ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – Following a history of innovation in the arts, Winthrop University has revamped its design program and will offer a bachelor of design degree that, beginning this fall, will give students four concentrations from which to choose.
Graduates of the program will have the skills to become professional creatives in fields such as graphic/communication design, packaging design, interior design, motion design, creative/art direction, environmental/exhibition design, web/user interface/user experience design, advertising/social media, game/comic art, or illustration.
The four options for the bachelor of design degree are graphic design, experience design, illustration and interior design.
Jeff Bellantoni, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, said the experience design option is the newest addition and will combine communications with behavior research methods so graduates will be able to solve complex problems.
“Designers no longer exclusively design things,” Bellantoni said. “They design experiences, interactions and lifestyles—in many ways, they define culture.
“Our students will see how design can be used to communicate meaningful messages, craft functional and beautiful objects, create compelling experiences, influence behavior, and make interactions more efficient and communities more livable,” he added.
University officials said the degree offers a contemporary approach to design thinking that will incorporate creative process theories with technology and programming, entrepreneurship and business strategies and management.
Eva Roberts, chair of the Department of Design, said each concentration and subject area will establish a foundation for students to transform into creative, practice-ready professionals, who can communicate with consumers about spaces, products and the perception and interaction among people, objects and ideas.
In order to mirror the profession, students will learn how to effectively collaborate with each other and with campus groups. They will have multiple opportunities to explore design through collaborative engagement with clients, each other, the college’s other arts programs, and areas throughout the university, such as business, computer science and communications.
“Students will develop a perspective that is broad and powerful, learn to implement design strategies for more competitive and productive commercial and social enterprises, and understand how design can drive business decisions and entrepreneurial efforts,” Roberts said.
For more information, contact Paula Garofalo, the university’s arts recruiter, at garofalopl@winthrop.edu, or check out the university’s website.
