Color & Materials Design

Fall Semester - Year 1

COURSE NUMBERCOURSE TITLE CREDITS
CMD-601 COLOR AND MATERIALS STUDIO I 3
CMD-603 CONTEXTUAL DESIGN RESEARCH I 3
CMD-605A COLOR LAB 3
DGR-613 GRADUATE SEMINAR I 3
STUDIO ELECTIVE 3
TOTAL CREDITS: 15

Winter Semester - Year 1

COURSE NUMBER COURSE TITLE CREDITS
CMD-602 COLOR AND MATERIALS STUDIO II 3
CMD-604 CONTEXTUAL DESIGN RESEARCH II: TREND FORECASTING 3
CMD-606 MATERIALS LAB 3
DGR-717 BUSINESS PRACTICES I 3
STUDIO ELECTIVE 3
TOTAL CREDITS: 15

Fall Semester - Year 2

COURSE NUMBER COURSE TITLE CREDITS
CMD-701 COLOR & MATERIALS STUDIO III 3
CMD-711 GRADUATE THESIS I 3
DGR-607 APPLIED MATERIALS & PROCESSES 6
DGR-718 BUSINESS PRACTICES II 3
TOTAL CREDITS: 15

Winter Semester - Year 2

COURSE NUMBER COURSE TITLE CREDITS
CMD-702 COLOR & MATERIALS STUDIO IV 3
DGR-712 GRADUATE THESIS II 6
DGR-719 BUSINESS PRACTICES III 3
STUDIO ELECTIVE 3
TOTAL CREDITS: 15

First Year

Fall

Graduate Studio I: CMF Practices and Processes I

Students are introduced to the role of color and materials design within the larger design process and learn how to use color and materials design across a broad range of product applications, often in co-design projects with other departments.

Color Lab

“In order to use color effectively it is necessary to recognize that color deceives continually.”
Josef Alberts

In this course students learn to use color as a tool, understanding how color behaves, how it changes and adapts depending on its surroundings.

In a second module students are taught to use the professional color tools for managing, measuring and visually assessing color in our state of the art lightroom. The practices taught in this class reflect the color industry standards.

Contextual Design Research I

This course provides students the knowledge and tools necessary to conduct thorough and effective research to inform their design work and to  provide a context within which they can critically appraise their own design work and the design work of others; preparing them for professional practice.

Graduate Seminar I

Graduate Seminar enables  students to undertake rich and robust creative exploration that is informed by contextual and critical inquiry.  The course brings together the full cohort of CCS graduate students to discuss and debate key contextual issues in art and design, and advance critical thinking skills.

Elective : Digital Viscom for Color & Materials Design

In this course students learn to visualize their final concepts and produce compelling presentations at a professionally competent level that visually articulate the design intent.

Winter

Graduate Studio II: Brand Dialogues

Explores the role of color and materials design in creating relevant consumer and brand dialogues. How can color, and materials be strategically used to elevate a brand in the marketplace as well as attract and maintain users and audiences.

Contextual Research II: Trend Forecasting

Students explore how trends shape values and behaviors that lie deep in all of us; and how these values and behaviors influence the ways we perceive and adopt new ideas. Uncovering these insights in a rapidly changing world is an increasingly important challenge for all professional designers. The ability to understand and identify trends and their impact on consumer behavior is an important skill that will be utilized within the structure of the Color and Materials Design courses.

Materials Lab

In Materials Lab students engage in a series of experiments that examine material properties in making and applications to product concepts . The course supports the student in developing and innovating ideas using both proven and non-traditional techniques.

Business Practices 1 : Marketing as Strategy

This course examines how businesses can effectively convey the value of their products and services to the marketplace. Through a robust brand management framework, students will explore how marketing strategies can be developed to cultivate and manage profitable customer relationship

Second Year

Fall

Graduate Studio III: CMF Practices and Processes II

In conjunction with the Applied Materials & Processes course, Studio III looks at the functional language of color and materials design through their interrelationships and map on to an application or collection of concepts. Often in co-design projects with other departments.

Applied Materials & Processes

Students will develop a body of research that critically evaluates materials for different criteria including their suitability for manufacturing processes, user experience and end-of-life impact.

Students will be exposed to class lectures, visiting speakers and field trips where manufacturing can be witnessed first hand.

Thesis I

This course is part 1 of a self-directed major project that will be the culmination of the graduate study experience. Students will synthesize external factors - such as technological, global, environmental issues and trends, then go on to translate them into a form that is meaningful and create relevant design solutions.Students will develop a body of well-documented iterative ideation, that will underpin thematically relevant creative outcomes in part 2, evidencing practical impact and/or a critical provocation.

Business Practices II : Business Strategy

Students will explore the process of strategy formation and implementation and gain experience analyzing the effectiveness of both individual strategic initiatives and the organization as a whole. Using a combination of case analyses, in-class discussions, and peer review, students will develop a pragmatic understanding of what is required to advance a concept or design through the strategic process.

Winter

Graduate Studio IV: Materials Stewardship

The course encourages work that moves material innovation towards better and more sustainable solutions. Students will research the field of innovative materials and processes that seek to improve their applications, and impact on the natural environment.

Thesis II

Graduate Thesis II is a self-directed , studio course where each student follows a design development path based on their research findings and that serves as the plan of work for the completion of the Thesis.The course resolves a contextually situated, research-informed creative inquiry, through rigorous modelling, prototyping, and experiment, leading towards a practical design outcome or a critical provocation, or both.

Business Practices III: Entrepreneurship

This course exposes students to the rewards and challenges associated with creating and managing a new business. Exploring the issues that confront an entrepreneur, students will examine the business creation process including designing the product/service, identifying the target audience, evaluating the competition, pricing the product to generate revenue and identifying potential sources of business funding.

MFA Color & Materials Design Program Student Learning Outcomes (PLO)

Upon graduation, students in the MFA Color & Materials Design program at CCS will be able to:

  1. Connect a functional knowledge of color and materials research, analysis and methods and be able to interpret and apply that knowledge to a broad range of applications in the specialization of color and materials design.
  2. Demonstrate breadth and competency in the specialization of trend research. Through investigation and analysis interpret trends and their impact on design and on the larger social, cultural and economic and technological contexts.
  3. Undertake independent research and demonstrate competency in its analysis and interpretation appropriate for their area of specialization.
  4. Drive innovation through material-led thinking applicable to a broad range of industries.
  5. Demonstrate professional competence in the area of presentation skills, leading the discussion by applying critical thinking. Present compelling presentations that deliver ideas and concepts judiciously, competitively and currently before peers, faculty and professional partners.
  6. Determine an authorial framework that is variable yet consistent with a point of view.