{"id":3944,"date":"2010-01-29T11:19:52","date_gmt":"2010-01-29T16:19:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/?p=3944"},"modified":"2017-06-22T10:47:07","modified_gmt":"2017-06-22T15:47:07","slug":"design-department-prepares-students-for-the-real-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/tartan-news\/2010\/01\/29\/design-department-prepares-students-for-the-real-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Design department prepares students for the real world"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hidden among the arts and hospitality departments in Building 13 is Sinclair Community College\u2019s Design Department<\/a>.\u00a0 Design Chairperson Shari Rethman said people sometimes are not aware that Sinclair has a design department.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t even realize that we have visual communications and interior design as programs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The design department was originally a part of the art department, Rethman said.\u00a0 In the early \u201880s the program separated and went through various name changes including computer graphics, graphic arts and finally visual communication, according to Rethman.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe department shifted, too, because we were applied arts, but now we\u2019re design,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

There are approximately 450 visual communications majors at any given time, according to Rethman.\u00a0 She said around 70 visual communication students graduate each year.<\/p>\n

Rethman said that the program helps prepare students for real-world situations by providing projects, parameters and critiques similar to what a client would.\u00a0 She said that in some respects, design is not as subjective as people might think.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing with visual communications is when you create something, it\u2019s to solve a problem your client has asked you to solve,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cIn most cases there\u2019s an audience that has to understand the client\u2019s message.\u201d<\/p>\n

The department keeps up on current industry trends through an advisory board made of professionals in the field and through professional associations that some faculty members belong to, according to Rethman.\u00a0 The department then simulates real-world situations through classroom projects.\u00a0 One way they do this is by providing Macintosh computers for students to use.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe graphic design industry has completely embraced Macintosh technology,\u201d Rethman said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s an industry standard not just here, but everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rethman believes that a focus on the design process and a team of \u201cgreat faculty\u201d make the design department successful.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are more concerned with (students) learning how to create regardless of the tool, and that\u2019s what makes us different,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Rethman said graduates tell her that the design program prepared them not only for continuing education but also for experience in the job market.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard (graduates) say \u2018I hated that typography class when I took it, but I really appreciate it as a professional,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Rethman described designers as creative, tenacious, observant and patient, among other things.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to really want it,\u201d Rethman said.\u00a0 \u201cYou can\u2019t just settle.\u00a0 You have to want the best.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hidden among the arts and hospitality departments in Building 13 is Sinclair Community College\u2019s Design Department.\u00a0 Design Chairperson Shari Rethman said people sometimes are not aware that Sinclair has a design department. \u201cPeople don\u2019t even realize that we have visual communications and interior design as programs,\u201d she said. The design department was originally a part […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[289,905,1976,904],"class_list":["post-3944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tartan-news","tag-design","tag-graphic-art","tag-meagan-ewton","tag-visual-communication"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5s3vR-11C","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3944"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4001,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3944\/revisions\/4001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}