Over the past decade the graphics industry has moved from predominantly design-for-print to an overwhelming mix of design-for-print, interactive design for CD-ROM, and design for the World Wide Web. To succeed in this rapidly changing field, graphics professionals need more than a strong foundation in graphic design principles - they need the technical know-how to incorporate their designs into today's media.

The Certificate Program in Graphic Design and Digital Imaging offers students interested in breaking into the field of graphic design and electronic publishing an innovative mix of traditional design courses along with several courses in multimedia, website development, desktop publishing, and more. Students will complete numerous portfolio pieces geared towards the professional market.

Certain courses in this program may also be applied towards the certificates in Multimedia Applications and Website Design & Development.

Graphic Design Certificate Students Plan Ahead - See tentative semester offerings in italics. If you need assistance with course selection for this certificate program, please email Amy_Yacus@uml.edu
 

Required Courses: (6)
70.291 Introduction to Graphic Design / Graphic Design I (Sp'08, Fa'08)
70.240 Fundamentals of Typography (Fa'08)
70.245 Desktop Publishing: Layout and Production (Su'08, Fa'08)
70.262 Digital Imaging and Photography: Photoshop® (Sp'08, Fa'08)
70.391 Advanced Graphic Design / Graphic Design II (Sp'08)
70.400 Portfolio Production Seminar 

Electives - Choose 3:
70.264 Computer Graphics & Illustration
70.362 Advanced Digital Imaging (Sp'09)
70.376 3D Computer Animation (TBD*)
70.377 Advanced Animation: After Effects® (TBD*)
70.379 Website Design (Su'08, Fa'08)
70.384 Advanced Website Design & Development (Su'08, Fa'08)
70.392 Design for Advertising (TBD*)
90.230 Introduction to Multimedia (Sp'08)
90.231 Graphics for Multimedia and the World Wide Web (Sp'08)
90.238 Website Development: Microsoft® Expression® Web/Windows (Su'08)
90.247 Web Authoring: Flash (Su'08)

*Not regularly offered - If you are interested in seeing this offered, please email Amy_Yacus@uml.edu - If enough students express interest, we will attempt to offer the course.

Course Descriptions

70.291 Introduction to Graphic Design
Exercises, lectures and projects will introduce students to graphic design principles and techniques. Course will begin with a fundamental study of image, form, and space relations, then cover such topics as working with grids, typography basics, page layout, the introduction of color, rendering techniques, history, and more. Students will be assigned a series of projects to enhance their visual communication skills.
Prerequisite: Basic Macintosh or Windows proficiency
Credits: 3
Special Notes: This course will not transfer directly into the Art Department's BFA day school degree program, but certain two-course clusters may be accepted for transfer upon department approval.

70.240 Fundamentals of Typography
Studies lettering concepts, techniques, and the creative use of type in visual communication. Emphasis will be placed upon the history of type design and its context within the graphic design industry.
Prerequisite: Macintosh proficiency.
Credits: 3
Special Notes: This course will not transfer directly into the Art Department's BA/BFA day school degree program, but certain two-course clusters may be accepted for transfer upon department approval.

70.245 Desktop Publishing: Layout and Production
Introduces students to the complexities involved in preparing their designs for print: electronic page layout and design, proofing, specifying inks, trapping, cropping, overprinting, printing separations, proofing, and more. Students will learn about the differences between preparing their design work electronically or manually and will learn more about the different printing processes that are available. Printing terminologies and printing industry standards will be covered. Field trips may be made to area printing companies for demonstrations on the print production process.
Prerequisite: Basic Macintosh proficiency.
Credits: 3
Special Notes: This course will not transfer directly into the Art Department's BA/BFA day school degree program, but certain two-course clusters may be accepted for transfer upon department approval.

70.262 Digital Imaging and Photography: Photoshop®
This course will offer the student a transition between traditional photographic imaging and digital photographic imaging. The course will cover the fundamentals of digital scanning, digital capture and image manipulation. Image preparation for other media will also be explored. Basic familiarity with the Mac OS and/or Windows platforms required.
Prerequisite: Basic Macintosh or Basic Windows proficiency.
Credits: 3
Special Notes: This course will not transfer directly into the Art Department's BA/BFA day school degree program, but certain two-course clusters may be accepted for transfer upon department approval.

70.391 Advanced Graphic Design
Students will be assigned a variety of advanced-level projects dealing with areas such as logo design, publication design, interactive screen design, direct mail projects, corporate identity systems, poster design, and more. Projects in this class are designed to better develop the students' ability to take a project to its final stage and render it as a professional portfolio piece.
Prerequisite: 70.291, 70.240, and 70.245 or permission of instructor
Credits: 3
Special Notes: This course will not transfer directly into the Art Department's BA/BFA day school degree program, but certain two-course clusters may be accepted for transfer upon department approval. Typically offered in the Fall semester.

70.400 Portfolio Production Seminar
This course is designed to help students to organize their work into a professional package and prepare it for presentation. Students may decide to rework existing portfolio pieces or complete additional design projects to enhance their existing portfolios and fully demonstrate their design capabilities. Mock interviews will be conducted in which students will have an opportunity to discuss their work. Includes an end-of-semester portfolio review.
Prerequisite: 70.291, 70.240, 70.245 and 70.391 or permission of instructor
Credits: 3
Special Notes: This course will not transfer directly into the Art Department's BA/BFA day school degree program, but certain two-course clusters may be accepted for transfer upon department approval. Typically offered in the Spring semester.

70.264 Computer Graphics & Illustration
Students will produce a number of illustrations, using computer illustration and imaging software. Topics include methods for rendering artwork, capturing an expressive illustrative style, and portraying different moods or messages within the illustration. Students will learn to illustrate effectively using the many tools available to them within several software applications.
Prerequisite: Basic Macintosh/Windows familiarity
Credits: 3
Special Notes: This course will not transfer directly into the Art Department's BA/BFA day school degree program, but certain two-course clusters may be accepted for transfer upon department approval.

70.362 Advanced Digital Imaging
Students will continue to develop their creative conceptualization skills and practice using advanced-level techniques in Photoshop as they create a number of visually compelling images. Projects will address visual problem solving for commercial applications and digital imaging as an emerging medium in fine art. Students should have basic knowledge of Photoshop and design composition skills prior to registering for this course.
Prerequisite: 70.291 and 70.262 or comparable knowledge.
Credits: 3

70.376 3D Computer Animation
This course teaches the fundamentals of computer animation using 3D modeling, authoring and digital video imaging software. Students will learn how to create complex 3D objects and environments. Animation sequencing, editing, and compositing will be covered. Projects will take form as animated clips. Basic familiarity with Mac OS and/or Windows platforms required.
Prerequisite: 70.264 or 90.231 or instructor permission.
Credits: 3
Special Notes: This course will not transfer directly into the Art Department's BA/BFA day school degree program, but certain two-course clusters may be accepted for transfer upon department approval.

70.377 Advanced Animation: After Effects®
This advanced-level course is designed for students who have completed 3D Computer Animation and who are interested in exploring the narrative possibilities in animation. Conceptual drawings and storyboarding will be required. The course will cover advanced sequencing, motion paths, editing, audio, and virtual environments. Special effects compositing will be introduced. Other course topics will include media preparation for output to film, video, and CD-ROM. Basic familiarity with Mac OS and/or Windows platforms required.
Prerequisite: 70.376.
Credits: 3
Special Notes: This course will not transfer directly into the Art Department's BA/BFA day school degree program, but certain two-course clusters may be accepted for transfer upon department approval.

70.379 Website Design
This course will focus on the creation of visual content for the web and will explore what constitutes a visually exciting and engaging site. Other topics that will be covered are: file formats, compression, web color strategies, and platform standards.
Prerequisite: Basic HTML and Photoshop familiarity required.
Credits: 3

70.384 Advanced Website Design and Development
This advanced-level course is designed for students who have completed Website Design (70.379). The course will cover advanced topics such as user-centered design, information architecture, testing, and usage analysis. Students will have the opportunity to further develop their design, development, and conceptualization skills.
Prerequisite: 70.379
Credits: 3

70.392 Design for Advertising
Instruction in lettering and layout of commercial media as well as in the creative aspects of advertising are an integral part of the course. Practical problems and technical guidance from preliminary layouts to finished work will help prepare students for the commercial art field. Students will prepare an advertising campaign concept and translate it into a professionally designed commercial series for use in their portfolios. This course will focus on the integration of design with the overall advertising message.
Prerequisite: 70.291, 70.240, and 70.264 or permission of instructor.
Credits: 3
Special Notes: This course will not transfer directly into the Art Department's BA/BFA day school degree program, but certain two-course clusters may be accepted for transfer upon department approval.

90.230 Introduction to Multimedia
Provides participants with an overview of multimedia and its professional applications in training, education, marketing, and entertainment. Scanning images, digitizing video and audio, and exploring the design and production of interactive multimedia are the focus of this class. Includes technical/hardware considerations and production procedures pertinent to interactive multimedia.
Prerequisite: P: Basic Macintosh or Windows proficiency
Credits: 3

90.231 Graphics for Multimedia and the World Wide Web
The focus of this class is on the basic components of shape, color, texture, typography, and images as they are applied to multimedia and web interface design. Other topics covered include scanning, image editing, resolution and color palettes. Students will work on projects that integrate elements such as buttons, navigation bars, and background images to communicate creative visual information. Photoshop will be used.
Prerequisite: 90.230
Credits: 3
Special Notes: Formerly Graphics for Multimedia

90.238 Website Development: Microsoft® Expression® Web
This course focuses on the design, development, and implementation of websites using available visual development tools. Each participant will design, build, and maintain their own websites. Topics covered include: basic navigational structure; page layout incorporating tables and CSS; graphical design and placement; image maps; streaming audio and video; and basic website administration.
Prerequisite: 90.291; 90.231 recommended
Credits: 3
Special Notes: Formerly Designing Multimedia for the World Wide Web

90.247 Web Authoring: Flash ™ MX
This course will demonstrate how to use web authoring applications to create cutting-edge interface, navigation, and streaming animation. Using open standard vector formatting, you can create interactive capabilities on the web similar to CD-ROM screens. You'll learn how to use drawing tools to create websites that include sound, clickable buttons, interactivity, and exciting animations. Applications such as Macromedia Shockwave and Flash will be used.
Prerequisite: 90.291; 90.302 or programming familiarity
Credits: 3

Certificate Requirements

Students enrolled in UMass Lowell certificate programs must complete the indicated series of certificate program courses, generally consisting of both required courses and electives. Students may complete the certificate programs at their own pace, enrolling in one or two courses per semester (which is the average recommended course load). Students should anticipate at least two hours of preparation for every hour of classroom instruction and they are required to maintain a grade point average of 2.0 or better to receive the certificate.

Courses held on campus typically meet one night per week, three hours each night, for 14 weeks during the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters (Summer courses are also offered over two 6-week condensed sessions). Call for a course bulletin or check our website course listings for specific course scheduling information.

For students who are pursuing a certificate program online, UMass Lowell's online courses generally meet for 14 weeks, and students log on to their course site one or more times per week to retrieve lectures and assignments or to participate in a chat session. For more information on online course listings, please refer to the UMass Lowell online course website at http://continuinged.uml.edu/online.

Application into the Program
Those who wish to enroll in a certificate program should submit a completed application form and arrange to have their official high school transcript or GED sent to Continuing Studies and Corporate Education. Applications, transcripts, and other correspondence should be sent to: University of Massachusetts Lowell, Admissions/Continuing Studies and Corporate Education, Dugan Hall, Room 110, 883 Broadway Street, Lowell, MA 01854-5104. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and there is no fee to apply. Upon acceptance, notification will be sent to students.

Registering for Courses
Continuing Studies and Corporate Education offers courses during the Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. Information about current course offerings, schedules, and registration procedures is published regularly on our website at http://continuinged.uml.edu. If you would like to receive a printed Course Bulletin, please contact our Faculty and Student Support Center at (978) 934-2474.

You may take courses without being officially enrolled in a certificate or degree program, but you must meet the particular course prerequisites. Registrations are accepted on a first come, first served basis. Class size is limited. We recommend that you register early to reserve your place in class.

Transfer Policy
With the program coordinator's approval, one course may be transferred from another accredited institution to satisfy certificate program requirements. The course should be equivalent to UMass Lowell instruction, applicable to the intended program, and the student must have received a grade equivalent to a C- (1.70 on a 4.00 scale) or better.

Academic Advising
Program coordinators and general Faculty and Student Support Specialists are available by appointment to help students determine appropriate course loads, discuss admission requirements, and review the transferability of courses. To schedule an appointment with a program coordinator or Faculty and Student Support Specialist, please call Continuing Studies and Corporate Education at (978) 934-2480 or (978) 934-2474. General walk-in advising is available Monday through Thursday from 8:30am-8:00pm and Friday from 8:30am-5:00pm at the Continuing Studies Faculty and Student Support Center located in Southwick Hall, Room 202 on UMass Lowell North. For online advising, email our Faculty and Student Support Specialists at Continuing_Education@uml.edu.

Awarding of Certificates
Upon successful completion of the certificate program, students must submit a completed Certificate Petition Form to Continuing Studies and Corporate Education. Upon verification, students will be mailed their certificates. Receipt of the certificate will be noted formally on the student's transcript with an award date of October, February, or June.

Tuition
Please refer to our website course listings or our current printed course bulletin for the latest information on tuition and fees.

For More Information
For additional information on any of our programs, call Continuing Studies and Corporate Education at (978) 934-2480 or email Continuing_Education@uml.edu.

For information on Financial Aid, call the University's Financial Aid Office at (978) 934-4220.