The Design Principles track
This track is comprised of 12 modules. Eleven of these are taken by students in the Basic Certificate program. One is taken by students in the Advanced Certificate program. As the name of the track suggests, all of these modules provide training in the principles of design. These principles are actually applied in the Design Application Track. A intermediary track, the Design Software Track, bridges the Design and Application tracks by providing training in necessary software skills.
The first five of the 12 modules in this track focus on graphic design principles. This is followed by a survey of the history art, from the 1600s to the present.
The next three modules provide more in-depth study of three design topics: typography, color theory, and logo design and branding. Then, this knowledge is applied to the aesthetics of website design in Module 11.
(The term "website design" typically includes the coding of pages as well as their composition or layout. This module specifically focuses on the layout or aesthetics of a website.)
Students in the Basic Certificate program who complete this track are equipped with the basic knowledge of design required for a variety of graphic design needs besides just website design. For example, they will be able to create more effective ministry-related print products such as worship folders, flyers, and newsletters as well as announcements to be projected onto a screen during a service. And, of course, they will have received training in the aesthetics of website design itself.
The purpose for the broad approach to design in this track is to provide training to volunteers and paid staff members of churches and parishes whose work involves one or more of three communications media: print, screen, and web.
Module 12, only available in the Advanced Certificate program, covers a somewhat different subject: designing for time-based media. This covers the special design considerations required by animation, motion graphics, and video — media in which words and images move and transform over time.
Modules in this track
Modules in the Basic Certificate program:
Module 1—Principles of Graphic Design 1 (primary principles)
Module 2—Principles of Graphic Design 2 (support principles)
Module 3—Principles of Graphic Design 3 (elements)
Module 4—Principles of Graphic Design 4 (design structures)
Module 5—Principles of Graphic Design 5 (visual relationships)
Module 6—Survey of Art History
Module 7—Typography
Module 8—Color Theory
Module 9—Logo Design & Branding
Module 10—Concept Development & Creativity
Module 11—Aesthetics of Website Design
Modules in the Advanced Certificate program:
Module 12—Design for Time-Based Media