Visual Communication Design

COMM122- DIGITAL STORYTELLING
This course is about the development and production process of digital stories in various forms to be presented on social media and other emerging digital platforms. This course has a direct root in the classic storytelling structures and will follow redefining the modern story concept by using multimedia tools such as illustrations, photographs, video and motion graphics.

COMM 102- HISTORY OF COMMUNICATION
This course aims to teach students the history of communication studies and the elements, modes and forms of communication. The aim of this course is to introduce students the field of communication from basic concepts of communication. The course starts from the history the communication; and includes language, discourse and representation problems.

VCDE 112- HUMAN CENTERED DESIGN
Human centered design course is created and structured as an advanced continuation of the Basic Design I. Thus, this course is designed in order to develop an attitude of mind, rather than a method for visual organization. Students of this course will be working more closely with concepts and conceptual design processes focusing on human. Course introduces representative elements and forces of the dynamics of visual forms all related to human figure by the meaning of art and design. Human Centered Design is focused on concepts and expressive instruments of visual representation as human figure. Form and space and visual communication, photography and expression, illustration and figural consequences, as well as principles of visual communication design concerning human figure are at the center of this course. Human Centered Design is an applied course, with emphasis on production and creative practices involved into design process. All exercises, projects, and assignments will be carried out emphasizing the processes particularly involved into visual communication design. Group, as well as face-to-face discussions with instructors will present an integral part of the course structure, working towards developing mental, as well as manual skills and techniques in creative problem solving of visual communication design practices. Students will be encouraged to utilize mix media techniques, using traditional hand-crafted methods as well as digital tools. The major part of course hours will be dedicated to the applied aspects, where students will learn how to transfer and apply given theoretical knowledge into practice. In every studio session students will be given exercises and assignments to develop skills in working with various concepts, design principles and elements, improving skills in creative design problem solving. Every session will include group and face-to-face discussions with course instructors. The works for this course will be made by utilizing both, digital as well as traditional techniques and tools.

VCDE 132- COMPUTER GRAPHICS AND IMAGE
This course introduces students to the Raster image editing techniques. Throughout the course students will learn how to manipulate every kind of raster (pixel based) image. They will be asked to create conceptual collages and basic graphic design works. Gaining skills for editing digital photography, rendering basic digital painting, and developing practical knowledge on how to use raster image editing techniques for various design assignments are the main objectives of this course.

COMM 201- THEORIES OF COMMUNICATION
The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the major communication theories and their histories that are the foundation to understanding the discipline of communication. These theories can be applied to interpersonal, group, organizational, intercultural, and mass communication contexts. You will be expected to understand the key concepts of each theory.

VCDE 201- SIGHT, SOUND AND MOTION
This course is designed to introduce the students to the world of mo- tion pictures and time based media. Motion pictures and videos are now dominating the entire social media and internet from advertise- ments to public services and influencers. The sight, sound and motion course will teach the students how to shoot, edit, record and design sound and publish standard video and motion graphics to be used in their future career as an effective tool in visual communication.

VCDE 211- VECTORIAL DRAWING
This course introduces students to the Vectoral drawing techniques. The course starts with training on drawing basic geometric forms using varying tools for creating vector shapes. Throughout the course as students learn to create more complex shapes, they will be asked either to re-draw or to create original graphic design elements like; patterns, icons, symbols, emblems, logos, perspective drawings and even vector character designs. Creating state of art vector illustrations is the main objective of this course. At the end of this course students will develop the necessary skill for creating precise, clean, crisp vector images and a sound understanding how vector images differ from raster images. Starting with creative thinking and visualising their design ideas in vectoral environment, they will be able to develop practical knowledge on where, why and how to use vector graphics for various design assignments. Students will also learn to transform their hand-drawn sketches and digital collages into artistic vector illustrations that can be used with any digital media free from the burden of resolution limitations.

VCDE 203- VISUAL LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
The main purpose of the course is to introduce visual language in the context of art, media and communication. The course will help the student to perceive visuals as texts and vice a versa. In this course students will be thought how to decode and analyze visual texts as well as how to communicate effectively trough visual discourse and the knowledge of sign and symbols. The theories of the visual language will be thought by series of lectures and will follow with asking students to give presentation on related topics. Short essays will be requested from student to practice the learning theories on analysing visuals and images. Each week course will be divided in to parts (theory, applied). In practical part students will either produce some ideas on subject or simple presentations according to what they have learned in theory section of the course.

COMM 202 SOCIOLOGY OF COMMUNICATION
This course aims to facilitate a sociological way of understanding mass media in the current society. This course will provide students with a foundation in various sociological theories of communication from the early 20th century up to today. sTUDENTS understand the historical development of the sociology of communication; learn the role of communication in the construction and maintenance of the social system; be able to apply social theories of communication to analyses of the contemporary media environment.

COMM 204- INNOVATIVE APPROACHES IN COMMUNICATION
This course is designed to enable students to obtain knowledge on innovative approaches in communication by introducing them to the artists, designers, and the representatives working in different fields of communication and academics. The students need to take this course before the internship to have the opportunity to meet with the people from the field of their own interest. Moreover, the course also aims to provide students with the knowledge on occupational health and safety from the specialists or academicians working in that field.

VCDE 202- THEORY OF DESIGN
The course gives the information about the values which makes design possible in mind. It also aims to teach how design styles emerged according to the periods or designers’ different under-standing of design. Students will be able to; draw meaningful and critical connections between theoretical material and the history and practice of design; understand the terminology and conceptual models used in design disciplines; understand how teaching and learning occurs in the design process; recognize the ethical and social dilemmas and obligations of the practice of design; implement and apply principles and theoritical approaches in their design workflow.

VCDE 212- TYPOGRAPHY & LAYOUT
This course introduces students to the basics of Typography as the foundation of graphic design. It focuses on the structure and dynamics of letters, typefaces and other characters assembled with design purposes for printed and digital media. It also concentrates on the rules that govern the assembling of type into aesthetically appealing compositions like layout, poster and logotype designs. The course starts with an introduction to the most common Typefaces and their timeless design features in order to create an understanding on the visual language of any specific typeface. The core idea of the course is to broaden this understanding and to utilize it conceptually for visual communication purposes. At the end of this course students will develop a sound understanding of Typography essentials and will be able to identify and utilise the visual language of any given Typeface. Students will be able to perceive Type as an element of design; sometimes as an image, an aesthetic form, a representation, an abstract shape or even a frame.

COMM 301- RESEARCH METHODS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES
The purpose of this course is to familiarize you with the logic of social science inquiry, strategies of research design, and a variety of research methods. In other words, this course is about how social scientists do research. We will compare quantitative and qualitative approaches to social science research in terms of their epistemologies, their research design strategies, and the tools they offer for carrying out social science research.

VCDE 301- ILLUSTRATION
This course introduces students to the basics of Illustration; its purpose and creative process. Illustration is about communicating a specific conceptualised message to a target audience. And this course focuses on hand-crafted methods of visualising any conceptual commission through creative process. Any drawing, painting or printed work of art which explains, clarifies, illuminates, visually represents, or decorates a written text is considered an illustration, a.k.a. commercial art. Throughout the course; students will be given various assignments to create such art works in order to learn how to utilise this discipline for visual communication or commercial purposes.

VCDE 303- MAJOR DESIGN
The aim of this course is to teach the students about different aspects of graphic design discipline focusing on design. In the lessons subjects like how to choose the best design and color theme according to the brief and how to present the designs to the client will be covered. Students will be asked to work on real project simulations like book cover design, album cover, poster design, brochures, ads, packaging design and etc. They will be asked to design quick and small projects according to the briefs, and apply their knowledge, skill and creativity according to today’s industrial needs.

COMM 302- CREATIVE AND CRITICAL THINKING
The aim of this course is to help students understand and practice the techniques and tools that enable them to enhance and develop their creativity as well as the appreciation of creativity in other people. In this course, students will learn the techniques of problem solving in engineering and the knowledge and use of creative techniques for obtaining new or alternative solutions, to teamwork, to motivation, for improving performance of alternative solutions, as well as the concept of innovation in all areas of their future professional work.

VCDE 302- PORTFOLIO DESIGN
Portfolio design course is all about directing students in the quest of creating their own personal style of presenting their prior creative works and resumes. A portfolio needs to be personal and unique in order to reflect the designer’s own style, but it also needs to inherit the basic principles of design to communicate effectively. Students will learn that the use of typography, the imagery and the page layout design are significant features in order to create the desired effect on the client. At the end of this course students will develop a sound understanding of Portfolio Design and will be able to create a personal and unique method of how to present themselves through their prior works in the form of a complete new design. They will gain the necessary skills to use varying materials and software for both hard-copy and soft-copy portfolio designs. They will be able to communicate through visual story-telling in the form of Portfolio.

VCDE 308- INTERNSHIP
Internships are off or on-campus experiential learning activities designed to provide students with opportunities to make connections between the theory and practice of academic study and the practical application of that study in a professional work environment. Internships offer the opportunity to “try out” a career while gaining relevant experience and professional connections. Internships are completed under the guidance of an on-site supervisor and a faculty sponsor, who in combination with the student will create a framework for learning and reflection. Students will be able to work and gain experience for their Professional career. Students has to work for total of 125 hours in the field.

COMM 403- CREATIVE PITCHING
The knowledge and skills of the whole process; from finding creative ideas in all areas of production to writing content appropriate to the nature of the media, and also the effective presentation of the created work, are all covered in this course. The students will learn all processes, including the presentation of the creative idea, by means of application during the course. At the end of this course students will develop a sound understanding of the pitching process for any ‘Design Conquer’ that they may come across in their future careers in agencies. Topics like; use of perceptual psychology, methods of persuasion, advanced presentation skills, research on target audience, storytelling, role playing, on location solutions, guerrilla marketing and production of promotional items will be discussed and practiced during this major course. Students will be asked to utilize all these techniques and knowledge to influence and persuade their clients according to the tasks given for a successful and creative pitching.

VCDE 401- INTERFACE DESIGN
Nowadays we use multiple types of interfaces on a daily basis. This illustrates a humongous developing field and its importance in the field of media and communication. Thus, this course focuses on the design and mechanical aspects of an interface and the user experience connected to it. Student will learn the fundamentals of prototyping user experience and understand mapping of interfaces. This course Provides an introduction to User interfaces and user experience. Teaching the mechanics behind interfaces with case studies of Websites, games, application, etc. as case studies. The student will learn a prototyping application Called Adobe XD which allows them to create the design version of an application and test certain aspects of the interface before any programming and development is needed.

VCDE 402- BRANDING DESIGN
In this course the main objective is to help students achieve the necessary creative skills of design in the process of creating a brand. Students will be concentrating on applied techniques for creating brand identity like; typography, colour, image creation, hierarchy, composition and style. Among the applications for creating brand identity; they will be asked to produce corporate identity, packaging design and key-visual design. At the end ofthiscourse students will develop a sound understanding of branding design process. They will be able to work on both personal branding and corporate branding projects. They will gain knowledge about brand story creation, designing promotional items, corporate identity and ads. They will also find the chance to approach branding design through social media.

VCDE 404-FINAL PROJECT
This course offers graduating Visual Communication Design students the opportunity to conduct an extended piece of empirical research in an area and topic of their interest. Students select an original project topic involving literature research and extensive reading, planning, conducting, data analysis and producing a written research report to publication standards. Individual supervision of each research project: Students will receive individual supervision sessions with their instructor which can vary depending on the nature of the project. Students can expect up to 6 hours of supervision time (in the form of individual meetings and online support) during the semester.

VCDE 214   Digital Illustration (2,2) 3

The purpose of this course is to teach students how to reflect their illustrative skills in digital environment. During this course students will learn how to edit and re-produce their handcrafted illustrations, utilise photographic images, create digital collages, and digitally edit and colourize these art works. Students will be given multiple concepts to visualise in varying techniques.

 

VCDE 222   Publication Design (2,2) 3

This course will explore long-form graphic design while focusing on common design tasks, annual reports, ad campaigns, business collateral, newspapers, websites, books and other long- and short-form documents and also developed designs within a branded, organized and inviting structure, presenting information in various content.

 

VCDE 313   Infografic Design (2,2) 3

The aim of this course is to teach students how to transform excessive data into easy to perceive information over illustrated graphic applications. During the lessons, students will be asked to design visuals using graphic elements and illustrations clarifying complex textual data.




VCDE 314   Web Design (0,6) 3

This course introduces intermediate to advanced web design tech-niques. Topics include customer expectations, design rules, multime-dia technologies. The course describes advanced design techniques to create high impact and highly functional websites.




VCDE 332   Package Design (2,2) 3 (Pre-requisite VCDE 212)

This course is about the basics of Package Design and the branding effect of its dynamics. The course introduces all the basics of the process; from conceptualising to the finalized design on the shelf. It focuses on; the dynamics of photographic or illustrated imaging, use of typography, psychology of colour, creation of informative icons, organisation of text and how all these are composed together on the 3D visualisation of a product package.




COMM 462 Color Theory and Design (2,2) 3

In this course, color theory in the context of digital concepts will be explained and the use of computer-aided colors through different genres and topics will be clarified. In this course, students are expected to produce and transform their own color themes for different design applications. In addition, the course is designed to cover coloring and color correction for film and video.




VCDE 431   Interface Design (2,2) 3

This course is about user and computer interaction and designing User Experience (UX). Students are expected to design according to the given briefs on web based and mobile applications. Content management and graphic design are the key features of this course. During this course, subjects like typography for web, interface design, color management and designing templates will also be covered.




VCDE 480 Special Topics in Visual Communication Design (2,2/ 3,0) 3

Selected Topics in Visual Communication Design is one of the elective courses in the last year of Visual Communication Design Department. In accordance with the structure of the course, each year a subject will be opened in line with the demands of the students and the new developments or specific needs in the field, and that special topic would be added to the name of the course every year.

ADVE 132   (Creative) Advertising Design (1,4) 3

This course aims to teach the importance of creativity in contemporary advertising. Students learn the theoretical and practical aspects of the advertising industry. In this course, the results of creative advertising are handled in a social and commercial context. At the same time, methods that are becoming increasingly important in the advertising creation process, including viral and guerilla marketing, are discussed in detail. Students analyze the stories of selected advertising campaigns that have received successful returns on a national and international scale, and develop the ability to identify key features of creative advertising.




ADVE 302 Persuasion and Perception (3,0) 3

This course is about the persuasion and effectiveness of the advertorial presentations. The aim of the course is to study techniques of persuasion from the perception psychology point of view. Students are expected to create effective communication solutions with and persuasive presentations with varying target audiences. Subjects like planning for presentation, presentation techniques, body language, and overcoming stage fear will also be covered during lessons.




ANIM 331   Game Design Concepts (2,2) 3

The main objective of this course is to teach students all the aspects of game design from scratch up to the production phase. During this course students will learn about designing for varying game platforms. They will learn about game design procedure by creating their own narratives, character designs and layouts.




ANIM 411    3D Character Design (2,2) 3

Learning the necessary softwares for modeling organic forms will enable students to widen their perspective about how to use communication tools. Students will gain knowledge about a new visual tool by modeling varying organic beings.




 

 

 

ANIM            462 Animation Studio (0,6) 3

This is an introduction to animation course, which is a form of animated design. During this course, topics like all the basics of animation including both 2D and 3D animation will be covered.




DIME 253   Social Media Content Management (3,0) 3

Social media enables the companies to engage in marketing more easily, support their products and promote their sales. In this course, students learn how to increase the value of their social media accounts and use them strategically. Moreover, it is aimed to teach students how to collaborate with companies for promotions, to assess social media interaction, determine the target audience for the content, prepare editorial calendar and improve skills for crisis management




FIDE 203     History of Cinema in Turkey (3,0) 3

In this course, the historical development of cinema in Turkey will be examined in social and cultural context by means of dividing it into periods. In the course, differences in the structure of narrative cinema in Turkey and the peculiar characteristics of certain periods and their aesthetic views would be covered. Moreover, the changings in economic structure in Turkish cinema and the dynamics in the film industry will be discussed.




FIDE 301     Emerging Cinema (3,0) 3

The main objective of this course is to create more engaging interactions for the audience by means of combining modern cinema technologies with visual storytelling techniques. In this course, content creation is covered by 3 dimensional and 360-degree video production and virtual reality applications.




FIDE 431     3D Composition and Visual Effects (2,2) 3

This course provides the necessary skills and competencies for producing advanced visual effects using two-dimensional and three-dimensional elements for film and animation studies. In addition, the integration of different graphic elements with different scenes will be discussed during the course. It is aimed to support students to work on their own projects and apply some important techniques such as color equalization, motion tracking, light, artificial coloring and composition to their productions.

 

COMM 300 Entrepreneurship and Project Management (Technical Elective) (2,2) 3

The main objective of the course is to enable students to integrate the fields in communication such as entrepreneurship, innovative applications, sustainable development, project management with their specific research areas. Students will be able to combine their theoretical knowledge with practice. For this purpose, basic concepts of entrepreneurship and project management will be explained and successful examples in entrepreneurship will be examined. Students will learn how to set up their own businesses, analyse the sector, and how to manage risk factors. During the course, every stage including the transformation into practical arena would be examined and students will be able to design their works either individually or as a group.




COMM 303            Global Issues (3,0) 3

In this course, international and global issues that global communities are experiencing will be examined communication in a political, economic, social and environmental context. To this end, human rights, women's rights, children's rights, animal rights, democracy, migration, displacement, conflict zones, climate change, sustainability, economic globalization, poverty, resource sharing and transnational institutions, technological development, cultural diversity and identity concepts will be discussed. This course is also designed to provide theoretical background information for the course Communication Strategies for NGOs.







COMM 304            Communication Strategies for NGOs (3,0) 3

Non-Governmental Organizations have to develop and apply specific communication strategies due to their communication with social and political actors and stakeholders, support groups and digital opinion leaders. In this course, effective communication strategies and frameworks for NGO’s for internal and external interactions will be examined to clarify the most appropriate communication tools for developing communication plans to reach defined target groups. In this course, it is expected for students to contact with national and global NGOs for developing creative and solution-oriented strategies. Afterwards, the students will learn to conduct peculiar communication campaigns either as an individual or as a group.

 

COMM 320 Creative Writing (2,2) 3

This course is designed to explain the techniques of complex storytelling, multi-layered and in-depth stories, scripts and games. The course also covers complex and organic character development, time loop, multi-axis storytelling and theme selection techniques. This course, which is designed in accordance with the field of communication, focuses on developing ad text writing and slogans for design products and teaches students how to express their feelings and thoughts for taking part in web, TV and cinema projects. This course provides the necessary flexibility for writing in various fields of communication, and provides the theoretical and practical knowledge for writing for institutions and advertisements.




COMM 352             Creative Industries (3,0) 3

The aim of this course is to provide students with a detailed understanding of how the knowledge is produced and distributed, and it aims to introduce the media industries in which students will work when they graduate. How technological innovations affect the process of the creation of knowledge and thus its impact on culture and intercultural communication will be questioned in detail. Since theatre, visual arts, cinema, TV, radio, music, publishing, computer games, architecture, design, advertising and fashion are examples of media industries, the communication and interaction process in these different areas are the main topics that will be covered in the course. In other words, this course is a study on how human creates and transforms information, and thus it gives students the knowledge of the global media structure.




COMM 361 Post Production Studio (2,2) 3

This course aims to provide students with advanced knowledge and skills in video editing which is one of the basic stages of film production for digital post production. Editing, sound design, basic composition and color correction will be covered in the course. In order to create a strong technical and aesthetic background in post-production, the courses are taught by focusing both on practical and theoretical knowledge. In the course, students will obtain advanced post-production skills.




COMM 401 Political Communication Campaigns (3,0) 3

In this course, the campaigns that influenced world politics in the history will be examined and afterwards the organization of political campaigns suitable in today’s conditions will be analysed. Students will learn to analyse survey results, use survey data, create a clear message in a campaign, plan an effective digital communication strategy on social media and through web in general.