Brief History

The Department of General Art Studies (now Communication Design) was set up in line with KNUST’s mission and vision, among other things, to:

• Provide academic and professional training in graphic design and its related study areas; and also
• Equip students with problem-solving methodologies and capabilities integral to socio-economic development of Ghana as far as the communication design industry is concerned.

The main programme at that time was graphic design, which had photography, illustration and advertising. A few years back, the term graphic design was linked to posters, billboards and printing only. Currently, graphic designers often work across a variety of disciplines and media.

The scope of the profession in itself has been broadened, and is now used to describe a series of broad-based fields of activity, encompassing design for print, advertising, moving graphics for film and television, all manner of visual communication and design. Such a revolution implied training the right people with the right skills to perform in such a technological market. The profession now requires designers who can apply the right methodologies to solve current design problems that include motions graphics and interactive media.

In 2006 the department reorganized its programmes and changed the name from Graphic Design to Department of Communication Design (DECODE), KNUST. It has since been producing and supplying qualified manpower needs for the advertising, design (both print and web), multimedia (broadcasting, animation and filming) industries in the country and beyond (public and private). Such students have continued to champion the design-driven solutions of the industry in Ghana.