Communication Design Foundation AAS

Fall Semester

Deadline: February 1 - SlideRoom Fee (USD): $10

The Communication Design Pathways Department’s mission is to offer a broad, multi-disciplinary foundation that includes design process, typography, color theory, digital design, and dimensional design. The FIT Communication Design Foundation portfolio submission consists of two parts: written essays that identify intent and a portfolio of original artwork. We want to understand your creative process in both written and visual components. We ask that you submit original creative art that reflects your unique self-expression.

Please submit two short essays and a portfolio of 10 to 15 pieces of original artwork.

Forms

Communication Design Foundation AAS Essays

Please respond thoughtfully and note that your answers do not replace the essay that you are required to submit as part of your FIT/SUNY application.

1. In 200 words or less, please tell us what specifically attracts you to this major.

2. In 300 words or less, please describe a situation when your creative vision differed from a teacher or employer during an evaluation of your work. How did you handle the situation?

Portfolio

Your portfolio must include 10-15 pieces.

Portfolios are evaluated based on ability to communicate ideas visually, composition, creativity, and execution. Neatness, high quality of technical execution, and evidence of organizational skills are highly valued. Your portfolio should include a range of media such as drawing, painting, three-dimensional artwork, visual communication design, collage, animation, and sketchbook pages. Use a variety of media to communicate ideas and concepts. Each portfolio piece is an important part of the total portfolio evaluation. The artwork should be original and either new or very recent.

Work submitted need not relate specifically to communication design, but should demonstrate one or all the following:

  • Drawing ability – we recommend having two drawings by hand using pencil, charcoal, pen, or ink of people or objects from nature including still life, portraits, landscapes, or cityscapes. When creating your original artwork, we recommend that you draw from observation and do not copy photos of famous personalities or comic book characters.
  • Conceptual development – we recommend two to four pages from your sketchbook.
  • Ideas and drawings do not need to be fully formed. Your sketches should indicate your creative process for any piece of your original work.
  • Sense of color, design, and composition
  • Digital design ability - We recommend one or two pieces created digitally. The pieces may be animation or interactive work. You may upload a screen shot of the main screen or image and/or provide a URL for the live piece in the written description. Your animation or interactive work must be on a public website, with no password. You cannot upload animation or interactive work to this portfolio.
  • Ability to work in a variety of media
  • Evidence of interest in art or design - Any work that shows experience solving communication design or typographic problems is welcomed, but not required.
  • Transfer students* should submit at least six (6) pieces of original artwork that represent design projects completed at your previous school. Please label each piece with a project name and the course name/number in which the project was created. Provide a short explanation of the project and concept.

*For transfer students with college-level design coursework:
The portfolio you submit will be used for placement and evaluation of transfer credits for design courses only. While each discipline has specific college-level expectations, we recommend providing examples from:

  • Typography
  • Page layout (multi-page, multi-column documents)
  • Brand identity, advertising design, graphic design, packaging design
  • Three-dimensional projects (including exhibition design, product design,
    or architectural design)

Provide 10-15 items. Images (up to 5MB each), video (up to 250MB each), PDFs (up to 10MB each).