Skip top navigation Skip to main content
Lasell University
Lasell University

Graphic Design

Major

Request for Information
What You'll Learn
Career Outlook
FAQs
Request Info
Loading...

Turn your creativity into a career with a Graphic Design degree. Our Graphic Design program blends creative problem-solving with cutting-edge tools, laying a strong foundation in brand identity, publication design, motion graphics, User Experience/Interactive (UX/UI) design, and web design.

You will gain practical skills through real-world projects, from developing layouts for POLISHED and Tarnished magazines to crafting interactive designs for web and mobile. Whether your goal is to become a UI/UX designer, art director, or creative strategist, our program prepares you for success through hands-on coursework, internship and career connections.

Program Features

  • Comprehensive coursework - Covering everything from typography and illustration to graphic design classes in motion graphics, photography, UI/UX, and web/mobile design.

  • Real-world projects - Develop design solutions for POLISHED and TARNISHED magazines to build your portfolio.

  • Portfolio-ready projects - Build a standout portfolio by creating designs for real publications and professional clients.

  • Career-focused learning - You will get hands-on industry experience through an internship that fits your goals—such as working at a design agency, an in-house creative department, or a media company.

  • Small class sizes enable you to work in a small, collaborative space that mimic a real design studio.

  • Top-tier creative facilities - Work in the Yamawaki Center’s Mac lab, photography studio, and classrooms for printmaking, drawing and painting, plus showcase your work in our campus gallery.

Hear what makes Lasell's Graphic Design program unique

 

What You'll Learn

From your first day, you’ll take courses in your major and advance towards graduation with a yearly plan. Not sure what classes to take? We’ll help you create the perfect plan. 

Courses and Sample 4-Year Plan

This example four-year plan is provided as a broad framework that you can follow in order to complete your degree within four years. Be sure to always consult your academic advisor before registering for classes.

ARTS126
Fundamentals of Visual Art (KP)

This course is an introduction to the basic principles and strategies for visual art-making and art appreciation, with an emphasis on developing an awareness and sensitivity to art as an integral part of one's life and as a way to complement one's aesthetic needs. This is a lecture course with studio art-making modules designed to complement visual material, critical essays, museum/gallery trips and impart basic skills in visual communication.

This course introduces students to a variety of drawing tools and media. Drawing from life, line, tonality, illusional space, and perspective are explored. Creativity and individual expression are stressed.

In this course, students gain understanding of and confidence in strategies for effective writing by composing and reading in a variety of genres. The course emphasizes writing as a process and focuses on the rhetorical choices writers make. Students engage critically with sources by examining how genre, context, purpose, credibility, and bias work together to create meaning and impact audiences. Students who choose to take Writing I Workshop are provided with time during class to work on their writing while the instructor and a writing tutor are present to provide assistance. Students must earn a “C” or higher in order to pass this course

The First Year Seminar (FYS) is part of the Core Curriculum and a requirement for all incoming first year students and transfer students with fewer than 15 credits. The First Year Seminar is a theme-based inquiry course that engages students in a specific area of interest while providing support for a smooth transition into the Lasell University community and the Connected Learning philosophy. Through studying an academic topic, students develop and apply core intellectual skills and receive an introduction to the core knowledge perspectives. At the same time, students connect to the experiences and people that make up the Lasell University Community. Course outcomes are accomplished through engaging activities including reading, writing, class discussions, presentations, team projects, field trips, and exploration of campus resources. Civic engagement and service-learning activities are often part of this course as is participation in the Connected Learning Symposium. Through the seminar, students develop close ties with faculty and peer mentors who serve as advocates for first year students' academic success. Past course titles have included: The Immigrant Experience, Fashion & Film of the 20th Century, The Social History of Rock & Roll, Exploring Cultures & Languages, The Spark of Creativity, Women and Sports, and Latin America: Food And Traditions. This requirement may be fulfilled by taking either FYS103 or HON101 (for students enrolled in the Honors Program).

This course is the foundational course for mathematical and quantitative reasoning at Lasell College. Mathematical reasoning is the critical skill that enables a student to solve real-world problems involving quantitative analysis by making use of particular mathematical skills. Through the development of their mathematical reasoning skills, students will recognize the power of mathematics in its own right as well as its relevance in the real world. Students will develop and enhance their mathematical reasoning skills through a project/application-based curriculum supported by readily available current technological tools and topics that will include, but not be limited to, the following: solving systems of equations, linear programming, statistical, and graphical data analysis.

This course offers the experienced drawing student a chance to continue building life drawing, human figure, still lifes and landscape skills. In addition to studio work, students learn what is necessary to advance their knowledge of design by studying the masters. Periodic class discussions help students learn visual analysis and a general approach to the criticism of art. Prerequisite: ARTS101 Studio Drawing I or permission of instructor.

This course provides an introduction to the basic concepts of digital imaging as applied to Photography. Students combine traditional photographic methods with the latest digital techniques, using image manipulation software, scanning equipment and other computer-based tools. Students are responsible for providing their own digital camera.

This course is a continuation of Writing I and focuses on research and public writing. Theme-based courses provide students with lenses to explore issues of interest and develop their reading, research, and writing skills. Students work with a topic of their choice, broadly based on the course theme. Assignments build upon each other, lead up to a researched position paper, and culminate in a public piece. Students who choose to take Writing II Workshop are provided with time during class to work on their writing while the instructor and a writing tutor are present to provide assistance. Students must earn a grade of “C” or higher in order to pass this course. Prerequisite: WRT 101

Equity & Intersectionality(KP)

This course offers an introduction to three of the most important software applications in the Adobe Creative Cloud for a student who is interested in Graphic Design:  Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. Students learn image generation and editing in both pixel-based and vector-based environments as well as digital page composition for print publishing. This is a project-based course that initiates and improves students' skill set for the implementation of computer graphics.

GRAP201
Imaging for Graphic Design

This illustration course is designed to develop students' compositional and image development skills for the field of Graphic Design. Using a combination of traditional and digital methods of imaging, students expand their visual vocabulary for successful graphic communications. Prerequisite: GRAP105 Digital Design Essentials or equivalent (such as FASD205 Digital Design for Apparel or FASH207 Digital Tools for Fashion).

This course is an introduction to the essentials of Euclidean geometry. Topics covered include: reasoning in mathematics, the relationship between algebra and geometry, analytic geometry, proofs and constructive triangles, circles, quadrilaterals, polygons, surfaces and solids and historical notes about famous geometricians. Prerequisite: MATH 106 with a grade of C or better or demonstrated competency through placement testing.

This course involves the study of the graphic image and how visual messages are used in a diverse media. This is an advanced photography course with an emphasis on technical methods. Hands-on studio projects give the student skills that contribute to thoughtful and effective communication. Prerequisite: ARTS219 Digital Photography I.

This course introduces students of design to the origins of the discipline. It emphasizes the Modernist period, during which design rapidly evolved as typography, photography and new printing methods were explored by artists of the Bauhaus and other European schools and movements. The course demonstrates how these innovators influence graphic design as we know it today.

This is an introduction to the theoretical and practical aspects of graphic design, with an emphasis on developing a working literal and visual vocabulary. Students are challenged with conceptual design exercises that promote the essential values of good research, process, and presentation practices. Prerequisite: GRAP201 Imaging for Graphic Design.

This course introduces the student to the most current coding and markup languages that are integral to successful Web site development. It also introduces the student to authoring software, such as Adobe Dreamweaver, that assists designers with the coding demands of Web authorship. Other topics which add to this comprehensive course are the history of the Internet and World Wide Web Consortium, the power of CSS, and the design and layout principles that contribute to successful Web site development from technical, interactive, and aesthetic viewpoints. Prerequisite: GRAP105 Digital Design Essentials or equivalent

This course surveys the application of expressive letterforms since the invention of the printing press. With a historical overview that illuminates the terminology used by professional designers, students are encouraged to explore their own means of typographic expression. The fundamentals of structure, spacing, and rhythm are emphasized as they influence form and function. Prerequisites: GRAP105 Digital Design Essentials.

This Knowledge Perspective course will provide students with the opportunity to interpret and analyze the complex interrelationships and inequities in human societies in a global historical context. Emphasizing the interrelatedness and mutuality of influence between East and West, we examine questions of exclusiveness, intolerance, and cooperation. Prerequisite: ENG101 with a C or better

In this project-based course, students explore a social or intellectual problem using at least two knowledge perspectives. Faculty and students follow a collaborative process of exploration, discussion, and problem solving that integrates knowledge perspectives and core intellectual skills.

GRAP205
Graphic Design II

This course builds on the foundational principles that are introduced in Graphic Design I. Students strengthen their design skills through a series of design briefs in the areas of print and electronic media. Reflective writings and research assignments contribute to improved critical thinking and writing skills. Prerequisite: GRAP204 Imaging for Graphic Design.

In this course, students expand their design practice in the application of typography to a variety of forms and contexts. This is a process-oriented course focused on the advancement of a personal "typographic voice." Students learn to structure informational hierarchies and how to sequence typographic materials across multiple pages. Issues of personal interpretation and legibility are emphasized. Prerequisite: GRAP301 Typography I

This course will address the interaction between the lives we lead and the application of traditional (and some nontraditional) ethical theories and principles to important decision points in our lives. Students will take on real-life ethical problems and dilemmas for each class; each student will be responsible for presenting a number of issues, as well as for guiding the discussion of those issues in class. The problems we address will largely span a lifetime of experiences and concerns. Students will also write several papers that evaluate formal arguments, using standard tools of critical thinking and philosophy. The course is discussion based, so a willingness to read carefully, to think critically, and to engage in classroom presentations and discussions is essential. Prerequisite: Junior standing, MDSC203 & ENG102.

A critical component of a successful Internship experience is finding an appropriate placement. In this seminar students will identify their personal work style and strengths, will identify a good career match, will create an effective cover letter & resume, will explore effective networking, interviewing, and negotiation skills. This course will help students identify search tools for finding internships. A goal of this course is to secure an internship for the following semester. Must have at least Sophomore standing.

KP (Knowledge Perspective) Course

KP (Knowledge Perspective) Course

This course offers a deeper exploration of designing and authoring interactive content on a variety of platforms with an emphasis on user experience (UX), building upon skills and strategies acquired in basic web design and graphic design courses. Students will use designer tools such as Adobe Animate and Adobe XD, which offer designers the opportunity to create code-based interactions with minimal knowledge of programming languages, such as HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and proprietary app building languages and workflows. Prerequisite: GRAP207 Web Design and Development and GRAP105 Digital Design Essentials or equivalent.

This course involves Graphic Design students in the theoretical and practical processes of successful publication design through research, conceptual explorations, studio practice, and presentations. This course offers experience in the design of traditional and electronic publications in order to prepare students for a career in graphic design. Prerequisite: GRAP302 Typography II.

This course presents a survey of artistic styles from the prehistoric period through the art of the early Renaissance. Periods included are Egyptian, Aegean, Greek, Roman and Etruscan, and the Middle Ages. Films and slides are used in the presentation of works of art from the fields of architecture, sculpture, and painting.

This course provides the student with professional experience through an individually arranged participation of 12-15 hours per week in a work setting (for a total of 150 hours minimum). Primary area of responsibility rests with the student in identifying and pursuing his/her areas of interests, in consultation with his/her team of faculty advisors and the Director of Internship Programs. Each student is monitored during the field experience and must complete a related written project assigned by his/her team of faculty advisors. Evaluation of the field experience is based on student performance as reviewed with the employer, faculty members, and student at the completion of the experience. Junior or Senior standing. Prerequisite: IDS399, COM 399, HUM 399. In addition, IDS398X may be a substitution for these.

This course will emphasize graphic design workflows that use photography as key elements of design. Students will deepen their understanding of shooting for design outcomes, exploring product shot staging and lighting, working with models, props and sets. In turn, they will add to their image editing, compositing and layout skills by working with their photos using a powerful digital toolset. Prerequisites: ARTS219 Digital Photography I and ARTS319 Digital Photography II or instructor approval.

GRAP307
Motion Graphics

In this course, students develop conceptual and visual problem-solving skills as they relate to motion studies and time-based art. Through demonstrations, studio sessions and critiques students create portfolio-quality animation and motion study projects.

This course prepares design students for effective and personalized presentation of their design work. Students are encouraged to create an online portfolio and relevant self-promotional materials (business card, designed resume, artist statement). Prerequisite: Senior standing.

Students engage in an individual research and writing practice that challenges them to analyze and articulate their personal philosophy of design, while studying designers of the Post-Modern era. This capstone course also provides students an opportunity to clarify their professional goals based on their interests in Graphic Design. Prerequisite: Senior standing.

KP (Knowledge Perspective) Course

KP (Knowledge Perspective) Course

The senior practicum provides an opportunity for students in their final semester of the design program to produce a self-directed capstone project that applies the design theory and studio techniques that they have been developing over the last four years. The practicum project is presented in a Senior Show at the end of their final semester. Prerequisite: Senior standing.

This course engages advanced Graphic Design students with a curriculum derived from a collection of prepared design briefs. With established methods of research, conceptualization, innovation and art production, students are offered "real world" challenges for graphic design solutions. This course emphasizes sound business practices and ethical guidelines for a career in commercial art. Prerequisites: GRAP205 Graphic Design II, GRAP302 Typography II.

This course introduces students to the notion of creating within three-dimensional space. Line, composition, planes, volume, and surfaces are studied from both additive and subtractive perspectives. Students construct various models and/or maquettes. Problem solving and individual expression are emphasized. NOTE: Graphic Design majors should seek out the majors-only section when enrolling.

KP (Knowledge Perspective) Course

KP (Knowledge Perspective) Course

Earn industry-recognized certificates as part of your courses in the Communication program.

  • Social Media Marketing - HubSpot

This example four-year plan is provided as a broad framework that you can follow in order to complete your degree within four years. Be sure to always consult your academic advisor before registering for classes.

4-Year Plan
Student and Alumni Profiles
Aaliyah headshot

By having small class sizes, I was able to develop good relationships with all my professors as well as get better at presenting.

Aaliyah Wyman '25

Graphic Design

Read Aaliyah's Student Profile
Aaliyah headshot
Grace headshot

"I am confident in moving forward in a career in graphic design."

Grace Highum '24

Graphic Design

Read Grace's Profile
Grace headshot
Courtney Hannon

"The Communication program has given me hands-on experience that I can bring to my first job."

Courtney Hannon '27

Communication

Read Courtney's Student Profile
Courtney Hannon
Payton Hebert

Lasell’s communication program has been fundamental in building me into the professional I am now.

Payton Hebert '24

Public Relations

Read Payton's Alumni Profile
Payton Hebert

Career Outlook

Our students have interned with:

  • TJX Companies
  • Boston Magazine
  • America's Test Kitchen
  • L'elite Magazine
  • Boston Bruins
  • Music Museum of New England
  • Sabre Graphics
  • Advisor360

Our alumni have careers as and at:

  • MediaHub Worldwide
  • TJX Companies
  • Lockton
  • SmartMoves
  • Lasell University

Learning Outcomes

  • Evolved creative thinking skills.
  • Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
  • Strong design and fine arts skills.
  • Visual articulation and literacy.
  • Effective verbal communication skills project.
  • For a complete list of courses and learning outcomes, view the Academic Catalog

FAQs

Does Lasell offer extracurricular design opportunities?

Absolutely - Students can participate in: TARNISHED & POLISHED both student-run magazines. Each Spring we host our annual COMArts Conversations that features numerous media professionals and program alumni. 

Will I build a strong design portfolio?

Yes, you will prepare a capstone practicum and create an online professional portfolio, showcasing their best projects faculty mentorship, project-based studio work, and participation in student-run magazines (TARNISHED, POLISHED) aid portfolio growth.

What careers can I pursue with a Graphic Design degree?

Graphic Design degree equips you for roles like graphic designer, brand designer, UX/UI specialist, motion graphics artist, publication designer, or creative director. Lasell Graduates have interned and worked at places such as TJX, Boston Magazine, America’s Test Kitchen, the Bruins, and MediaHub Worldwide

 

What tools and tech will I learn?

  • Adobe Creative Cloud: You’ll work extensively with Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, Lightroom, Figma, and XD for everything from photo editing to layout and animation.
  • Digital Photography & Video Gear: Use DSLR cameras, studio lighting, and video production tools for multimedia and motion design projects.

 

Beyond the Classroom
Campus Media Turns Into Careers

campus media

After working on Lasell's media outlets, alumni have gone on to careers at Major League Baseball, in radio, film production, creative direction, and more.

Graphic Design Students Earn Prestigious Honors

Jamie Kinteris at Adobe conference

Jamie Kinteris '24 attended Adobe’s Next Generation Summit in San Francisco and Huy Le '24 was named one of the 2024 American Digital Design Award winners by Graphic Design USA (GDUSA).

COMArts Conversations

Each year the School of Communication and the Arts hosts award-winning media and design professionals who cover topics such as UX research and design, storytelling and documentary filmmaking, influencers on social media, and marketing strategy.

Student-Run Publications

Lasell's student-run publications include the 1851 Chronicle newspaper, TARNISHED covering visual and written arts, and POLISHED, our award-winning fashion magazine.

Take Your Next Steps

Request More Information

Visit Campus

Apply Now