Course description
DART 500
(6 credits)
Individual Research Project
Students will have the opportunity to research the application of digital design in one or two of the following areas of concentration, under the direction of a full time faculty advisor:
* Design for Print Media
Student research projects will explore aspects of digitally-generated print media. Projects can be undertaken in experimental and applied image, in graphic design, typography, font exploration and generation, packaging book works and posters.
* Applied and Experimental 3D Object Making
Student research projects will involve the design of three-dimensional objects, space and environments. This design option integrates the learning of computer software for 3D modeling, rendering and animation programmes, computer aided design (CAD), computer aided machining (CAM) programmes for plotting, rapid prototyping for block and concept modeling and using a 3D scanner to measure existing objects for computer input.
* Interactive Media
Student research projects will investigate screen-based digital design and interactive systems. These will include web sites, animation, the design of virtual spaces, interactive desktop presentations and visual navigation systems, the design and interface of virtual communities, distance learning and CD-ROM based interactive educational and cultural projects, and web based national and international exchange opportunities.
* Inter-Media and Hybrid Practice
Student research projects will focus on digital integration or hybrid practices including social design or art interventions, installations, exhibitions, compilation works that use cross-discipline means of expression, and include the integration of digital technology into the process or final production.
* Theoretical Investigations in Design Art
Student research projects will be used to investigate the theoretical constructs and discourse relating to the impact of digital technologies in art and design. This will also include the application of digital technologies for appropriate pedagogies and the development of innovative teaching methodology.
DART 501
(3 credits)
Professional Workshop
This course is directed towards the practical applications of designing with digital technologies. Through a combination of hands-on workshops and invited speakers, students will study the structure of businesses, employee composition, job clientele, equipment needs and strategies for a successful design practice. Guest speakers from industry will guide classes each, on various aspects of their expertise in digital design.
DART 502
(3 credits)
Language, Politics, Manifestos - Reading Seminar
The readings in this seminar will examine the ethical responsibilities, social impact, and cultural consequences of the new technologies in design art practice. The course will identify, situate and develop a language for dialogue and discourse. The issues considered will be on design ecology and ethics, gender polarization and biases, political strategies in the public sphere, and essential declarations of the digital era, in present and future technological environments.
DART 503
(3 credits)
Theories of Interactivity
This course will explore the new opportunities designers have to fundamentally change the ways in which information is organized, manipulated and disseminated in the context of new communications technologies. The computer, as a medium for expression, will be explored through issues of cognition, metaphor, narrative structures, the creation of three dimensional objects and environments, symbolic interaction, information architecture and interactive visual navigational systems.
DART 504
(3 credits)
Contextualizing Design Practice
This course approaches design and digital technologies through interdisciplinary theoretical engagement to investigate the cultural and discursive context in which design resides. Through a combination of seminar discussions, workshops, and individual writings, students situate their work in different environments, such as commercial, public or domestic contexts, and explore new venues of dissemination. Such investigations enhance students’ ability to contextualize, articulate and exhibit the thesis work.
DART 510
(3 credits)
Independent Study
Prerequisite: Written permission of the Graduate Program Director.
Independent study proposals must be supported by a full-time faculty supervisor and approved with written permission by the Graduate Program Director. The student undertakes research in a specific field or topic relevant to their area of study.
