Welcome Graphic Design Students
Thank You for Choosing Western!
We are excited to have you in class this fall. Your journey through the graphics program will be educational, challenging and rewarding—and dare we say—fun!
We pride ourselves on teaching the knowledge and skills you need to begin your career in graphic design.
In the Graphic Design Department,
We Pride Ourselves on…
- Small Class Sizes - 16 Students per Class.
We will know you and your name - 5 Full-Time Instructors with Real-World Experience
- 120 Up-to-Date Macs in 7 Labs
- Professional Graphic Design and Web Design Software by Adobe
- Real-Life, Industry-Quality Class Projects
- Graphic Design Club - Offering Field Trips
- Freelance and Internship Opportunities
- Proven Job Placement
What does a Graphic Designer do?
Program Outcomes (what you will experience and learn)
- How to design cool marketing and advertising stuff
- Become power-users of industry-standard design software
- Effectively communicate with clients and industry partners
- Convince clients that your design work will help them
Basically, you will learn how to take a client’s message and visually deliver it to a target audience.
You will design marketing and advertising material like:
- logos
- brochures
- posters
- web sites
- advertisements
- book covers
- newspapers
- magazines
- t-shirts
Here are some examples…
Jobs in Graphic Design
Our graduates work for some of the best companies in America. Here are just a few…
Students begin their careers after graduation in the following positions
- Graphic Designer
- Prepress Technician
- Web Designer
Graphic design graduates starting wage
- $10–$14 per hour ($14–16 in larger cities)
Some graduates continue their education
at a 4-year college or university
Our graduates have transferred to:
- Viterbo University
- UW-Stout
- UW-La Crosse
- Winona State University
- Franklin University
First-year classes
First-year classes will focus on the foundations you will need to succeed as a graphic designer.
- Design Fundamentals
- Designing with Type
- Publication Design I
- Publication Design II
- Drawing
- Illustration Concepts
- Illustrator
- Photoshop
- General Education: Math, Written Communication, Speech, Sociology
Second-year classes
Second-year classes bring your first-year knowledge together and you start designing like a real graphic designer—on industry-quality design projects.
- Web Design I (Dreamweaver)
- Graphic Design and Marketing
- Graphic Design Advertising
- Comprehensive Design and Troubleshooting
- Graphic Design Portfolio
- 2 Electives (Digital Photography, Flash, HTML, others)
- General Education: Psychology, Ethics, Economics
- View Full Curriculum
All graphic design classes are delivered face-to-face.
Gen Eds can be taken face-to-face, online, or blended.
Why I succeeded - Advice from GD graduates
- I put in a lot of hours
- I had good attendance
- I interacting with people in my class
- I enjoyed the class projects
- I made strong connections with my instructors
(Talk to your advisor!)
Obstacles and frustrations…
- Waiting til the last minute to complete my work
- Balancing work and school and dealing with deadlines
- I ran out of available night classes due to full-time day job
- Had money issues, had a child, and worked too much
- Not enough self-motivation
- Just the overall workload of every class
- Not having a Mac computer at home to work on projects
Advising
Get to know your advisor! He/she will help guide you through your college years at Western. They will help you with everyday college-related questions, and help you choose the right classes so you graduate on time!
Important things to remember…
- Follow our course sequence - (prerequisites)
- "C" or better in all classes
- Save/back up all your projects for your graduate portfolio
- Attend class, get involved, and get your work in on time
- Buy your books before classes start
- Buy your Graphic Design Kit ($150) before classes start
- Windows people can become Mac people quickly
Student Graphic Design Work
During your last semester you will build a graphic designer's portfolio. This displays 12-15 pieces of your best work, and helps you land your first job.
Photoshop, and Graphic Design and Marketing
Graphic Design and Marketing, and Illustration Concepts
Illustration Concepts
Illustration Concepts
Graphic Design and Marketing
Graphic Design and Advertising