the positioning of visual communication design faculties: a new

THE POSITIONING OF VISUAL
COMMUNICATION DESIGN
FACULTIES: A NEW MODEL OR A
NEW PROBLEM?
Assoc.Prof. R. Hakan Ertep (Ph.D.)
Anadolu University
Faculty of Fine Arts
Department of Graphic Design, Eskiflehir, Turkey
In regards to structural and administrative
perspective, higher education systems display
variations across countries throughout the world. In
many countries governments have the control on
higher education systems, both in terms of
administration and control mechanisms, whereas in a
group of countries in which the U.S. leads and
countries like Turkey and Germany follow, both
private institutions and governments administer the
higher educational systems. In the process began by
the foundation of the republic in Turkey, for a long
period higher education was governed by universities
established by the government. The act of the Higher
Education Board (YÖK), which was formed along the
1980 constitution, changed the pattern that prevailed
for a lengthy period of time, and made the
establishment of foundation, or put in more realistic
terms, private universities possible. As a result,
Turkey’s private university venture first started with
Bilkent University (1984), and continued with Baflkent
University (1994) and Yeditepe University (1996),
reaching up to a total number of 23 currently.
The fundamental mission of foundation universities is
believed to be contemporary, innovative, and
challenging in order to provide educational
opportunities serving this goal. Assuming that all
private institutions endorse this mission, it should be
expected of these schools to follow the latest trends
and develop new academic models. It can easily be
observed that private universities do not hesitate to
comply with such expectations. As a result, their
mission automatically leads them into popular areas
at the cost of neglecting structural priorities.
Apparently, there is a growing interest and appeal
towards one of those popular fields, namely visual
communication design in Turkey today. Many private
higher education institutions are preferring to establish
visual communication design programs within their
institutions. What is quite interesting and intriguing is
that most of these universities have preferred to open
visual communication design departments instead of
graphic design, which most of us are quite familiar
with, and what’s even more enigmatic is a few of these
institutions both have visual communication design
and graphic design as separate departments under
the same large roof. One may wonder why
preferences have been opted for this direction. The
most reasonable hypothesis would be that, private
universities believe that they have a mission of being
independent and contemporary; and both, their
administrative, political approaches and decisions
must be parallel to the needs and conditions of the
contemporary world. Hence, they intend to provide
education in accordance with modern principles and
trends. The logic behind this preference can perhaps
be found in American historian and economist Frank
Moore Colby’s words: “Every improvement in
communication makes the boring ones unbearable”
(Nowlan 2000:33). Colby’s stark description illustrates
how fast mankind adapts himself to innovations in the
field of communication and then absorbs them in a
very short time. The basic aim of this paper is not to
criticise those preferences, but to hold an analysis
concerning the conversion of this decision into an
academic formation that is correct and in conformity
with academic and ethical merits.
Providing basic essential definitions regarding
communication and design will be helpful. Briefly
examining these two terms, we can say
“communication is the process by which individuals
share meaning; and for this process to work,
information needs to be transmitted” (Fill 1995: 23).
For communication to occur, there must be some
common thinking between two parties and information
must be passed from one person to another” (Belch &
Belch 2001: 139). Ünsal Oskay points out that the
etymology of the word “communication” in western
languages goes back to the Latin word “communis”
meaning community or partnership formed according
to similarities (Oskay 2001: 9).
When we attempt to define design, we will see that it
means the fusion of form and content, the realisation
and unique expression of an idea (Rand 1993: 3).
Berryman defines design as “finding the best solution
to a problem within the limitations of the problem”,
and states that it exists to meet the needs of human
beings (Berryman 1979: 2). “Design focuses more on
conception than does on execution”. (Rand 1985:
xiii).
Graphic design, on the other hand, “is the business of
making or choosing marks and arranging them a
unique meaning, and whose positioning can lend
them a new significance” (Hollis 1994: 7). Similarly,
Emre Becer asserts that graphic design is a visual
communication art, and its primary mission is to
convey a message, or to introduce and promote a
service or a product (Becer 1997: 33). Graphic
designers are design generalists concerned with
information to be read (Berryman 1979: 3). As can be
concluded from the above definitions, in most basic
terms graphic design is a form of visual
communication which aims to convey a piece of
information or a specific message.
When we look at the phrase visual communication
design, it will be noticed that it suggests a very
flexible term that can comprise many areas. Since
this term, contrary to graphic design, does not refer to
any specific occupational definition or field of
specialisation, it is only possible to reach a verified
meaning by assessing the words in it one by one and
then reaching a reliable and convincing definition.
Actualising visual communication may mean to shoot
a commercial, a movie, a video show, an interactive
animation or display, as well as to design a logo,
poster, and book, which are known to belong to the
area of graphic design.
The term visual communication offers profound
flexibility that is rather handy for many private
institutions in terms of forming their curriculum as
desired. However, when considered from the
viewpoint of academic perspective, this flexibility
turns out to refer to vagueness or even to
abstruseness. Visual communication design may
also denote a type of education based on graphic
design; and it may also symbolise a kind of education
which offers two-dimensional animated images such
as films, videos, or animations. Hence, the term
visual communication design, which falsely seems to
carry no risk of potential academic problems, is a
very broad and an unidentified expression on
occupational formation grounds, and can be used to
point to many areas alike.
As it is widely known, the practice phase of many
design branches follow the creation and design
processes and are conducted on computerised
settings. In addition to works like logos, posters,
labels, and packages which are printed on paper
ground, almost all of the other graphic works oriented
towards computer and
various electronic
presentation settings are executed on computers;
and this need becomes more and more prevalent
along with the increase in computer use. Director,
Flash, Dreamweaver, Go Live, Premier, and similar
programs are just some of the examples of key
software that is used today in order to produce and
animate images. In other words, today’s graphic
design includes production formats that are widely
known like logos, posters, packaging design, etc. as
well as more modern and up-to-date expression
formats like web page, multimedia, and the creation
of numerous animated designs. Graphic design,
either done on computer or manually, has always
dealt with two-dimensional images, and has served
the functions of delivering a message and
establishing a communication. The only thing that
has changed is the expression channels, which are
not limited to printed pieces anymore, but are
increased and pervaded to current electronic
contexts. Nevertheless, it is inevitable clear that
because the curriculum and the contents of the
courses have to cover field courses particularly in
graphic design, visual communication design bases
itself on two-dimensional surface design, or better
known as graphic design. Therefore, the first matter
to be taken up and questioned is the contents of the
courses and their accuracy and propriety.
The major problem observed here is the false
framework of the curriculum in visual communication
design programs, particularly the ones emphasising
multimedia and web design. A quick scan of the
curricula of these programs will immediately uncover
some profound shortages and errors. It would be
more helpful to quickly look over the curriculum of
universities providing education under the title of
graphics or graphic design before scrutinising the
shortages and mistakes in question. When we look at
graphic design programs, we will observe that
students complete a four-year bachelors degree in
graphic design aiming to generate visual images
oriented towards two-dimensional and print-oriented
settings such as logos, posters, magazines,
billboards, labels, or package designs. Graphic
design is traditionally part of the Faculty of Fine Arts
or the Faculty of Fine Arts & Design. However,
present graphic design education has gone far
beyond from providing education merely covering
two-dimensional works in print format. Modern
technological advances and the growing need for all
forms of visual communication have made it
compulsory to revise graphic design education. In
line with contemporary technological developments
and today’s needs, graphic design education does
not offer learning only relating to the production of
works towards print format, but it includes courses
that cover the creation of various animated images in
digital settings. In Turkey, Anadolu and Hacettepe
Universities are the first to adapt this academic
approach, which displays many example abroad. The
curriculum of Rhode Island School of Design, Yale
University, California Institute of the Arts, School of
Visual Arts, Savannah College of Art and Design,
San Diego State University, Michigan State
University, Temple University, North Caroline State
University, and University of Miami from the USA; St.
Clair College from Canada; Central Saint Martins
College of Arts and Design, London College of
Printing, Norwich School of Art and Design from
England; Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste
Stuttgart—Stuttgart State Academy of Arts and
Design from Germany can be offered as examples,
which fit into the academic formation described
above. These universities have been providing
education in modern graphic design for many years,
and further information regarding their programs and
curriculum is accessible on their web sites.
Although they both have the same basics and
contents, as stated above, private universities in
Turkey are preferring to initiate visual communication
design programs rather than graphic design
programs. But, it seems more necessary to point out
another preference made by foundation universities,
which is placing visual communication design
programs under communication faculties instead of
fine arts and design faculties. The problem that
pursues this preference is the claim of these
universities to provide visual communication design
education without offering any design education. First
of all, let’s remember the name of the program:
visual-communication-design; in other words,
designing visual messages. The first question that
needs to be asked according to this heading is, since
when have communication faculties in Turkey been
claiming that they are upbringing designers? If they
have no such aim, how can they allege that they
provide education on the design of visual
communication? If they are not educating designers
and are not providing education on the design of
visual communication, how can they venture
embodying this word in the title of their programs? In
order to gain more information and to develop a more
specific opinion, it will be quite useful to review where
and how visual communication design programs are
positioned in countries.
Examining the American educational system, which
is favourably adapted by most of the universities in
Turkey, we can conclude that almost all the visual
communication design programs, or programs that
have similar names (communication design,
communication arts, design communication etc.) are
not placed under communication faculties, but under
fine arts and design faculties. Information on the web
sites of many well-known and highly credible
universities in the United States, including Carnegie
Mellon University, Pratt Institute, University of
California/San Diego, Virginia Commonwealth
University, and Syracuse University, reveals that the
preferences of these universities are consistent with
the formation stated above. Observing the education
system of Canada, one can easily see that visual
communication design programs are conducted
under faculties of fine arts and design instead of
communication faculties at universities like University
of Alberta, Ontario College of Art & Design, Nova
Scotia College of Art and Design, and Concordia
University. Another prestigious Canadian university,
Université du Québec à Montréal, has preferred to
use the term visual arts and media instead of visual
communication, but has once again placed the
program under the College of Fine Arts.
de Lausanne (Lausanne College of Fine Arts and
Design). The same options are proposed at
Fachhochschule Hannover, aforementioned, where
both visual communication and multimedia design
programs are offered. As stated earlier, any
information regarding the curricula and placements of
these universities can easily be found at related web
sites.
When looked at the models in European countries, a
similar layout can be observed. Glasgow School of
Arts, which is one of the major educational
institutions on art and design in the UK, has formed
the Visual Communication Program under its Faculty
of Design. Similarly, other leading institutions like
Edinburgh College of Art, Goldsmiths University,
Chelsea College of Art & Design, Cumbria Institute of
the Arts, Kingston University, Middlesex University,
and University of Lancashire have reviewed this
subject and have opted to consider the field of visual
communication design within the discipline of design,
and have placed the program under their art and
design faculties. Parallel to England, visual
communication in Germany is offered through design
and
media faculties at universities like
Fachhochschule Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf University of
Applied Sciences), Fachhochschule Aachen,
Fachhochschule
Potsdam,
Fachhochschule
Hannover. The Faculty of Design at Bauhaus
Universitat: Weimar (University of Bauhaus:
Weimar), which is one of the prominent institutions
not only in Germany but also in the world, assesses
and divides visual communication design as visual
design and media arts. As a result, this institution has
placed these two areas under the Department of
Visual Arts, while multimedia and animated imaging
have been placed under the Media Arts Program. As
clearly seen in this example, the term visual
communication, as treated in Turkey, denotes more
the field of graphic design than it does multimedia.
Furthermore, based on examples stated above, the
Media Arts Program has not been formed under the
communication faculty, but under the Schools of
Design. The same picture can be observed in
Switzerland, where both graphic design and new
media areas are instituted in the Visual
Communication Department of Ecole Cantonale D’art
The Royal College of Art, which is the most elite art
and design education institution in England offering
only masters and doctoral level programs, also views
visual communication as a part of the discipline of art
and design, and places it accordingly and not in the
discipline of communication. It is important to state
that some of the American and English universities
cited above also have colleges of communication.
Hence, the positioning of visual communication
design departments outside of communication
faculties is a deliberate and conscious decision made
by those institutions.
Needless to say, there are exceptions to the
examples given above. As will be seen in the models
below, which may have been adapted by some
institutions in Turkey, some of the universities in
developed countries have felt the need to re-evaluate
visual communication design as a response to
current social and technological facts and advances,
and thus have formed different frames and structures
based on such needs. The University of Sunderland,
in England, can be given as the first example based
on the information obtained from the related web site.
Here, graphic communication and multimedia design
are designated areas which are conceived under the
same discipline. The addition of communication
sciences and current popular cultural concerns have
led to an original and more contemporary which is far
away from classical perception and ended in the
establishment of “College of Art, Design, Media and
Culture”.
The courses offered in this college relate to fine arts
areas such as drama, photography, ceramics, glass;
design areas such as graphic design, illustration,
electronic media design, animation; communication
fields such as media, movie, television, radio,
journalism, and cultural issues such as history,
political sciences, and American culture. A similar
formation can be found at the Ravensbourne College
of Design and Communication, in England. As the
name itself is self-explanatory, this school puts
design and communication disciplines under the
same roof, and both offers design specialisation
areas like graphic design, interactive design,
computer imaging, and animation as well as fields
like publishing and publication technologies.
Another example deserving attention is the model
applied by Kent State University in the US. Because,
this university has made a radical decision and has
moved its program which had started as the
department of graphic design under the College of
Fine Arts & Design 30 years ago to the College of
Communication with the name visual communication
design in 2001. However, a review in the curriculum
reveals that fundamental first year courses like Basic
Design, Introduction to Graphic Design, Introduction
to Typography, Illustration Techniques and many
computer courses at various levels have not been
altered following the move to the Faculty of
Communication, they have remained intact. The
most remarkable example, perhaps, will be the model
applied at San Diego State University in the United
States, where communication program is not run
under the College of Communication, but under the
College of Fine Arts and Professional Studies.
The subject that both graphic design and every other
visual communication discipline questions in the
process of communication is the generation of
meaning and the conveyance of this entity using
correct and effective visual language. The academic
approach that has been widely adapted and still
prevalent in the world is the implementation of the
education on examining communication and
meaning being based on the discipline of graphic
design. Private universities in Turkey may not feel the
obligation or responsibility of carrying the mission of
educating graphic designers. However, as they are
teaching visual communication design, these
institutions do not have any preference, or the option
of bearing a casual attitude in their education by
raising individuals who don’t know or understand
design, and later attempting to defend their approach
within the frames of world standards. It needs to be
emphasised once again that, the term design is of
vital significance in this matter. Hence, the
communication faculties offering programs in visual
communication design in Turkey are compelled to
reflect and deliberate on the question that has just
been brought forth, and self-examine their mission as
to whether they are equipped with the objective of
raising designers, as do the faculties of fine arts and
design. If the answer to the question is a positive one,
such institutions must re-examine and perhaps even
reconstruct their course curriculum in line with the
cautions and recommendations stated above.
As mentioned previously, a two-dimensional visual
communication process, no matter what,
fundamentally entails graphic elements and therefore
concerns the relevance of design and the specific
codes and practices of graphic design. Whether it be
a logo design, or an animated web page design, the
work carried out is a two-dimensional form of design
and application. Not only for a logo, but also for a web
page design, a weighty level of understanding of
basic design principles such as contrast, hierarchy,
harmony, balance, order and disorder, symmetry and
asymmetry; and knowledge in colour, page layout,
typography, and the history of graphic design is
absolutely essential. Can we say that such areas and
topics are being taught in communication faculties?
When the courses and curricula of most of these
communication faculties are viewed, it will be clearly
seen that the above-mentioned areas are not being
taught, and even if so, they are merely skimmed. It
can be easily seen that in most of these institutions
the end result of developing manual computer
operating skills and concern for assembling
advanced level visual imagery, takes over the most
fundamental design concepts such as thinking,
questioning, analysing and creating. Within such a
sober perspective, how can one truly claim that
computer wizards with a knack for advanced
technology believing that they have the capability and
knowledge of design, yet are most probably equipped
only with advanced level computer skills,
mathematical intellect, and a talent for imitating and
replicating today’s popular aesthetics, are designing
in accordance with world standards? To put it in more
practical terms, can such an practice be considered
as to design, or is this merely an act of fabricating
imagery? The problem of the machine, namely the
computer, replacing design is defined and
rationalised most correctly by respected academician
Paul Rand from Yale University, who is also one of
the most experienced and admired graphic designers
of the world:
Concepts and ideas spring from the mind and not
from the machine. Without a knowledge of
design, the computer (like the pencil) is more
than useless, for it is capable of producing
enough superfluous material to create the illusion
that one is inventing when, in fact, one is merely
producing variations on a theme, often of
nothingness. This problem is particularly irksome
in the field of design education. The student who
has been concentrating on learning the
intricacies of the computer feels a sense of
accomplishment once he or she has mastered
the machine. This creates the impression that
one is now a competent designer when, in fact,
one has been conditioned to “see” (like Pavlov’s
dog) mechanics rather than aesthetics, speed
rather than direction. All this means, of course, is
that the student has not been deeply involved in
the study of design.
Rand sums up the problem in a definite and
indisputable statement: “the language of the
computer is the language of technology, not the
language of design”.
At this point, lets assume that communication
faculties do offer design education, and that they
raise designers. Another question that comes to mind
is, whether such an education is provided with the
same model and intensity towards the correct aim as
the one offered by fine arts and design faculties.
Without a doubt, the answer to this question is a
negative one. In this case, the ethical stance of
institutions providing the education of design in visual
communication gains further significance. The
academic administrators which question and
subjectively evaluate the presence, scope, and
particularly the applications of fine arts and design
faculties as being limited, narrow, outdated and not in
line with popular aesthetics, believe that the antidote
for this so-called problem is forming visual
communication
design
departments
within
communication faculties; yet they display a rather
dishonest institutional act by raising young
individuals who are not designers and conflicts with
their departmental titles (and the claim that
intrinsically comes along). If these institutions believe
that they are offering design education by their own
standards, aren’t they in fact doing nothing but
rearing misguided individuals who are not equipped
with any basic or advanced level design knowledge,
individuals who have a false and insufficient idea of
what design is? How sincere is the act of using the
term design, while having no genuine aim of
upbringing designers for these educational
institutions; and on an international scope how real
will their existence be in the long run?
Communication faculties may not claim the
responsibility of educating designers. In line with
such a legitimate perspective, these institutions need
to carefully question the presence of the word design
in their departmental titles, and perhaps designate
another name for their headings. For those schools
aiming to provide applied education in this general
area, the term Interactive Media is an expression that
should spring some ideas; whereas, for those
schools preferring to offer a theory-based education
in this area, the term visual communication, alone, is
a correct phrase to begin with. Most schools in the
world have adopted an applied education model in
this matter, and their names and programs have
been briefly described above. On the other hand, an
example can be given for institutions preferring to
offer a theory-based education in this area. This
model is the Department of Communication and
Design established at Bilkent University, in Ankara. In
this model, the curriculum consists of studio and
theory courses, with theory classes establishing a
weight both in terms of numbers, and in terms of
overall academic perspective. As observed from the
above-mentioned examples, the title visual
communication design is a rather popular, attractive,
luring, yet ambiguous and dangerous term when
positioned in communication faculties. Hence, in this
context the decision of choosing the correct
departmental title is actually an ethical issue.
The question of placing visual communication design
departments within fine arts and design or
communication faculties may initially appear as an
insignificant subject; yet, it deeply concerns issues
such as academic ethics, international accreditation,
and institutional identity and credibility. The
positioning of this department within communication
faculties is a model that is not observed very often,
and it should be considered as an attempt in the
process of making. ‘To design' is most certainly not a
performance that is only under the monopoly of those
who have received design education; however, in
today’s popular trends where so much meaningless
imagery is being hastily generated, the academic
world does not have the luxury or irresponsibility of
contributing to this meaningless imagery. If design
education does not meet the demands or
expectations of communication science specialists,
an alternative model consisting not merely of
application-oriented projections, but also of
internationally accepted modern aesthetic models
and practices must be formulated and proposed by
those individuals. Even though academic programs
leaning towards contemporary electronic expression
channels are preferred, it is a vital necessity for visual
communication design departments particularly
concentrating on multimedia, interactive design and
web page design to include courses in graphic
design.
Computers and the developments in the electronic
world have, and will even further affect and become
an integral part of our lives. Graphic design, which
has significantly moved its presence to the electronic
environment, today presents itself in a modified form
called visual communication design. As will be
understood from all these examples, graphic design
has not changed in essence, but has only shifted
from a two-dimensional print medium to a twodimensional electronic and animated environment.
For this reason, the cognisant organisation, balance,
and creation, in other words the design of twodimensional imagery has never swayed away from
the field of graphic design. The basis of visual
communication design is graphic design, and twodimensional meaning generation. Educational
institutions planning to establish programs in visual
communication design should observe these points
carefully in respect to the standards and quality of
their academic future.
References
BECER, Emre, 1997 ‹letiflim ve Grafik Tasar›m.
Ankara: Dost Kitabevi Yay›nlar›
BELCH, George E., Michael A. Belch, 2001
Advertising and Promotion. New York:Irwin/McGrawHill
BERRYMAN, Gregg, 1979 Notes on Graphic Design
and Visual Communication. Los Altos:William
Kaufmann, Inc.
FILL, Chris, 1995 Marketing Communications. Hemel
Hempstead: Prentice Hall Europe
HOLLIS, Richard, 1994 Graphic Design A Concise
History. London: Thames and Hudson Yay›nevi
NOWLAN, Robert A. and Gwendolyn L.Nowlan, 2000
A Dictionary of Quotations about Communication.
Jefferson:McFarland & Company, Inc.
OSKAY, Ünsal, 2001 ‹letiflimin ABC’si. ‹stanbul: Der
Yay›nlar›
RAND, Paul, 1993 Design Form and Chaos. New
Haven: Yale University Press
RAND, Paul, 1985 A Designer’s Art. New Haven:
Yale University Press