The Ad Studio

Focuses on the challenges of designing brands targeted at customer needs and desires. Working through a series of projects, students learn both the theory and practice of identifying brand opportunities, idea generation, global design strategies, testing, and brand launch. Graduate students from other departments who have the appropriate background may be allowed to register on a space-available basis with the consent of the Program Director. (3 credits)

Examines essential principles that drive innovation and creativity in the design field. Through hands-on projects and critical analysis of historical and contemporary creative communication trends, students work on developing their own design philosophy and visual aesthetic. By the end of the course, students should have the expertise needed to craft compelling, impactful visual design solutions that make branding more engaging and effective. Graduate students from other departments who have the appropriate background may be allowed to register on a space-available basis with the consent of the Program Director. (3 credits)

Examines essential principles that drive communication and storytelling in the advertising field. Through hands-on projects and critical analysis of historical and contemporary advertising trends, students will work on developing their own copywriting philosophy and tone of voice. By the end of the course, students should have the expertise needed to write compelling headlines, body copy, social posts, taglines and manifestos, as well as other effective creative writing techniques to build brands. (3 credits)

Students will gain an understanding of what insights and ideas are, and the difference between them. They will also learn, through hands-on projects, how to brainstorm both alone and in groups, how to find insights, think strategically, and move from strategy to ideation, how to iterate so that quantity leads to quality, how to think about ideas conceptually and not just from a design or writing perspective. And students will build the muscles to do it over and over again through multiple projects and iterations. (3 credits)

Builds on core concepts introduced in Principles of Storytelling by expanding executional skill sets and conceptual frameworks. This course encourages students to establish their core principles as storytellers. They will hone the writing skills they’ve already learned as well as expand into new mediums – predominantly script writing for audio and video. (3 credits)

This class will put students’ new-found craft and conceptual skills to the test. Students will be paired up to learn the skills of collaboration, ideation, and campaign thinking. Through hands-on projects, they will take briefs and turn them into industry-leading, award-worthy campaigns. Through trial and error, critical feedback, and constant iteration and improvement, students will learn what industry-leading, award-worthy work looks like and what it takes to get there. Students will leave this class with 3-4 finished campaigns. (3 credits)

Students will learn social thinking – how to concept, write, design, shoot and make social content at speed. They will study how brands do, and should, behave on each social and digital channel (TikTok, Instagram, etc), and how brands show up in the digital world (banner ads, search ads, email marketing, etc). By the end of the course, they will know how to show up and deliver as a creative professional on social briefs and in general how to be valuable on day one (deck making, positive attitudes, working late, having fun). (3 credits)

Students will learn how to tackle one of the most prevalent briefs given by clients to ad agencies today. They come by many names: activations, stunts, non-traditional, viral ideas, etc. They boil down to one thing – ideas that generate PR and earned media without spending a lot of money. Clients want creative thinking that can generate its own awareness and word of mouth so they can spend less media dollars to spread it themselves. This course is a hands-on workshop to learn and practice how to develop and sell these kinds of ideas. (3 credits)

Students will build on the campaign ideation skills they learned in Creative Campaigns 1 and other classes in order to continue improving and creating more work for their portfolio. Like Campaigns 1, students will brainstorm on briefs and create fully integrated 360 campaigns. Professional reviewers will be brought in to help guide and polish work as it comes together. Students will leave this course with 3-4 finished campaigns. (3 credits)

Students learn the fundamentals of making short form video content – from :30 TV spots, to social content, to brand films and documentaries. Through research and hands-on practice, students learn how to concept, script, storyboard, shoot, and edit brand content. (3 credits)

Dedicated to the meticulous curation of an industry-ready professional portfolio. Students receive guidance in crafting their online digital portfolios and fostering professional development tailored to their post-graduation career aspirations. Interaction with industry professionals and successful program alumni allows students to gain valuable advice, tips, and feedback to enhance their portfolios. (3 credits)

Explores the art of using design to drive innovation, impact, and change. Through collaboration and empathy, students will discover the power of bringing people together to create meaningful solutions to real world problems. From managing teams, project management processes, and organizational design, students will gain the skills needed for managing creativity in today's complex world and discover how to work effectively with others across disciplines and sectors to create impact at scale. (3 credits)