AOD’s Design Foundation is a unique 1 year course which provides students with fundamental skills necessary for design drawing skills and conceptual composition as well as a language to understand and discuss design.

During this time, students will become familiar and fluent with primary drawing materials (graphite, vine charcoal, chalk pastels, pen & ink, paper collage).  The focus of this initial section will be to gain a command of composing and rendering in a monochromatic scale (i.e. in black and white).   As color and abstract communications cannot begin without first mastering fundamental rendering (and hand-drafting) skills, students are given training to lay down these basic techniques. 

Throughout the Foundation course, a once-per-week Art History component will be, which will provide historical Fine Art examples of the concepts covered in their studio courses.

In the second section, students will expand on topics of composition and expressive mark-making.  In addition, students will begin working in color (beginning with an introduction to various elements of color theory and color combinations).   It is the main focus of this trimester for students to gain a comprehensive and thoughtful mastery of color and extend their drawing and painting skills to more conceptual projects: students will now be asked to think of schematic and conceptual composition. 

During the second session, students will move away from doing smaller “technique-exercises” and begin to orient themselves towards larger projects that involve several stages of planning and research.   This will be supported by an intensified use of the Reflective Visual Journal and the development of making prototypes. 

In the third section, students will expand on topics of conceptual composition and commercial applications.  These exercises will highlight schematic and conceptual thinking.   In keeping with the progression over the last two sessions, students will move away from doing smaller “technique-exercises” and begin to orient themselves towards larger projects that involve several stages of planning and research.   This will be supported by an intensified use of the Daybook or RVJ and the development of making prototypes.

In addition to expanding conceptual compositions, students will spend three weeks (one week in each field) doing an introduction to the three AOD fields: Interior Design, Graphic Design, Fashion Design.