Specific competences

Knowledge and understanding of:

• development of graphic concepts and projects;

• utility and uses of typography;

• frameworks affecting the perception and understanding of graphic messages;

• characteristics of human culture and social aspects;

• ethical and conceptual differences between recognized and anonymous typography;

• situations in which graphic messages can be used;

• ideas, identities and cultural requirements of virtual communities.

Intellectual and cognitive skills:

• originality and confidence in problem solving;

• aesthetic, technical, professional and interpersonal skills;

• capacity for critical analysis, debate, evaluation and summary;

• ability to conceptualize and demonstrate lateral thinking:

• ability to carry out work in complex and unpredictable situations;

• strategic thought and communication;

• sensitivity to the socio-cultural values, ideas and dynamics involved in the use of graphic products;

• critical awareness of associated professions and disciplines.

Practical, research and independency skills:

• selection and application of the appropriate techniques and methods to a project;

• design and communication of solutions for the improvement of graphic communication;

• use of graphic skills to register, analyze and develop graphic solutions;

• application of the basic principles of economy, sustainability, aesthetics and communication to graphic proposals;

• identification of information sources; selection, processing and analysis of information; and cross-referencing data of different orders and origins;

• time management and prioritization of tasks within projects;

• ability to work under pressure.

Generic competences

• Ability to work with information from diverse sources: graphic, written, literary, other projects, and history.

• Multidisciplinary teamwork skills.

• Capacity to identify and define problems.

• Awareness and sensitivity to the aesthetics of written narrative.

• Ability to negotiate between different approaches to a problem in situations of conflict.

• Mastery of the presentation and defence of work.

• Mastery of the skills involved in formalization processes.

• Ability to integrate into complex, multidisciplinary teams.

• Appropriate use of information technologies, equipment and basic software.

Student skills and competences

On completion of the degree program students will be able to:

• establish dialectic connections between discipline, environment, use, technology, and the conception of ideas;

• assimilate new knowledge and use it to evaluate previous learning;

• take important decisions and defend their importance in the construction of new methodological paradigms;

• demonstrate improved analytical skills and use these to distinguish between fundamental and circumstantial values;

• develop systems for critical analysis designed to extend the current body of knowledge on graphic communication;

• develop coherent and accurate synthesis systems;

• demonstrate a user-level understanding of software and systems used for the management, creation and production of graphic communication;

• establish effective relationships between individuals and in work groups to suit different circumstances.

Students will also develop an in-depth understanding of:

• different text-display systems, establishing the corresponding operating parameters;

• software packages for creating alphabets, in Windows and Mac environments;

• specific narrative structures for different types of graphic information and communication;

• rendering techniques;

• industrial manipulation and production processes;

• manipulation and production processes for individual products.