Cycle 2: graphic design option
The graphic design option of the isdaT offers teaching which emphasises experimental and critical attitudes, combining paper, screen, typography and public spaces through the more general notion of contextual design. This approach combines the need to consider the contemporary social context with questions about the scope of graphic design and its flexibility.
During the second cycle, in order to acquire technical, methodological and conceptual autonomy, students are encouraged to develop and deepen their thinking and production by putting the achievements of the first cycle into perspective through a forward-looking approach towards graphic design.
The Tips and Tricks workshop, which allows you to develop and refine the techniques and methodologies acquired at undergraduate level, is a space where the project developed by each student is defined in stages.
The collective workshops Les Communs, VV and Genius Loci provide an introduction to research regarding specific issues in graphic design. Registration in other cross-curricular workshops gives insight into the multidisciplinary nature of the school.
Beyond the teaching component, the objective is to train future designers who are autonomous in both commissioned and research contexts and who adhere to a contemporary practice of graphic design.
Internships and workshops
During semester 8, it is recommended that students undertake internships or international exchanges. These must be approved with the teaching staff in order to demonstrate their correlation with the student’s profile and research project. The workshops offer many learning experiences through the exploration of design in practice, further development of certain mediums or insight into other fields of creation, as well as exposure to foreign languages and domain specific vocabulary during visits from international designers.
Assessments
In addition to the debriefing sessions specific to each course, semi-annual evaluations make it possible to monitor the progress of each student in the development of the research area, their project definition and its fulfilment.
The structure changes according to the concerns of each semester, ranging from an exhibition, a seminar, or a discussion with a teaching faculty and / or an external guest. All courses are compulsory and both participation and presence are taken into account during the evaluation. In semester 10, during the “Rencontre DNSEP”, the invitation of a professional from outside the teaching team supplements the continuous assessment with a new perspective on the student’s productions, in order to prepare them for the DNSEP presentation.
Supervision and definition of the research area
From semester 7, through individual and group meetings, seminars and various workshops, students specify a field of research that is personal to them. In semester 8, each student is asked to define it more precisely through both practice and writing.
A regular seminar led by a lecturer makes it possible to plan this progression and to align the project with the history of graphic design. Semesters 9 and 10 are entirely devoted to the DNSEP project. Through individual meetings and seminars, students are supported in the definition and production of a plastic arts project, as well as the completion of a thesis. This thesis should enable them to acquire the necessary theoretical skills to form a relevant correlation between the project and its theme, its medium and the contemporary issues of graphic design. In semester 9, in addition to the support of the professor of writing and the seminar, each student is required to choose a coordinating teacher-practitioner for the development, design and production of their DNSEP project.
The path to a diploma
As a part of the DNSEP, students complete a thesis which they begin writing and formatting in semester 8. Fostering skills in critical thinking, the student’s autonomous research in the plastic arts is an authorship opportunity to engage in reflection on the diversity of the practices of graphic design, and thus testifies to the author’s interaction with the current issues of design culture. The plastic arts project carried out during the degree is one of the facets of this reflection. Through the means of graphic design, it questions the circulation of signs, images and texts published by the student. The forms of this project range from print to screen, from typographic creation to scenography.
To sit for the DNSEP, the student must obtain 30 credits in semester 9. The Degree consists of 30 credits: 5 credits for the thesis and 25 credits for the plastic arts examination.
DNSEP Evaluation Criteria
- Presentation of the project (formal and critical);
- Project development and research process;
- Structure of the work (relevance of references and the articulation of knowledge, level of conceptualization);
- Production quality.
Courses catalog
Since the start of the 2023 academic year, all information concerning the course programme and timetables can be found on the dedicated Art, design and graphic design courses catalog website (in French).
Staff
Art, design, and graphic design studies director
David Mozziconacci
david.mozziconacci@isdat.fr
Coordinating teacher
Olivier Huz
Department secretary
Bettina Mellet and Fabrice Matéo
+33 (0)5 31 47 11 95
+33 (0)5 31 47 11 94
bettina.mellet@isdat.fr
fabrice.mateo@isdat.fr
