Ian Gillespie Faculty of Design + Dynamic Media
This Faculty brings together design and media practices that shape how we live, work and communicate. Faculty and students address contemporary challenges through human-centred, socially aware and technologically informed approaches.
Undergraduate programs include the Bachelor of Design and the Bachelor of Media Arts, each offering majors that span communication, industrial and interaction design, as well as animation and film.
Majors + Minors
Explore the Bachelor of Design Majors + Minor
The Bachelor of Design focuses on the social, technological and experiential needs of contemporary life. With an emphasis on human-centred approaches, students explore design as a way to address challenges across communication, products, systems and interactions. The program offers three majors + one minor:
Communication Design Major
The Communication Design Major combines theory and practice to address cultural, historical and ecological issues in visual communication. Students explore print, interactivity and motion graphics while developing strategies to solve complex design challenges.
Industrial Design Major
The Industrial Design Major examines how products shape daily life, comfort and safety. Students design with people in mind, creating solutions that enhance activities, address limitations and foster meaningful interactions.
Interaction Design Major
The Interaction Design Major focuses on designing interactive products, systems, services and spaces. Students develop innovative approaches to emerging technologies and user experiences in a field where demand is rapidly growing.
Ecological Design Practice Minor
The Ecological Design Practice Minor is open to all design majors. Students situate their work within ecological contexts, exploring sustainable, land-based and experimental approaches to design for a changing world.
Explore the Bachelor of Media Arts Majors
The Bachelor of Media Arts cultivates conceptual and technical skills for one of today’s fastest-growing creative fields. Students experiment with emerging and traditional forms of moving image and sound while developing confidence in risk-taking and innovation. This program offers four majors:
2D + Experimental Animation Major
This major explores diverse forms of animation, from traditional drawing to experimental practices. Students develop strong technical foundations while pushing the boundaries of storytelling through image and motion.
3D Computer Animation Major
The 3D Computer Animation Major offers intensive study in digital animation and visual effects. Students gain deep expertise in modeling, character design and cinematic storytelling for screen-based media.
Film + Screen Arts Major
The Film + Screen Arts Major combines contemporary digital media with historical film practices. Students learn production, directing and editing while experimenting with narrative and expanded forms of cinema.
Faculty Members
The Ian Gillespie Faculty of Design + Dynamic Media is led by Dean Celeste Martin, an Associate Professor with a background in communication design. Her creative practice focuses on typography and publication design, exploring the forms of written language and the relationship of text to space.
Her most recent book, Cuadernos & Conferencias, gathers previously unpublished manuscripts of Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges’ notes, expanding the author’s oeuvre to include his contributions as lecturer and public speaker
Shops + Studios
Our 20+ purpose-built shops and studios give students space to create, experiment and collaborate across disciplines. They are maintained by expert staff who support students through instruction and guidance.
From ceramics and print media to digital fabrication and wood shops, these facilities support both traditional techniques and emerging technologies.
Research + Creative Practices
Research in the Ian Gillespie Faculty of Design + Dynamic Media advances human-centred design and media innovation. Faculty and students investigate communication, interaction, sustainability and emerging technologies through creative inquiry and applied practice.
Projects often connect with industry, cultural partners and public institutions, contributing to new ways of designing, storytelling and engaging with technology in society.
