Foundations Program

The Foundations Program consists of five freshman courses, three in drawing and two in design. In these courses students are introduced to principles and elements of design (2D and 3D), drawing techniques, and are challenged to build dimensional structures and expand their ways of seeing.

Foundations Drawing

What we observe - the raw data of vision that hits the retina - is changed, interpreted, or conceptualized, in ways that depend on a person’s training, mind-set, and experience. Learning perception through the drawing process allows a different, more direct kind of seeing and development of skill sets that are built on the perception of edges, spaces, relationships, light and shadow, and perception of the whole. Students learn in the Foundations Program ways to manipulate media, as well as imaginative and expressive drawing. Basic component drawing skills are presented individually, until they begin to overlap, and become integrated into the smooth flow of the global skill of drawing – which is whole, rapid, spatial, intuitive, and recognizes pattern and complexity.

Foundations Design

Foundations Design consists of a sequence of two courses, AD10500 Design I and AD10600 Design II. Through a series of problems, students are introduced to the principles and elements of design. Both courses include a digital as well as non-digital work. Digital work uses Photoshop, Illustrator, and 3DStudioMax.

Note on Teaching: The Foundations Drawing Coordinator and Foundations Design Coordinator work together to provide complementary classrooms in their respective areas. These courses are usually taught by Teaching Assistants under the supervision of either the Foundation's Drawing Coordinator or the Foundation's Design Coordinator. Each Teaching Assistant is encouraged to share personal knowledge and professional experiences with their students. However, in order to maintain continuity from one class to another within a course, the content, policies, and methods of foundations classes are determined by course coordinators. Also see Studio Arts and Technology.