A critical approach to graphic design is indispensable in the social worlds it mediates. This course develops the designer's capacity for graphic thought through semantic and syntactic explorations of visual culture, semiotics and representation. Through a variety of studio exercises and one semester-long assignment, students develop their own design processes to discover the ways in which graphic design engages in visual knowledge production. Students will cultivate a conceptual aptitude and an understanding of methods, principles, conventions, and experimental processes using various digital platforms to create print and digital media as a communicative and intellectual practice.