Graphic Design Minor
Add a working design skill to your major — type, image, vector, layout, and Adobe Creative Suite — in small studio classes with practicing designers.
Program Overview
The graphic design minor at Shawnee State University offers students a structured pathway to expand their visual design skills and integrate creative thinking into their major area of study. Whether you're pursuing a career in business, communication, marketing, the arts, or technology, a minor in graphic design adds a highly marketable dimension to your degree.
Through hands-on graphic design courses in layout, typography, digital imaging, and publication design, you’ll gain the tools needed to effectively communicate messages visually. This minor helps you build a strong design portfolio while developing valuable skills in creativity, communication, and digital production.
At A Glance
Graphic Design Minor
Degree
Minor
Format
On campus
Length
Complete alongside your major
Credits
18
Class Size
12:1
Location
Main Campus, Vern Riffe Center for the Arts
Why Study Graphic Design Minor at Shawnee University
You'll learn the standard tools — Adobe Creative Suite, vector design, typography, layout — alongside the thinking that turns those tools into communication.
You'll build a portfolio with each studio course so you finish the minor with work you can show employers or graduate programs.
Small studio classes mean direct critique and faster growth. It's an asset across fields. Business, communication, marketing, fine arts, English, and computer science majors all benefit from being able to design well.
The Graphic Design Minor requires 18 credit hours of required core courses that build technical and conceptual skill.
- ARTS 1101 — Two-Dimensional Foundations
- ARTS 1105 — Digital Foundations
- ARTS 3611 — Digital Imaging I
- ARTS 3612 — Vector Graphics
- ARTS 3613 — Publication Design
- ARTS 3631 — Graphic Design Studio I
The Graphic Design Minor is a strong fit for students majoring in:
- Business or marketing
- Communication
- Fine arts (studio, illustration, photography)
- Digital media or game design
- Computer Science
- English or writing
- Any major where strong visual communication adds value
Classes meet in the design studios and digital labs on the Shawnee State campus in Portsmouth, Ohio.
Graphic Design Minor Frequently Asked Questions
No. Two-Dimensional Foundations and Digital Foundations build the basics before the upper-level studio courses.
Adobe Creative Suite is the spine — Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign — used the way working designers use it.
No — studio courses meet on campus to support critique and hands-on work.
The minor is 18 credits and covers the design core. The B.F.A. is a full degree that goes deeper into typography, studio sequences, senior portfolio, and interactive media.
