School of Communication and Media
Undergraduate

Term: Fall 2026
Session: Full Term (Aug 31 - Dec 18)
Start Date: Monday, Aug 31, 2026
End Date: Friday, Dec 18, 2026
Availability: On Campus
Day(s): Tues.
Time: 02:00 PM to 04:50 PM

This course examines the history of humankind?s efforts to give visual form to the world and communication. Beginning with the earliest known attempts at mark-making through developments in pictographs the creation of alphabets and the first attempts to replicate information students will study how the graphic arts are used both to record knowledge and ideas and to disseminate them. The profound impact of the Industrial Revolution on visual communication and the significance of breakthroughs in design technology will also be studied. This course will enable the student to understand the entrance of symbols and the printed word in graphic design from the time of cave dwellings to the present time and the cultural importance of graphic design throughout history.3 Credits