| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delaware College of Art and Design | Wilmington |
Our 2020 ranking of the top graphic design school program in Delaware. For an explanation of the ranking criteria, click here.
Design Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD) was established in 1997 through a partnership between Pratt Institute in NYC and the Corcoran College of Art and Design in DC. Delaware’s only art and design school, DCAD serves several hundred students enrolled in art and design programs such as Animation, Illustration, Photography, and Graphic Design. All programs lead to an Associate of Fine Arts Degree (AFA).
The school says the AFA In Graphic Design provides students with “an understanding of visual design principles and technical skills as a means to successfully convey information to an audience and motivate a response.” The program curriculum is based on “sound typographic principles, provides a historical foundation of theory, explores relevant design problems, and introduces professional practice and audience awareness as it seeks to prepare students for further study as they begin to articulate their own reasoning vision and voice.”
During the first year of the program, students enroll in Foundation Year: a core group of courses designed to develop visual literacy and basic studio techniques and emphasize an understanding of the concepts and principles of the visual arts. Schedules are divided between 65% studio courses and 35% liberal arts courses that use materials, concepts and skills that students can apply to their chosen area of study in the second year.
Students have two concentration options: Advertising Design and Communication Design. Advertising Design students will “develop visual messages with conceptual content and apply to advertising media such as ads, posters and marketing collateral. Typography and image as linked tools are key points of emphasis.” Communication Design students will “explore and create visual content applied to print and web media. Type as both communication and art define the basis of the graphic designer’s means of expression.” Course highlights for the programs include Advertising, Communication Design, Visual Communication, Typography, Illustration, Digital Photography, and Digital Dialogs.
Graduates of the AFA program at DCAD are prepared to enter the workforce or transfer into BFA degree programs at many distinguished art and design schools.
