Headline: Blending technology with creativity

Subhead: GV to implement new design studies minor fall of 2017

By: Tylee Bush

[email protected]

In an effort to stay on top of the ever-changing job market, Grand Valley State University has established a new design studies minor, which will launch in the fall 2017 semester to bridge digital humanities and fields utilizing big data and data analytics.

This new program is offered to all GVSU students and is designed for the exploration and analysis of how data and contemporary technologies are used and applied. One main objective of the program is to teach students digital skills that are foundational to their careers, including, but not limited to, data literacy, visualization, multimedia production, visual rhetoric and design.

The second objective is to help students critically assess digital culture, including scrutinizing social media issues, examining digital identity and representation, and exploring the ethical implications of digital access.

“A group of faculty from many disciplines across campus decided that we needed a program to help all students gain both production and critical analysis skills related to our digital world,” said Christopher Toth, associate professor of writing at GVSU.

Toth said the digital studies minor is an offshoot of the Big Data Initiative at GVSU. It will be housed in the Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies with elective options that draw on existing courses from across the university.

“The minor will be a nice complement to many existing majors,” Toth said. “The small size, only 21 credits, will make the minor easy to attach to existing majors.”

Toth said many of the program’s electives grant students the chance to learn from experts and give them the opportunity to see connections through digital culture, digital tools and production among various fields of study.

“Through core coursework, the elective module courses and a digital capstone project, students will leave this minor with critical thinking, project management abilities, collaborative experiences and applied technology skills that they will use in their careers and workplaces,” Toth said.

In addition, students should gain exposure to new technologies—a reflection of technology’s increasingly important role in society—and should consequently become informed and mindful contributors to their future professional workplaces and the world.

“All GVSU students will need the ability to intelligently converse around data analytics, as this field has permeated nearly every profession,” Toth said. “Additionally, familiarity with digital applications will increasingly be a requirement for finding employment.”

To promote this new minor, a poster design contest was held in March. Students were asked to submit original designs that included the design studies website address for the chance to win a $200 scholarship.

The selection committee, the team members of which have worked together to establish the new minor, chose to award Andrew Juodawlkis, a GVSU senior studying advertising and public relations and hospitality and tourism management.

“I always love to jump into any opportunity I get to test myself in new and different areas of design,” Juodawlkis said. “This contest offered a perfect opportunity to do so. (I) think it’s an amazing opportunity for one’s designs to represent a program such as this one, and I wanted to do my best to help the program start off on the right foot.”

Despite being primarily self-taught in design, Juodawlkis accepted the challenge and explained his inspiration for this particular poster design.

“A new program needs to create interest and excitement, even down to how their advertising is designed,” he said. “This meant bold colors, unique arrangements and elements that caused someone to stop and check it out.”

Juodawlkis is graduating in just a few short weeks and intends to pursue a career in the design industry.

“As I am almost entirely self-taught as a designer, entering the design field offers its own set of challenges and hurdles, but I’m excited to see where I can apply my talents that I’ve gained over the past years,” he said.

Students like Juodawlkis who wish to enter the design industry are highly encouraged to consider the design studies minor. If interested, students can learn more about the program in the GVSU course catalog, and students may begin declaring the design studies minor on their myBanner account. 

For more information, contact Toth at [email protected].