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Core Courses

Design Studios 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Studios form the main pedagogical space for design education. These are classes where students are introduced to core concepts and principles, and given practicum projects to execute in order to build competency while focusing on process and ideation.

Design curriculum in the second and third years exposes the students to various areas of design in accordance with their majors. Working on a variety of assignments including publication, web, media and UX/UI, students are encouraged to engage in experimental and individual explorations that facilitate personal and professional goals. The courses enable students to think conceptually and apply creative processes to theoretical aspects of design. This is in collaboration with problem-solving methodologies and critical thought while developing a personal design vocabulary.

Second-year design studios focus on strengthening the fundamental concepts and honing basic skills for approaching design projects. Visual Communication and Typography form the key components of the Communication Design major. Focusing on the Still image, Media Design students learn the basic tools of Photography and Illustration—digital cameras and drawing (traditional and digital techniques). Students are introduced to basic concepts like framing, composition and natural lighting. Further on they learn to deconstruct images and build a narrative through visual storytelling using both Illustration and Photography and non-diegetic sound. The Interaction Design students investigate the principles of interaction through physical and digital prototypes and visual communication. Students develop an understanding of decoding briefs, researching web and app design, understand the idea of user journeys and set up basic design grids.

Third-year design studios build advanced concepts and sensitise students to the practical requirements of their chosen fields with lateral thinking and creative problem-solving at their core. Communication design majors will learn to think innovatively specialising in content creation and copywriting as applied in multiple spheres such as advertising design, editorial and publications, information graphics etc. The Media Design students will explore and gain proficiency in projects involving the Moving Image through animation and film. Students learn studio lighting, process diegetic sound and further explore non-diegetic sound to conclude their projects through post-production techniques and processes. The Interaction Design students will employ technology to address problems around socially relevant themes. Following participatory design processes, they will learn to assess needs and develop solutions and interventions.

Integrated Design Studio

In the seventh semester, students from the three majors come together to undertake a single capstone project. The structure of the studio enables students to approach design as an interdisciplinary field and learn to work in teams, jointly conducting in-field research, working closely with the stakeholders and communities, as they develop holistic design-based solutions. As future designers, they look at problems, which different communities face on an everyday basis and decipher the difficulties that might exist, be it navigation, education, disaster preparedness or accessibility of information. They interact with dynamic and diverse faculty and professionals in this exciting course, which also covers critical and practical theory.

Design Studies

These are seminars where students are given exposure to histories of design, material culture and technology, deeper theoretical and conceptual frameworks, and contemporary issues in design discourse. Second-year seminars History of Design, Research for Design and Design and the Human Condition are compulsory for all majors. In the subsequent years, in addition to a compulsory seminar Design Politics and Ethics, students also undertake major-specific seminars.

Drawing and Prototyping Lab

Focusing on sketching and drawing for prototyping, students hone basic observational and analytical skills while further learning ways of seeing and building objects, environments and people, both individually and in relation to each other. Students learn to imagine, visualise and execute thoughts and ideas into forms using experimental techniques as they gain familiarity with mediums and materials for innovative design practice. Detailed study of subject matter with a concentration on angles, perspectives, measurements, proportion, scale, and form remains a consistent learning outcome, however, students are expected to use their knowledge and skill in unconventional manners as well to forge new and exciting links between drawing and design.

Software Labs

Students are given crucial technical and craft skills necessary for the studio courses. Lab classes are open to all majors in the third semester and become major-specific afterwards. The goal of labs is not just to teach software skills, but also to encourage students to build proficiency with their tools as a means to gaining a facility in really exploring the applications of those tools in various projects.

Internships

This credited course is taken in the summer prior to the last semester of study. The internship gives the students an insight into the professional working environment and also helps in preparing the students for their final thesis project. Students intern at advertising agencies, design houses, media and non-profits organisations. The objective of the internship course is to enhance the students’ personal as well as professional skills and provide a platform from which they can make more informed and educated decisions about their future careers.

Design Thesis

The final thesis is the culmination of the four-year undergraduate degree. This student-directed project is undertaken in the final semester of study. Students are required to conduct in-depth research on their chosen topic, leading to the execution of coherent design projects.

Colloquium

The department regularly invites professionals from the industry to share their experiences and knowledge with the students. Short duration workshops are also conducted by visiting professionals throughout the academic programme.

Study Visits

Study trips are planned and organised by the faculty and students with the objective of enhancing the students’ learning and giving them a broader perspective of their field of study. Students are taken on local, provincial trips during their course of study. These national visits are an integral part of learning for the students outside the formal studio structure.

Design Consultancy

The Department also undertakes commercial and pro-bono work from the social/ development sector, including print media, film, illustration and photography. Past clients have included multinational corporations, educational institutions, fashion houses, NGOs and others.

Collaborations and Affiliations

The Department of Communication Design has received another grant from the US – PAKISTAN UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS GRANTS PROGRAM 2020-23, funded by the U.S. Mission to Pakistan and administered by the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP). In keeping with this aim, the Dept. of Communication Design has designed a program – Critical Design Education & Practice, to facilitate a more critically oriented research and creative practice in Communication Design education in Pakistan. The current program includes faculty from Kennesaw State University while reaching out to new partners, University College of Art and Design, Islamia University of Bahawalpur – IUB-UCAD, SABS University of Art, Design and Heritages – SABS, Karachi School of Art – KSA and Arts Council Institute of Arts and Crafts – ACIAC. The new program consists of 3 key activities, Curriculum Development Trainings, Faculty Development Program and Design Research Grants. The activities will be co-conducted by IVS and KSU faculty over a period of a year. Previous collaborations with KSU were a  3-year faculty and student exchange program and included   International Design Conference – IDCK in 2017.

The department also seeks industry collaborations and linkages integrating these with curricular, extracurricular and design and research based activities. Some collaborations have been with CFx Comics (a subsidiary of Creative Frontiers), Azcorp Entertainment,  ND2C – National Digital Design Conference, Vasl Artists’ Association, Effie Pakistan, CCP- Center for Communication Programs Pakistan, Pakistan International Film Festival – PIFF, Bykea, My Water, Tapal, Jaffer Brothers, Tehreek e Niswan, Alkhidmat Karachi, Media Matter for Democracy – MMfD, The First Microfinance Bank Limited – FMFB, for various projects.