Curriculum
A Two-Year Design Journey
The GDES curriculum is not a collection of unrelated classes. It is a structured progression from design foundations through professional practice — each semester building on the last, with the entire cohort moving through together.
Everything in the program leads to one goal: a professional portfolio and a public exhibition of your work.
How We Teach Design
The program is built around a studio model — not lectures and exams. Students develop projects, present their work, receive critique, and iterate. That cycle repeats across every course.
Small Cohorts
Students progress through the program together, building creative relationships and collaborative skills that mirror real studio environments.
Studio-Based Learning
Courses revolve around project work, critiques, and iteration — not lectures and exams. Students learn by making.
Industry Integration
Internships, guest speakers, professional portfolio reviews, and guidance from the Technical Advisory Committee keep the program connected to current industry practice.
Portfolio Focus
Every course builds toward a professional portfolio. Students graduate with a body of work that proves what they can do.
Year 1 · Fall
Foundations
Learning how designers think.
Students build the visual language, tools, and design thinking that everything else in the program depends on. Typography, composition, color, and digital production form the base layer of a design education.
Focus
Work Produced
Year 1 · Spring
Core Design
Applying design thinking to real problems.
Students move from exercises to real design problems — building brand identities, editorial layouts, packaging concepts, and campaign systems. Critique and revision become central to the workflow.
Focus
Work Produced
Year 2 · Fall
Digital + UX
Designing for interactive environments.
Students learn to design and build for the web — responsive layouts, user experience, front-end development, and digital product thinking. Design decisions extend into code and interaction.
Focus
Work Produced
Year 2 · Spring
Professional Practice
Working like a real designer.
Students bring everything together — internships, client projects, portfolio development, and the annual Portfolio Show. This is where students transition from learning design to practicing it professionally.
Focus
Work Produced
The Design Progression
Foundations
Learning how designers think.
Core Design
Applying design thinking to real problems.
Digital + UX
Designing for interactive environments.
Professional Practice
Working like a real designer.
Portfolio Show
Public exhibition of your work.
Skills You'll Graduate With
Tools You'll Master
Areas of Focus
While every student completes the full curriculum, the program gives room to develop depth in the areas that interest you most. Portfolio projects, elective focus, and internships allow students to shape their own creative direction.
Explore career paths →Branding
UX / UI
Web Design
Motion + Video
Digital Marketing
The Destination
Everything Leads to the Portfolio Show
Every course, every project, every critique moves students toward a professional portfolio and a public exhibition of their work. The annual GDES Portfolio Show is designed, produced, and presented by the graduating class.
Courses Guided by Industry — Our curriculum is shaped with input from professionals through the GDES Technical Advisory Committee.
Ready to Start the Journey?
Visit the program, meet the faculty, see the studios. The best way to understand the GDES curriculum is to experience it.