Philadelphia University
Faculty of Arts
Department of Graphic Design – Course Description
- Compulsory courses (75 credit hours)
(0180113) History of Art 1 (3 credit hours)
This course covers the most important technical achievements and developments in the past, starting from the ancient civilizations until the Industrial Revolution. It includes the civilizations of Mesopotamia, the Paranoiac civilization, the Greek, and the Roman. This course covers the study of architecture, sculpture and photography in these civilizations, in addition to how the difference in environment was reflected on the cultural and artistic heritage.
(0180122) Design Basics (3 credit hours)
This course covers the elements and foundations of design with emphasis on the constructive idea of design. It also focuses on studying the formal and color elements and their impact on the general construction of design through practical exercises on how to deal with space, material and color in order to develop students’ creative and expressive abilities.
(0180130) Color Theory and Application (3 credit hours)
This course familiarizes students with the identification of color properties and its components, both physically and chemically. Through practical applications, students will learn how to use colors in various designs, besides learning color relationships and their gradations and their influence with light and shade. Students will be also familiarized with the most important theories and applications of color.
(0180133) Photography (3 credit hours)
This course aims at covering the theoretical part of the foundations of photography, its importance and origin. In addition, this course provides sufficient information related to traditional and digital cameras, their parts and the mechanism of photography. This course is meant to learn the practical aspect of dealing with a photographic image in order to prepare creative designs that reflect students' scientific and practical capabilities.
(0180132) Principles of Drawing and Perspective (3 credit hours)This course covers the linear skills and silhouettes through practical applications in drawing different subjects reflecting the depth of space (The third dimension) by studying the technical perspective and its impact on the final composition of the design topic.
(0180211) History of Art 2 (3 credit hours/ prerequisite: 0180113)
This course aims at familiarizing students with the modern art from the mid-nineteenth century until the end of the twentieth century, including the different schools and architectural styles that were famous at the time. It also focuses on the most prominent international and Arab artists who were known for their distinguished artistic style.
(0180214) History of Graphic Design (3 credit hours)
In this course, students will learn about the history of design starting from the emergence of the initial primitive idea of calligraphy through writing and its stages of development up to the printed page. The most important artistic currents and the impact of the information revolution and computer technologies on the process of graphic design will be highlighted in this courses.
(0180221) Graphic Design 1 (3 credit hours/ prerequisite: 0180122)
This course focuses on the practical side and implementing designs and elements, starting with the study of symbols and signs (Consolidated images) through advertisements and covers of books and magazines. It will teach students how to implement various techniques, manual and computer skills as a design tool.
(0180231) Techniques of Drawing and Painting (3 credit hours/ prerequisite: 0180132)
This course provides students with various skills related to the use of different techniques in drawing and coloring. Through practical applications of many materials and tools, students will learn about the various operational methods of the technical schools and carry out similar experiments with the help of models from the works of those schools.
(0180281) Printing 1 (3 credit hours)
In this course, students will practice the most important techniques for engraving and printing in its various and varied types, prominent, recessed, flat and porous through various practical applications and materials as well as media and methods of printing.
(0180313) Islamic Art (3 credit hours)
This course covers the study of the philosophy, origins and development of the Islamic art, the most important characteristics and principles on which it was based. Furthermore, it focuses on the study of the most prominent artistic styles during the successive eras in various regions. Students will be requested to implement some practical applications during their study of these styles.
(0180322) Graphic Design 2 (3 credit hours/ prerequisite: 0180221)
This course is mainly practical training on computer-based design in producing designs with different treatments and effects, such as designing logos and everything related to their visual identity, and using computer-based image processing and drawing software.
(0180324) Graphic Design 3 (3 credit hours/ prerequisite: 0180322)
This course is a continuation of Graphic Design 2. It helps students develop three-dimensional designs and introduces to them the foundations adopted in commercial and other advertising campaigns. It also explains the design of applied models for packaging of goods and products through traditional and computer technologies.
(0180341) Computer Aided- Design 1 (3 credit hours)This course trains students in computer software specialized in graphic design, namely the Illustrator-Photoshop Adobe programs, with a focus on the techniques of various tools and commands, and the extent to which they can be used in the various design processes, along with conducting two- and three-dimensional exercises representing the different techniques in the two programs.
(0180352) Typography (3 credit hours)
This course covers modern design based on the formal construction of letter combinations, in line with contemporary requirements for multiple graphic media. The course includes a study of the ratios and foundations on which typographical design is based, with practical manual and computer applications.
(0180365) Graduation Project Study (3 credit hours)
This course prepares students to decide on their research project and learn how to research in detail with the help of their instructor. They learn how to search for information, data and illustrative pictures related the project, along with looking for samples of similar projects and advertising campaigns. Students are expected to submit a report (two copies, according to the principles of scientific research), and to be committed to the same topic in the following course: graduation project (0180463).
(0180381) Materials, Quantities, and Practice (3 credit hours)
This course teaches students about the different materials used in the fields of graphic design and printing, and calculating the quantities required in the production of various advertisements and publications, and their approximate cost. The course also aims to introduce the most important foundations and rules adopted in the practice of graphic design offices and the ethics of the profession.
(0180383) Printing Techniques (3 credit hours)
This course covers the methods of printing and its different techniques, raw materials, and various printing surfaces and functions, with the aim of enriching the students’ knowledge and skill in this field by visiting modern printing houses to learn about the methods of the printing, printing process, its steps, and the final printing techniques.
(0180390) Aesthetics (3 credit hours)
This course covers the concept of beauty, its essence, and its philosophy by studying the most prominent philosophical schools in this field (Aesthetics), as well as dealing with the most important artistic concepts. Moreover, it covers the most important perspectives of aesthetics philosophers and their different points of view.
(0180415) Theories of Design (3 credit hours)
In this course, students will learn about the most significant theories of graphic design and contemporary design movements and their influence on computer technologies, in addition to the most important methodologies used in ancient and modern design, the method of technical analysis and generally approved standards in evaluating artistic and graphic work.
(0180424) Graphic Design 4 (3 credit hours/ prerequisite: 0180324)
This course provides training on the processes of producing newspapers and magazines, starting from the stage of designing the machine and producing printed pages. This course also includes the study of typographical elements and various methods of production using computer programs for press production, as well as studying the various schools in this field.
(0180442) Computer Aided- Design 2 (3 credit hours/ prerequisite: 0180341)
This course introduces the advanced techniques in graphics programs Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Illustrator, and relate them to the final output of these programs, whether for printed work or mobile work, with the preparation of various designs, technically and intellectually advanced, and finalized in accordance with the director to who it was designed.
(0180443) Animation 1 (3 credit hours/ prerequisite: 0180341)
This course introduces students with the various computer programs related to movement, studying the principles of movement and its techniques, and then applying those principles to simplified forms and exercises and the possibility of using them in designing movable partitions as part of advertisements and television program introductions.
(0180463) Graduation Project (3 credit hours/ prerequisite: 0180365)
This course deals with implementing what students has learned to assess their abilities and enhance their knowledge through the thorough guidance of the instructors. The aim of this course is to add to the students’ knowledge specially in the practical aspects, so they can meet the needs of the market, after presenting a set of integrated designs implemented with high-quality technology according to the field of research that was previously discussed in the course Graduation Project Study (0180365).
(0180472) The Psychology and Sociology of Design (3 credit hours)
This course deals with the psychological and social effects of different designs on the recipient, as well as the impact of the environment, acquired habits, and social behavior on the designer and the consequent patterns of thinking, methods of expression and artistic creativity.
(0180362) Internship (0 credit hours)
This course prepares students for work through training in one of the accredited institutions in the field of graphic design under the supervision and follow-up of the department and the training organization to evaluate the students’ performance and submit a report on their completion of the training period which is 120 hours during the semester after passing 90 hours of the study plan.
(0180151 Calligraphy and Omaments (3 credit hours)
This course covers the fundamentals of Arabic calligraphy, its various types, its rules, and its uses. It also covers the types of Arab and Islamic decoration and their uses in many artistic works and designs, using various techniques and materials.
(0180325) Graphics in Jordan (3 credit hours)
This course covers the concept of graphics, in the past and present, and examines the Jordanian experience in the field of graphic design in relation to the world of advertising and publications, as well as the role of educational and training institutions and the labor market, as well as the experience and development of graphics in Jordan.
(0180326) Technical Studies in English (3 credit hours/ prerequisite: 130102)
This course covers the most important terms and concepts specialized in graphics, through a theoretical study of the most important artistic movements, international graphic designers, and graphic activities in the English language.
(0180344) Webpage Design (3 credit hours/ prerequisite: 0180341)
This course covers the types of personal pages and websites and other websites of universities, institutions, companies and newspapers, and then studies the principles of designing those pages and fixed and mobile sites, with different applications that include the design process, linking the different pages, and adding some moving clips to the page and audio clips.
(0180370) Marketing and Promotion (3 credit hours)
This course covers the most important foundations and principles of promotion and commercial marketing, advanced and modern concepts in the field, as well as the effective impact of graphic design on various advertising and promotional campaigns. The course focuses on the concept of communication between producer and consumer, the media, and the various methods of direct and indirect communication.
(0180444) Animation 2 (3 credit hours/ prerequisite: 0180443)
This course covers producing television advertisements based on multi-dimensional techniques (two-three) in implementing those designs (Toom Boom - Cinema 4.D) with a focus on employing global developments in this field, especially entertainment films. In addition, it teaches students the needed concepts and creative thinking methods for television advertising and their impact on the recipient.
Elective courses (0180444) Aesthetic Appreciation (3 credit hours)
This course covers the importance of artistic and aesthetic culture and its benefits, the message of aesthetic thought and its objectives, the need of every thinker, critic, artist, maker, student and every human being for artistic culture and aesthetic thought, and the importance of aesthetic knowledge for every human being. This course aims at developing the aesthetic sense among students.