The use of AI tools in this course is encouraged. AI can either replace you or enable you. That choice is yours.
When used well, AI can support brainstorming, iteration, research, and production, helping you achieve work of exceptional quality. This is the current professional standard. You are expected to engage with these tools critically and creatively.
However, AI must not replace your judgment, originality, or craft. Submitting AI-generated work as your own, relying on AI to do core thinking or creative labor, or using AI to plagiarize, misrepresent authorship, or produce inappropriate content is unethical and will result in disciplinary action, including possible failure of the assignment or course.
Your responsibility is to create work that is stronger, more thoughtful, and more original than what AI can produce from a simple prompt. If you cannot meet this standard, you should reconsider whether this is the field or career you want to pursue.
Use AI deliberately, transparently, and as a tool in service of your own ideas, not as a substitute for them.
| Pixel-based imagery(raster graphics): | photoshop, procreate (tablet) |
|---|---|
| Vector-based imagery (vector graphics): | Illustrator, Inkscape (free), Figma (very basic) |
| Typography, layout, multi-page documents: | InDesign |
| UI prototype: | Figma https://www.figma.com/education/higher-education/ Please use your OSU email to register an account. |
| Web coding: | Visual Studio Code, WebStorm, Dreamweaver, |
| Animation: | After Effects (motion graphics) Premiere (video editing), Cinema 4D, Figma (basic UI motion) |
| 3D: | Blender (free), Maya |
| Projection mapping: | MadMapper, TouchDesigner (real-time, interactive, advanced) |
| Data handling | Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets |
| Data visualization: | Illustrator (for the class), RawGraph (for the class), R, Python, D3.js would be nice to know if you want to go further. Tableau (popular in business context) |
| Collaborative whiteboad: | FigJam of Figma, Miro Get a free Miro education account Please use your OSU email to register an account. |
| Common things: | Ms Office, Acrobat, Google Drive, One Drive |
| Colors | Color Tools |
| Typography | Type Tools |
IT for Students | Office of Technology and Digital Innovation
The tools used in this course reflect current industry practice, not permanent standards. Design technologies change quickly. What you learn this year may look different next year, or be replaced by something new altogether.
For this reason, self-learning is not optional for a designer or probably any working professional these days. You are expected to independently learn, update, and troubleshoot tools as needed. Class time focuses on design thinking, principles, and critique, not step-by-step software instruction.
You are encouraged to use: