Student-Associate Driven Design and Media

About

What is DCS?

Designing Communication Solutions combines creativity with communications, technology and marketing to create this experience. Students will work with organizations to prepare marketing materials while assuming the role of a “professional creative consultant.”

This course is designed to give students an opportunity to experience the fields of marketing and graphic design both inside and outside of a typical classroom setting. Through real-world, project-based assignments students learn software skills, photo and video editing, illustration and page layout, used in the industry and begin establishing their own personal branding and portfolio.

Services

Media production

Student-associates engage in creating various forms of media, which may include video, photography, or digital content depending on the specific needs of their business partners. The work is highly dynamic and varies based on the individual projects assigned each semester.

Graphic Design

This service is a core academic and professional component of the course, supported by DMACC dual-enrollment credits such as GRD301: Intro to Desktop Publishing and GRD403: Communication Design I. Student-associates apply these skills through professional client projects and the development of their own personal brand assets.

Marketing Strategy

Strategic thinking is built into the course through the "Business Branding" and "Personal Brand" modules. Student-associates learn to define a brand’s core mission, identify target personas, and differentiate between broad branding and specific marketing tactics.

Social Media Content Creation

This service is part of the application phase of the curriculum, where student-associates define primary social platforms for a brand, set specific engagement goals, and design sample posts—including visual mock-ups and captions—to maintain a consistent brand voice.