Visual Communication

Prepare for a successful career in graphic design with our visual communication program. You’ll receive a comprehensive education focused on graphic form and communication, as well as cultural factors and design processes. When you graduate, you’ll be equipped with the creative, theoretical and interpersonal skills you need to thrive in the field of graphic design.

Who Can Apply?

High School Students

Current high school students are not eligible to apply to the Visual Communication program. Applicants must, first, complete the Foundation (freshman) year of studies—either by earning those credits at NIU or by transferring credits from other institutions (see below).

Current NIU Students

The first year of studies at NIU is known as the "Foundation" year. After students complete this foundation year, they may apply to various areas for a more focused emphasis in a particular discipline, such as Visual Communication.

While these foundation courses are not VisCom “Portfolio Prep” courses, they do provide students with the skills needed to create their own design portfolio pieces (see the admission portfolio tab).

These courses prepare all NIU first-year students with the fundamental artistic skills needed to apply to any of the areas for further study and development: Ceramics, Drawing, Fiber, Illustration, Metal, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Time Arts, and Visual Communication

The Visual Communication program begins with the second (sophomore) year of study and it continues through the third (junior) year and fourth (senior) year of studies.

Transfer Students

Transfer students may apply to the Visual Communication program, provided they have earned course credits for the required first-year foundation courses.

The Process

Admission to the Visual Communication program is limited. The total number of students accepted will be determined by available resources on a year-by-year basis.

Successful candidates must meet the following conditions:

Be admitted to the university
Have a minimum overall GPA of 2.50 on a 4.00 scale for all courses including transfer courses
Submit a portfolio of work that meets the admission criteria for the program. For portfolio instructions, please refer to the "Your Admission Portfolio" tab above for details.
Interview with the Visual Communication faculty selection committee.

Your portfolio files will be submitted online and will be reviewed by the faculty. If your portfolio is accepted, then you will be invited to an interview.

Both, the portfolio and the interview will be used to determine which students are accepted to the Visual Communication program.

You will be notified by email about your application, interview, and acceptance status.

Online Portfolio Submission 2026 Deadline Dates

You may only apply once per year.

Portfolio Deadline	Interview (if portfolio is accepted)
Friday, April 10	Friday, May 8

Core Requirements

Foundation Art Requirements: 12 credits
Art History Requirements: 12 credits
Visual Communication Elective Requirements: 12 credits

ARTD 200 - Image in Visual Communication (3 credits)
ARTD 201 - Introduction to Visual Communication (3 credits)
ARTD 202 - Introduction to Typography (3 credits)
ARTD 203 - Interaction Design (3 credits)
ARTD 310 - Intermediate Typography (3 credits)
ARTD 311 - Intermediate Visual Communication I (3 credits)
ARTD 312 - Visual Communication II (3 credits)
ARTD 313 - Beginning Photography (3 credits)
ARTD 319 - Interaction Design II (3 credits)
ARTD 320 - Motion Graphic Design (3 credits)
ARTD 325 - Professional Practices in Design (3 credits)
ARTD 401 - User Experience Design (3 credits)
ARTD 411 - Advanced Visual Communication I (3 credits)
ARTD 412 - Advanced Typography (3 credits)
ARTD 406 - Senior Project (3 credits)

B.F.A. in Visual Communication requires 78 semester hours. View a suggested Visual Communication four-year plan.

First Things, First

Read and carefully follow the requirements and guidelines on this site.
Develop and prepare your portfolio of design work.
Create a single .pdf portfolio file so it's ready to upload before you click the application button.

Once you have completed the above items:

Click the "Online Portfolio Submission" button
Enter your information in the application
Upload your portfolio file

What to include in your Design Portfolio

A minimum of 10 unique design projects

You may use up to 20 pages (maximum) to present your 10 design projects.

Example: Three pages can be used to show one project: Logo for a restaurant, a sign, business cards, a menu, and an advertisement for the same restaurant.

We do not expect polished, professional design work. But we do expect a design portfolio to contain design work.

We cannot accept a design portfolio that only contains drawings, paintings, or photographs that are presented as stand-alone images (whether they are digital or done by hand). Imagery is extremely important, and we want to see your image work. But it must be part of a design or layout—see “Examples of Design Work from VisCom Graduates” below.

For example, use a photo of a sculpture you made in one of your foundation courses in a layout for an album cover, or a brochure, flyer, or poster for a museum exhibition. Design layouts contain both typography and imagery.

What we mean by “Design Work/Projects”

The world is filled with examples of design work that everybody has access to:

Look inside your pantry, refrigerator, or any store and you’ll see examples of package design, advertising and marketing. Look in any city, retail store, restaurant, parking lot, airport, or train station and you’ll see examples of signs and wayfinding. Every truck, billboard—every music album, video, video game, every poster, flyer, or advertisement is an example of design. Every phone app, website, streaming service, tv series or movie—every social media platform, and video game—every book, magazine, or catalog is an example of design work.

Your portfolio should include design work, such as:

Brochures
Posters
Album Covers
Menus
Publications: Books, Booklets, Magazine layouts
Logos
Package Design
Interaction Design: websites, apps
Motion Graphics: animations, videos, games

The selection of design work in your portfolio tells us a great deal about you. So, thoughtfully and carefully create and choose pieces you think best show your design talent and potential for further development.

Create Design Projects for Your Portfolio

You can create any of the design examples listed above using:

Your own existing imagery (drawings, illustrations, designs, or photos that you have created.)
Imagery from NIU Foundations Coursework:

Again, use a photo of a sculpture you made in one of your foundation courses in a layout for an album cover, or a brochure, flyer, or poster for a museum exhibition. Design layouts contain both typography and imagery. You can include projects from ARTD 201 Intro to VisCom

If you have completed the ARTD 201 Introduction to Visual Communication course, we encourage you to include some of the design projects in your portfolio (not the exercises, but the projects). Talk to your instructor about the work that should be included.

Other Suggested Projects

In addition to creating projects listed above, we also recommend the following book: Graphic Design School: The Principles and Practice of Graphic Design, 4th Edition by David Dabner, Sheena Calvert, Anoki Casey. (Make certain to get the 4th edition of this book.) Since it’s an older edition, it's inexpensive and it can easily be purchased used.

This is a very informative introduction to graphic design, and it will provide you with projects that will assist in building and strengthening your portfolio.

Some specific suggested projects that you can make from the 4th edition of the book:

page 17 assignment: Research, A City Block
page 27 assignment: Research, Concept Development
page 61 assignment: Composition, Zodiac Symbols
page 91 assignment: Typography, Text as Image.
page 101 assignment: Color, Map-Making.

Portfolio .PDF File Requirements for Uploading

Create a single, multi-page .pdf
Dimensions: 8.5 in tall x 11 in wide.
Maximum page count: 20
Maximum file size: 50 MB
Please name your file: pdf

Watch our Video Demos for more information about creating and optimizing your portfolio pdf file.

Video or Motion-based Portfolio Pieces

Video and Motion Graphic files must be provided as links—with video files hosted somewhere such as YouTube, Vimeo, Dropbox, etc.
- You may submit several video links through the application portal
- You may also include any video links in your pdf portfolio file

Online Portfolio Submission

In Conclusion

All students who meet the admission requirements are welcome to apply.

Students at NIU’s School of Art and Design have access to:

MAC and PC computer labs
The Adobe Creative Cloud suite of design applications needed to create both the portfolio pieces and the required .pdf portfolio file.

Students may also make design projects by hand. Then, photograph the pieces (with their phone) and make the pdf portfolio file by using the facilities and equipment above, and by following the Video Demos above.

Admission to the Visual Communication program is limited. The total number of students accepted will be determined by available resources on a year-by-year basis.

You may only submit one application per year. If you wish to reapply to the Visual Communication program, you can do so during next year's application cycle

If you have further questions about the application process, please contact the Visual Communication Department, at viscom@niu.edu.

Interview

If your portfolio is accepted you will be notified by email, and the next step is an interview. Only students that have their portfolios accepted will be interviewed. The on-campus interviews will be held at Jack Arends Hall (Art and Design Building) in room 308. Please come dressed for an interview. You will be notified of a Visual Communication program acceptance decision by email within five business days of your interview.

During the Interview

You will be asked questions to assess your interest, commitment and level of understanding of a career as a professional designer. Questions will be concerned with general cultural awareness, design fundamentals and your academic and professional goals. You are encouraged to ask the interviewers questions regarding the Visual Communications program.