Designers structure information and capture ideas — in type, image, and even sound — for platforms that range from paper to architectural space to cyberspace. Design is about giving form to ideas and recognizing the ideas that inhabit forms. It is characterized less by tools and materials, which are constantly changing, than by context and visual and textual language.

Graphic design thrives in the fine arts setting at Montserrat; it is enriched, also, by the liberal arts and their focus on cultural and social context, analysis and communication.

The design program complements a core sequence of courses — design, typography, image manipulation and creation — with electives in the design and other departments, ranging from advertising to poster design, letterpress printing to web authoring and digital animation, design history/theory to portfolio development.

The program features a design internship and one or two semesters of Design Seminar, in which seniors devote themselves to independent projects under faculty supervision.

Montserrat's digital labs are equipped with state-of-the-art Apple computers, and Graphic Design courses are taught using industry-standard software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Flash, as well as QuarkXPress, Final Cut Studio, Cinema 4D (for 3-D Animation), and TypeTool.

For more about technology at Montserrat, go to the technology page.