Fourteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

For a majority of undergraduate design students, their education will lead them to a professional career in design firms and in-house studios. Others find their path as creative professionals working in different fields using the technical and critical skills learned in school. While most curricula have been designed with the focus on giving them the skills to success, there is also a lack of understanding what students need to have fulfilling careers that need to be changed. Students need to have clear purpose in their design, and that should be implemented in every single client-based project that they take on from the client selection phase to the end of the design process that is the delivery phase. This paper explores how a upper level graphic design course can be built on the flexibility of both the instructor and the students using the vast resource that is social media, and various online platforms for matching volunteers with non-profits and social enterprises. I offer a course syllabus with a fourteen-week course structure, reading list, evaluation criteria, tools suggestion, and sample project brief, as well as in-class handouts.