Design Application

Department of Design

Bachelor of Arts (BA) Design Application Requirements

How to apply

Thank you for your interest in the Department of Design and its degree options. The application will be reviewed by Design faculty and evaluated on the basis of a demonstrated understanding of the elements of visual communication, technical proficiency and originality.

• Candidate Statement

  • A short, typed statement (150 words, maximum) detailing your interest in the program as well as your long-term goals within the design field.

• Unofficial Transcript(s)

• Related Courses Form (if applicable)

  • Complete the Related Courses Form and upload.

• Portfolio

  • The portfolio should consist of 12 diverse visual pieces that best demonstrate your potential in the design field. Examples of work that may be included are design/art class assignments, design projects such as logos, flyers, yearbook spreads, websites, video, animations, photography, drawings, paintings, or sculpture. Multimedia work must include a screenshot and link. All work must be original; any collaborative projects must be identified and your specific role defined. If multiple images are included to show details of your work, they are not counted toward the 12 visual pieces required. Portfolios consisting predominately of derivative work such as cartoons, anime, graffiti or tattoos are discouraged.
  • 12-page PDF (one project per page, each page can include multiple images)
  • 8.5 x 11 inches (landscape orientation)
  • Short description of each piece on the bottom right corner of each page (medium, dimensions, date, course, description of your role if collaborative)
  • Make sure photos and scans of any work are of good quality; images should be a minimum of 1080px (width or height) and 150px/inch resolution.

• Typographic Hierarchy Project

  • Complete the Typographic Hierarchy Assignment (instructions below)

Instructions for Typographic Hierarchy Project

The following project is an exercise focusing on the design of words to express tone and meaning. The way letters, words and paragraphs are designed help readers see order and meaning and may be designed with spatial or graphic cues. Spatial cues include indents, line spacing/leading and overall placement in a composition. Graphic cues include changes in point size, style of the type, and upper-, lower-, sentence, and title cases.

Requirements

For this exercise, select one type family with at least Regular, Italic, Bold and Bold Italic styles. Design a different 5 x 5 inch composition using the same text and type family for each of the 5 variations below. Ensure that each of your 5 compositions is distinctly different—avoid replicating the same layout. Please add a thin black border around your composition to define the edges. Combine your final compositions as a 5-page PDF. We encourage exploring type as a visual element and experimenting with the boundaries of legibility.

Use the following text:

Weather Report
Madison, Wisconsin
Thursday 2:00 PM
Thunderstorm
71 degrees F
Precipitation: 70%
Humidity: 83%
Wind: 16 mph
Tornado Watch until 8:00 PM
Potential for large hail, flooding, damaging winds, and tornadoes

1. VARY SPACE
   • Design the text using only one typeface (one member within a type family such as DIN light). No variations in type style or size, color or graphic element should be included. Arrange the text in a 5 x 5 inch square to establish clusters of information through the locations of the letters and words and the alignments and spaces between them. Space is your variable while all else is held constant. (Upper and lowercase variations are allowed). We encourage exploring type as a visual element and experimenting with the boundaries of legibility.
2. VARY WEIGHT
   • Create a new 5 x 5 inch composition, still keeping the type size constant but introducing variations of weight. NEVER use horizontal or vertical scaling. Instead, use members of the family such as bold, light, extended or condensed weights. We encourage exploring type as a visual element and experimenting with the boundaries of legibility.
3. VARY SIZE
   • In addition to the weight of the typeface, in a new 5x5 inch composition, vary the sizes of type to create emphasis. Consider how focal points introduce drama to engage a viewer.
4. ADD GRAPHIC ELEMENTS
   • Graphic supporting elements may now be included in a new 5 x 5 inch composition in addition to the other variables. These may be rules, bars, basic shapes such as circles or rectangles or typographic symbols. The type may also be reversed to white on a black background. The graphic elements should help reinforce focal points and/or add meaning to the text.
5. ADD 1 COLOR
   • In your final 5 x 5 inch composition, include one color (in addition to black and white). Utilize color to introduce new levels of visual expression. Further emphasize specific portions of the message and/or enhance emotive qualities of the composition.

Application Form