RISD’s undergraduate graphic design program offers two degree track options: a four-year BFA and a five-year BGD. Prospective students are welcome to explore the curriculum, and find out more about applying to RISD as a freshman or transfer student.
Graphic Design
is a multifaceted discipline which encompasses many types of content and media. Projects include book design, poster design, identity design, packaging, exhibit design, magazine design, interface design, broadcast design and film graphics. The RISD Department of Graphic Design provides a comprehensive education within this ever-expanding discipline and strives to prepare accomplished, resourceful graphic designers with critical minds to evaluate their own work, its place in the professional and in the larger community it is meant to serve.The core curriculum builds a range of analytical, formal, sensory and technical design experiences. Sophomores begin exploring visual principles of form, image, color and typography. Conceptual thinking in areas such as communication theory, visual systems and information design is the focus of the Junior year to develop a strong understanding of how visual communication can effectively express content, message, and information.
Typography is studied in depth
throughout the program in an ongoing sequence of Typography courses that begin with history and anatomy of type, and examine principles of hierarchy and legibility at work within an individual letter form, to sentence, to paragraph, to page. Later on the students work in expressive, experimental typography as well as time-based, interactive type in motion.During the senior year, emphasis is placed on design applications with core and elective courses to expose students to many specific areas of graphic design practice including environmental graphic design, poster design, design for publishing, identity design, web design and interactive information design. Seniors are offered an internship program over Wintersession which allows them to work for credit either here or abroad. A challenging self-defined degree project is the final project in the program and one that taps into each student’s strengths, interests and experience.