt, students designed and produced posters, invitations, and other items to promote and inform the Pratt community.

Pratt Institute

Advanced Projects
An independent study course in conjunction with the office of publications at Pratt, students designed and produced posters, invitations, and other items to promote and inform the Pratt community.

The University of the Arts

GD306 TYPOGRAPHY EMPHASIS

This course investigates and defines advanced principles of typography in a communication context. Directed research based upon typographic norms addresses the issues of informational hierarchies achievable through visual form and structure as well as the editorial and expressive potentials of typography. Coursework uses traditional and digital technologies. Students must have working knowledge of QuarkXpress and basic Macintosh operation or be concurrently enrolled in EM 202. Working knowledge of Adobe Illustrator is preferred. Prerequisites: EM 201 and Junior status in the Graphic Design department, or permission of the instructor by portfolio review and interview.

Students were asked to choose a research subject from a prepared list of topics and asked to write a 2,000 word paper on the subject which formed the text for a sample book. In this example, the student chose the work of Armin Hofmann and combined text and images to document his work.

The University of the Arts

GD306 TYPOGRAPHY EMPHASIS

This course investigates and defines advanced principles of typography in a communication context. Directed research based upon typographic norms addresses the issues of informational hierarchies achievable through visual form and structure as well as the editorial and expressive potentials of typography. Coursework uses traditional and digital technologies. Students must have working knowledge of QuarkXpress and basic Macintosh operation or be concurrently enrolled in EM 202. Working knowledge of Adobe Illustrator is preferred. Prerequisites: EM 201 and Junior status in the Graphic Design department, or permission of the instructor by portfolio review and interview.

Students were asked to choose a research subject from a prepared list of topics and asked to write a 2,000 word paper on the subject which formed the text for a sample book. In this example, the student chose the work of Bradbury Thompson and combined text and images to document his work.

Pratt Institute

Advanced Typography
DES635 Typographics

This course seeks to promote problem-solving concepts, emphasizing the use of type and the letterform as a visual communications tool—getting the student to think as opposed to mere layout. It encourages students to work in terms of client-designer relationships, simulating actual working conditions. Assignments are critiqued using professional standards.

Students were required to find a source of consistent passages of text and, using a consistent format with variations of typographic size, font, case, orientation, and imagery, explore the relationship between formal composition and communication. These examples show various articles from police blotters around New York City.

The University of the Arts

GD210 LETTERFORM DESIGN

The analysis and development of letterforms. The norms of weight, proportion, character width, and alphabetic relationships are developed perceptually, by hand. This course stresses the inherent optical relationships that exist in the construction of typefaces derived from the Latin alphabet. Prerequisite: Completion of the Foundation program, or permission of the instructor by portfolio review and interview.

Students were asked to choose three contrasting lowercase characters and, through drawing, explore the formal relationship between the three using historical context as a guide. Exploration leads to the development of new and unique styles rooted in an understanding of form and history.

The University of the Arts

GD213 DESIGN SYSTEMS

An intensive laboratory where the formal aspects of composition, organic and geometric form, color, symbolic drawing, craftsmanship, and processes of conceptualizing are investigated. Assignments are founded on directed goals and playful investigation to train the student in areas of selection, selfcriticism, set theory, and visual logic. Prerequisite: Completion of the Foundation program, or permission of the instructor by portfolio review and interview.

For this assignment, students were asked to choose an object and a related letterform or word and, through drawing, develop a composition that is unique, interesting, and complex, then execute that composition, refining details as they do so.