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Visual Communication Design

Do you see design as more than just visuals—as a way to connect, inform, and inspire?

At Ohio State Design, our Visual Communication Design program is where your creativity meets purpose. Here, you’ll explore the full spectrum of this dynamic field—from branding and packaging to motion graphics, data visualization, and beyond.

You’ll learn to design with people in mind, using human-centered research to guide your creative decisions. Whether you're crafting a brand identity, designing a mobile app, or creating a wayfinding system for a public space, you’ll gain the tools and insight to make your work meaningful and impactful.

Our courses blend design theory with hands-on experience using advanced digital tools and media. You’ll develop polished, professional-level work that reflects your unique voice and meets the highest industry standards. And as you grow, you’ll tackle real-world challenges across four powerful themes: education and learning, health and wellness, history, culture and technology, and social impact.

Your journey culminates in a final project will show the world what you’re capable of—an independent design that brings together everything you’ve learned.

Are you ready to design the messages that move the world?

Join us at Ohio State’s Visual Communication Design program—and start shaping the future of how we see, share, and understand.

What is the Visual Communication Design Major?

The Visual Communication Design program at The Ohio State University equips students to create meaningful visual systems that inform, engage, and inspire. Through a human-centered approach, students explore diverse areas such as brand identity, wayfinding, packaging, publication, web/mobile interfaces, and data visualization. Courses integrate advanced computing and digital media tools, enabling students to produce refined, professional-level work. The curriculum emphasizes design research, storytelling, and social relevance, preparing students to tackle complex communication challenges across industries. Students develop solutions that address key themes—education, health, culture, and social impact—and present their final projects in a public spring exhibition. This program fosters creativity, technical skill, and strategic thinking, empowering graduates to become leaders in the evolving field of visual communication.

Curriculum and Course Sequence

A Collaborative First-Year Experience

All Design students begin in the 18-credit hour collaborative Design Foundations program. This is a shared first-year experience where all design students build core creative, technical, and collaborative skills before applying to their chosen major.
 

Explore Design Foundations!

Students gathered around a table collaborating on a design project.

Second Year and Beyond...

Second Year

Autumn

Spring

Third Year

Autumn

Spring

Fourth Year

Autumn

Spring

 

Advising Sheet | GE-N [PDF]
Advising Sheet | GE-L [PDF]
Course Catalog
Capstone Projects
Research Distinction Projects
Technology Requirements

"Visual Communication Design helps shape how people understand, trust, and engage with the world—making communication more human in an age of automation and information overload."

Yvette Shen, Visual Communication Design Coordinator 

Student Portfolios

This voluntary listing of digital portfolios represents our current students' professional preparation at varying levels of experience. It also provides insight into some of the learning experiences provided by courses in our program.

Looking to hire a Design student? 

Prospective employers may reach out to students directly about freelance employment opportunities. Employers seeking to hire for internships and/or full-time opportunities are encouraged to work with the Center for Career and Professional Success to post openings via Handshake.

Gain Experiences & Discover Your Passion

Opportunities to become fully engaged in an experience are instrumental to discovering your passion. Internships will give you the experience you need to differentiate yourself from other candidates, support your career goals, contribute to your skill set and determine how your career exploration process and focus may need to be modified to support your long-term goals. Employers are looking for graduates that have already taken the next step to becoming professionals in their field.

Career Prospects in Visual Communication Design

Students graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Design take positions with design consulting offices, corporate design departments, and government design agencies.

The work of design occurs in either the context of consultant design, where independent design firms provide services to clients, or in the context of corporate, governmental, or non-governmental/not-for-profit design, where design services are provided within an organization.

Consultant design offices can be as small as one person -- an office of 15-20 people is considered relatively large -- and the largest might employ 100 or more. Consultant offices may specialize in one design discipline, or even a subcategory of that specialty. Consultant offices can also be multidisciplinary, and employ designers from all categories, as well as engineers, researchers, marketing and human factors experts, etc.

Corporate design groups exist in all major industries, and employ designers of all disciplines. Organizations that place emphasis on public communications typically maintain a visual communication design department.

Design offers many opportunities for a challenging career. Many designers begin with project work, and advance to research, coordination and management. Planning activities often place designers in the role of analyzing business trends, and establishing strategic goals for design activities. Many organizations value the contributions designers make to their businesses, and provide good opportunities for advancement.

Who hired our graduates?

  • Bits and Bops
  • OSU Office of Student Life
  • The Ohio State University Department of Athletics
  • Augment Therapy
  • Sketch Blue
  • GM Industrial LLC
  • ChangeUp
  • Pratt Institute
  • Mountain TOP
  • EMH&T
  • OARnet
  • RUDIS
  • McDougald Research
  • Push Digital
  • MKSK
  • Moen Incorporated
  • Esports Foundry
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co.
  • Nonfiction
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co.
  • IBM
  • WillowTree
  • The Ohio State University Engineering Career Services
  • Publicis Sapient
  • Credera
  • Roto Group
  • Holden Ellis
  • wearesad.co
  • The Pivot Group
  • RG Barry
  • Xfrost
  • Sketch Blue
  • wearesad.co
  • ZoCo Design
  • PLASKOLITE
  • Kinopicz American
  • Crown Equipment Corporation
  • Owens Corning
  • Keeco, LLC
  • ERM: Environmental Resources Management
  • Self-Employed Freelance
  • Wildflower Press + Paper
  • Ologie
  • Become Known
  • Continental Office
  • The Ohio State University College of Nursing
  • The New Jersey Digest
  • Next Day Signs
  • ArtCenter College of Design
  • Rhove
  • Sketch Blue
  • Destination Pet, LLC
  • National Low Income Housing Coalition
  • Corporate One Federal Credit Union
  • WD Partners
  • Financial Cornerstone Inc. 
  • Involve, LLC
  • American Electric Power
  • Gilbane Building Company
  • Rocky Brands, Inc.
  • IBM iX
  • Kolar Design
  • Creative Spot
  • designvox
  • Chepri, LLC
  • Impact Communications
  • The Walt Disney Company
  • Nonfiction
  • Chute Gerdeman
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co.
  • FITCH
  • VividFront
  • T-CETRA, LLC
  • Ikove Capital
  • Profashion Hair Styling Tools
  • Ohio REALTORS
  • Influenster
  • FITCH
  • Esse Soap Co.
  • Binance
  • SPACEJUNK
  • VIP KID
  • CrossChx
  • King Business Interiors
  • Walt Disney Imagineering
  • Ologie
  • Inst Study of Race & Ethnicity, The Ohio State University
  • Revolution Experiment
  • College of Arts and Sciences Marketing & Communications
  • Design Central
  • Make You, LLC
  • Scotts Miracle-Gro
  • ZoCo Design
  • Jump Goat Media
  • WD Partners
  • McGraw-Hill Education
Alumna K Koogan at Work
Alumn A Evans at Work

Professional Organizations

Professional organizations play an important role in the development of design disciplines and provide valuable resources to their student and professional members. The following organizations are all relevant to Visual Communication Design.

American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)
Columbus Society of Communicating Arts (CSCA)
Interaction Design Association (IxDA)
Society for Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD)
Usability Professionals Association (UPA)

Learn more in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook

Go to the OOH