MDes in Communication Planning and Information Design (CPID)
The Master of Design (MDes) in Communication Planning and Information Design is a two-year professional program for students who want to explore the new arts of communication and the creative potential of the interplay between words and images in traditional and innovative media. This unique program is jointly offered by the School of Design and the English Department.The goal of the program is to prepare students for advanced levels of professional employment as communication planners and designers in the areas of print communication, design planning, systems design, dynamic information design, interactive multimedia, and internet communication.
The CPID program provides a balanced mix of collaborative work and individual exploration. Some recent themes of exploration include new narrative structures in new media, visual voice and identity in print and digital formats, visualizing complex information spaces, and strategic planning for communication systems. Recent project sponsors include clients such as Microsoft, EliasArts, Samsung Electronics, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the United States Postal Service.
Why Come to Carnegie Mellon University?
Historically, writers and designers were distinct breeds of communicators. Recruited from different backgrounds, they worked with different tools, and participated in different contexts of work. This division of expertise, reinforced by universities and trade schools, sheltered writers from those who presented their words and often left designers out of the planning process.
As we begin the 21st century, however, new technologies are revolutionizing the environment of communication. Computing and new media are appearing at every level of communication design, blurring the traditional boundaries between creation and production, writing and designing, strategy and implementation. With a broader view of the information landscape, writers and designers are expected to tackle the planning of complex communication systems, as well as take increasing responsibility for both the verbal and the visual aspects of their work. The need to relate more complex information to a greater variety of audiences demands that writers and designers expand their individual roles and collaborate in formerly unexpected ways.
To better prepare students for the new role they are increasingly asked to play as communication planners and designers, there must be new arts of communication and a new field of research and inquiry. The new arts will combine words and images, sound and motion, using technologies from print to video, from photography to interactive multimedia. The new field will be communication planning and information design, encompassing all the disciplines required for the conception, planning, production, and delivery of effective communication.
For more information, please download the Communication Planning and Information Design brochure [.pdf].