About Our BFA Program

School of Advertising

About Our BFA Program

School of Advertising Student Gallery

It is the objective of the School of Advertising to offer students the opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to create advertising that is both exciting and effective. They will graduate with a competitive portfolio capable of winning that first job and with the abilities needed to succeed at that job. Most of all, they will be focused and creative communicators capable of expressing themselves in the traditional media and in the emerging interactive advertising.

Potential Careers: Art Director, Copywriter, Account Planner, Creative Director

BFA Program Learning Outcomes

School of Advertising Program

Graduates of the School of Advertising will meet the following student performance criteria:

1. Strategic Communication

   • For print and ambient ads: ability to stop the target, communicate a benefit and sell a produce/service in 3 to 5 seconds.
   • For TV: ability to stop the target, engage them for the length of the spot, deliver a benefit and sell produce/service.
   • For interactive: ability to drive the target to a website and sell produce/service.
   • Ability to communicate strategic conceptual and artistic goals of an advertising campaign using industry terminology, both verbally and in writing.
   • Ability to develop strategic briefs that focuses on the target customer, the product/service, and the competition.

2. Visual Communication Skills

   • Ability to use appropriate visual media, including freehand drawing and computer technology, in order to convey essential formal elements at each stage of the creative process.
   • Ability to execute creative concepts in detail using digital tools accurately.
   • Ability to rapidly visualize creative ideas and images for the purpose of conceptual communication.

3. Typography and Fundamental Design Skills

   • Ability to effectively select and design with fonts in advertising campaigns.
   • Ability to use basic design principles in the design of print advertising, commercials, ambient media, and interactive advertising.

4. Conceptual Thinking

   • Ability to employ both intuitive and logical thinking to solve marketing problems with creative advertising solutions.

5. Critical Thinking

   • Ability to raise clear and precise questions, use abstract ideas to interpret information, consider diverse points of view, reach well-reasoned conclusions, and test them against relevant criteria and standards.

6. Research / Analytical Skills

   • Ability to gather, assess, record, and apply relevant information for strategic and planning work.

7. Grasp of Historical Content

   • Ability to employ historical research as part of the conceptual and design process.

8. Fundamental Copywriting Skills

   • Ability to use verbal skills to convey concepts and brand tone and manner, at each stage of the creative process.

9. Understanding of Branding

   • Understanding of the basics of Brand building. Ability to tailor marketing efforts to build the equity of a specific good or service.

10. Fundamental Account Planning Skills

    • Ability to identify customer needs, market strategies, and potential market opportunities.
    • Understanding of the theories and methods of inquiry that seek to clarify the relationship between human behavior and consumer purchase motivations.
    • Ability to understand social and consumer trends.

11. Organization and Management Skills

    • Ability to apply appropriate skills to problem solving with regard to managing creative projects and teams.

12. Collaborative Skills

    • Understanding of interdisciplinary collaboration in professional practice. Ability to collaborate with other members of a creative team.
    • Understanding of the leadership role of art directors, writers, and planners in the strategic business and conceptual arenas.

13. Professional Readiness

    • Ability to present and promote portfolios to acquire a job within the industry.
    • Ability to deliver projects on time.
    • Ability to submit work according to professional presentation standards.

Academy of Art University Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the Academy of Art University will demonstrate the ability to:

1. Produce a body of work suitable for seeking professional opportunities in their chosen field of art and design.
2. Solve creative problems within their field of art and design, including research and synthesis of technical, aesthetic, and conceptual knowledge.
3. Communicate their ideas professionally and connect with their intended audience using visual, oral, and written presentation skills relevant to their field.
4. Execute technical, aesthetic, and conceptual decisions based on an understanding of art and design principles.
5. Evaluate work in their field, including their own work, using professional terminology.
6. Recognize the influence of major cultural and aesthetic trends, both historical and contemporary, on art and design products.
7. Learn the professional skills and behaviors necessary to compete in the global marketplace for art and design.

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