Course details
Graphic design topics of today
ATGD FaVU ATGD Acad. year 2025/2026 Winter semester 2 credits
The course focuses on selected topics of visual communication and design in general. In the classes, current topics are discussed with the students, the starting point being current events in the field of graphic design and related areas. Theoretical and critical texts are read to prepare for classes. The course takes into account the cultural and other contexts that influence the current practice of graphic design.
Guarantor
Language of instruction
Completion
Time span
- 12 hrs lectures
- 12 hrs seminar
Department
Learning objectives
Strengthening students' ability to critically perceive the cultural, social, economic, political and aesthetic contexts in which visual communication emerged and emerges.
Students develop critical thinking about the field, which is crucial for both graphic design practice and reception and visual communication analysis.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Ability of critical work with text, basic orientation in visual culture and graphic design.
Study literature
- Johanna Drucker & Emily McVarish, Graphic Design History. A Critical Guide, Pearson, 2013.
- Philip B. Meggs & Alston W. Purvis, History of Graphic Design, Wiley, 2016.
- Malcolm Barnard, Graphic Design as Communication, Routledge, 2013.
- Helen Armstrong (ed.), Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field, Princeton Architectural Press, 2009.
- Helen Armstrong (ed.), Digital Design Theory: Readings from the Field, Princeton Architectural Press, 2012.
- Radim Vondráček & Iva Knobloch (eds.), Design v českých zemích 1900 – 2000, Academia, UPM, 2016.
- Pavla Pečínková & Lada Hubatová-Vacková & Martina Pachmanová (eds.), Věci a slova, Vysoká škola uměleckoprůmyslová, 2014.
- Zdeno Kolesár, Kapitoly z dějin designu, Vysoká škola uměleckoprůmyslová, 2009.
- Pavla Pauknerová (ed.) & Richard Jaros (ed.), Nejen kruhy. Vizuální přístupy v zobrazování dat a informací, Vysoká škola uměleckoprůmyslová, 2017.
- Frank Whitford, Bauhaus, Rubato, 2015.
- Jana Průšová, Vznik a vývoj písma, Jana Průšová, 2017.
- William T. Mitchell, Teorie obrazu, Karolinum, 2016.
Fundamental literature
- Richard Hollis, Stručná historie grafického designu, Rubato, 2015.
- Nicholas Mirzoeff, Jak vidět svět, Artmap, 2015.
Syllabus of lectures
Introduction to semiotics and communication theory
Fonts, typography and experiment
Books, newspapers, magazines and the future of the press
Brand, logotype and corporate identity, advertising
Motion design
Digital media and internet, big data
Design and tools. Codes, algorithms and interfaces
Users, UX design, participative design, co-design
Privacy and Copyright
Virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, smart technologies
Biodesign, cyborg and posthumanism
Ethics in design, slow design
Speculative Design, Design Fictions, Future Design
Progress assessment
The condition for granting the credit is active participation in teaching and fulfillment of assigned tasks (reading texts and writing essays). In the case of online teaching, also regular online communication.
Compulsory attendance - an unexcused absence on one teaching block is tolerated.
Course inclusion in study plans
- Programme BIT, 1st year of study, Elective
- Programme BIT (in English), 1st year of study, Elective