Art
	Music
	Theatre

	Giving To Dordt

Five program options are available within the art major, and each begins with mastery of the basics. Instructors encourage creativity, giving students the confidence to start with an idea and end with a piece of art that communicates the vision in their hearts and minds.

“Dordt’s art department not only gave me the tools and education necessary to begin a career in graphic design, it also provided me with career opportunities, which my professors actively encouraged me to explore,” says Sarah Franken, a graphic design graduate in 2006. Franken said faculty input opened her eyes to available opportunities and led her to a graphic designer position for The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois.

“Dordt also expanded my understanding of fine art and art history as the foundation upon which the graphic design program is built,” Franken adds. “Because I was able to take a variety of art courses [painting, drawing, photography, and printmaking] I now have a broad range of skills that can be developed into creative new concepts at my job.”

Studio work areas allow hands-on learning of foundational techniques that will help you develop as an artist. Small classes, personal attention from professionals, access to art supplies and equipment, and interaction with others fully engaged in creating art, that will help you stretch your God-given gifts to their fullest potential.

The graphic design emphasis is a good option to prepare for careers in art’s biggest growth areas, web design and animation. Dordt’s graphic design courses are taught by David Versluis, who has worked as both a studio artist and a graphic designer.

Versluis says Dordt’s broad general education gives students a context in which to say something important as they work in graphic design, taking them beyond being a technician to becoming a visual communicator.

A digital cross-platform Mac/PC media lab provides students the opportunity to learn both computer environments, an advantage when they enter the job market. Computer workstations are equipped with all of the latest Adobe Software for doing graphic design, website design, illustration and photography including After Effects animation software (the industry standard for motion graphics and animation for video production). Animation students learn how to create moving and morphed typography.

Advanced layout skills are taught in the multi-media lab or the student publications area, where image scanners allow students to digitize and import photographs and artwork directly into graphic layouts. Students can draw, manipulate photos, and generate images within layout programs, to create an infinite variety of images and combine hand-drawn art and logos with typography and color manipulation.

As a graphic arts student, you will design actual client projects including t-shirt designs, identity and signage, and activity posters. You will take on more complex work in advanced graphics classes, with many production pieces printed on campus in the well-equipped college copy center. You will be involved with computer output to gain critical understanding of the printing process.

You’ll also have the opportunity to work with off-campus vendors and customers, and learn to write copy that works with the design. Logos designed by Dordt students have been selected for use by several nonprofit organizations, including Siouxland Blood Bank, Royale Meadows Health Center, and IAPCHE (International Association for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education).

The art history emphasis provides a good multi-media background, opening up a world of ideas and techniques and helping you formulate your own ideas about “good” or “Christian” art. More broadly, it helps you understand the aesthetic dimension of life.

An education emphasis will prepare you to teach in elementary and/or high school. Teaching is an important career option for many of our graduates.

A pre-architecture program information sheet is also available