Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication Design

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Turn Creativity Into a Career

Whether you want to become a graphic designer, game designer, animator, UX designer, or explore emerging fields like AI-assisted design and motion graphics, the Bachelor of Design (BDes) program at EWU will give you the skills you need to succeed.

Our degree combines visual communication, user experience, web development, game and interaction design, and cutting-edge technologies to prepare you for a wide range of creative careers.

Most courses in the program are studio-based, offering plenty of hands-on experience. You’ll build skills in drawing, sketching, animation, and visual storytelling, while also learning to use industry-standard digital tools—including Adobe Creative Cloud, GitHub, and generative AI design assistants.

With each project, you’ll practice collaboration, apply design thinking, and refine your portfolio through feedback from faculty and peers.

Curriculum & Requirements Academic Plan

General Advising SheetAdvising Sheet for SFCC Transfers

What You'll Learn

The following information comes from the official EWU catalog, which outlines all degree requirements and serves as the guide to earning a degree. Courses are designed to provide a well-rounded and versatile degree, covering a wide range of subject areas.

Visual Communication Design Major, Bachelor of Design (BDes)

Required Courses
DESN 100DRAWING FOR COMMUNICATION5
DESN 200VISUAL THINKING + MAKING5
DESN 216DIGITAL FOUNDATIONS5
DESN 243TYPOGRAPHY5
DESN 263VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN5
DESN 338USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN 15
DESN 359HISTORIES OF DESIGN5
DESN 463COMMUNITY-DRIVEN DESIGN5
DESN 480PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE5
Electives40
DESIGN LAB
PHOTOSHOP
ILLUSTRATOR
INDESIGN
FIGMA
VISUAL STORYTELLING
SOCIAL MEDIA DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT
EMERGENT DESIGN
INTRODUCTION TO ANIMATION
BOARD GAME DESIGN
3D ANIMATION
TYPOGRAPHY 2
DIGITAL GAME DESIGN
USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN 2
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHY
MOTION DESIGN
ZINE AND PUBLICATION DESIGN
MOTION DESIGN 2
PRODUCTION DESIGN
CODE + DESIGN 1
WEB DEVELOPMENT 1
AI + DESIGN
DIGITAL VIDEO
CODE + DESIGN 2
WEB DEVELOPMENT 2
DIGITAL SOUND
EXPERIMENTAL COURSE
DIRECTED STUDY
IMAGINARY WORLDS
USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN 3
CODE + DESIGN 3
WEB DEVELOPMENT 3
SENIOR PROJECT
PORTFOLIO PRACTICE
INTERNSHIP
EXPERIMENTAL
WORKSHOP, SHORT COURSE, CONFERENCE, SEMINAR
DIRECTED STUDY
Senior Capstone
DESN 490SENIOR CAPSTONE5
Total Credits90

The following plan of study is for a student with zero credits. Individual students may have different factors such as: credit through transfer work, Advanced Placement, Running Start, or any other type of college-level coursework that requires an individual plan.

Courses could be offered in different terms, checking the academic schedule is paramount in keeping an individual plan current. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduation.

All Undergraduate students are required to meet the Undergraduate Degree Requirements.

First Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
DESN 1005DESN 200 (Humanities & Arts BACR 1)5DESN 2165
ENGL 1015ENGL 2015Social Science BACR 215
Social Science BACR 115MATH 107 or 1705Natural Science BACR 115
 15 15 15
Second Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
DESN 359 (Diversity - graduation requirement)5DESN 2435Design Elective25
Global Studies - graduation requirement15DESN 2635Design Elective25
Natural Science BACR 215Humanities & Arts BACR 215Design Elective25
 15 15 15
Third Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
DESN 3385Design Elective25Design Elective25
Design Elective25Elective - minor, or general elective5Elective - minor, or general elective5
Elective - minor, or general elective5Elective - minor, or general elective5Elective - minor, or general elective5
 15 15 15
Fourth Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
DESN 4635DESN 4805DESN 490 (Senior Capstone - graduation requirement)5
DESN 495 (Design Elective)25Design Elective25Elective - minor, or general elective5
Elective - minor, or general elective5Elective - minor, or general elective5Elective - minor, or general elective5
 15 15 15
Total Credits 180
1

University Graduation Requirements (UGR) and Breadth Area Course Requirements (BACR) courses may be less than 5 credits and additional credits may be required to reach the required 180 total credits needed to graduate.  Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.

2

Design Elective - complete 40 credits from the approved list.