Hidden among the arts and hospitality departments in Building 13 is Sinclair Community College’s Design Department. Design Chairperson Shari Rethman said people sometimes are not aware that Sinclair has a design department.
“People don’t even realize that we have visual communications and interior design as programs,” she said.
The design department was originally a part of the art department, Rethman said. In the early ‘80s the program separated and went through various name changes including computer graphics, graphic arts and finally visual communication, according to Rethman.
“The department shifted, too, because we were applied arts, but now we’re design,” she said.
There are approximately 450 visual communications majors at any given time, according to Rethman. She said around 70 visual communication students graduate each year.
Rethman said that the program helps prepare students for real-world situations by providing projects, parameters and critiques similar to what a client would. She said that in some respects, design is not as subjective as people might think.
“The thing with visual communications is when you create something, it’s to solve a problem your client has asked you to solve,” she said. “In most cases there’s an audience that has to understand the client’s message.”
The department keeps up on current industry trends through an advisory board made of professionals in the field and through professional associations that some faculty members belong to, according to Rethman. The department then simulates real-world situations through classroom projects. One way they do this is by providing Macintosh computers for students to use.
“The graphic design industry has completely embraced Macintosh technology,” Rethman said. “It’s an industry standard not just here, but everywhere.”
Rethman believes that a focus on the design process and a team of “great faculty” make the design department successful.
“We are more concerned with (students) learning how to create regardless of the tool, and that’s what makes us different,” she said.
Rethman said graduates tell her that the design program prepared them not only for continuing education but also for experience in the job market.
“I’ve heard (graduates) say ‘I hated that typography class when I took it, but I really appreciate it as a professional,’” she said.
Rethman described designers as creative, tenacious, observant and patient, among other things.
“You have to really want it,” Rethman said. “You can’t just settle. You have to want the best.”