Nicole Roberts MFA Thesis Visual Component Artwork - Savannah ...

fundamental skills
5 Steven Heller and Lita Talarico,
Design School Confidential
(Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers,
2009), 8.
Fundamental skills for a professional graphic design education are outlined in
black and white by each accrediting institution with which the school is associated.
Examples include regional associations like sacs (Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools), organizations exclusive to independent colleges like aicad (Association
of Independent Colleges of Art and Design), or the largest, nationally recognized
association – nasad (National Association of Schools of Art and Design). nasad
has worked in tandem with aiga (the professional association for design) to publish
essential competencies that undergraduate graphic design programs must address in
their curricula. No matter where in the world the school is located, most classes teach
the same fundamental skills and knowledge–it would be foolish to do otherwise. 5
The criteria of accrediting associations is thorough, yet densely laced with so much
industry jargon that it becomes almost cryptic for the pre-design student who is trying
to choose which school to attend and why. nasad’s verbose, yet essential competencies
can be boiled down to seven terms palpable by laymen’s standards listed below in
alphabetical order. This abridged list of core competencies is used to survey leading
professionals, educators, and students alike.
6