GDES 4362 University of Minnesota
Senior Thesis & Exhibition
Fall 2016,
Spring 2018, Fall 2018 Lead Instructor: Daniel Jasper
Course Description
Senior Thesis and Exhibition is a capstone experience for seniors in the BFA graphic design program. A hybrid of studio and seminar, Senior Thesis and Exhibition will combine creative problem-solving, design prototyping, design refinement and a public exhibition, which itself will be a designed event. The course will refine and make tangible the comprehensive graphic design thesis research project started in Senior Thesis and Writing. All students are expected to success fully finish their projects using professional best practices for creating a final prototype: materials, quality, technologies, etc. Thesis projects may evolve, but any radical departure from the research phase will not be permitted.The learning environment will consist of one-on-one tutorials, small group sessions, class presentations and critiques. Team work and collaboration is critical due to the joint exhibition scheduled for May 2017. The class will also occasionally interact with the other section of GDES 4362 which meets at the same time as our section.
Student Reviews
“Gave great feedback—helped take my ideas to the next level. Showed new techniques to make designing easier. Pushed me in the right direction so I could end up with a full-on great project. Lots of one-on-one time—answered all my questions.”
“Personal meetings as often as possible! So helpful to get feedback and ideas. Did a great job of cautioning unrealistic ideas and helping reign in scope. Let me run with my ideas, allowing me to pursue something not closely related to the major, and solve a problem I wanted to solve.”
“Encouraging, noticeably cautious with his criticisms, but straight-forward whenever necessary.”
“Keep Karl as the teacher for Thesis he is good at it.”