perpetual beta

The VCFA MFA in Graphic Design Program Blog

Shruthi Manjula Balakrishna at AIGA Grow Conference!

February 14, 2020

VCFA alumnx Shruthi Manjula Balakrishna will be a presenter at AIGA Austin’s Grow conference for emerging designers on March 7! http://growwithaiga.org/

Shruthi will be presenting a variant of her scintillating MFA thesis project “Under the Influence—Enter the Void”.

About the project: “Persuasion is omnipresent in our daily lives. We are exposed to hundreds or even thousands of persuasive visual messages each day. In this talk, Shruthi examines the psychological techniques and concepts hidden behind the visual and aesthetic dimension of design in everyday communication.”

Hold onto your hats, Austin—it’s going to be a wild ride!!!Nike sneakers | UK Trainer News & Releases

The Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design is one of the nation’s first low-residency programs in graphic design that is built around a student’s individual interests and goals.

The MFA in Graphic Design is an immersive two-year graduate program that synthesizes five intense, one-week residencies with four six-month semesters of independent study with a range of faculty mentors. We educate students towards the broader context of design in order to investigate and reveal relationships. We see Graphic Design as a social tool and design education as a process of social transformation.

Our innovative, highly effective pedagogical model has its roots in the progressive educational philosophies of John Dewey. Our student-centered approach allows students to develop individualized study plans, addressing design issues that support their particular interests, values, and goals.

MFA students in our Graphic Design program will develop skills in form, content and craft, deepen and expand critical ability, build fluency in contemporary design discourse, and expand their ability to drive content with their work.

Graduates emerge with new research methods, critical acumen, and a body of design work that is personal and relevant; one which enhances their professional and academic path. They will have learned to continuously rethink design by considering cultural context, relationships between designers and their work, and the nature of education within design.