Summer Programs

Design Camp (Summer Honors Institute)
“Design: Think. Know. Do.” is an annual summer design program offered to high school students through Ohio Northern's Summer Honors Institute and the department of art and design. Since its inception in 2006, the design camp has exposed students to the exciting world of design.

The camp informs students about careers in design and raises awareness of the impact of art and design through a series of weeklong projects. Design camp projects challenge students to explore their creativity and critical thinking skills while pushing them to try a range of techniques. The exploration of the design process teaches students to question, make choices, generate possible solutions, work collaboratively and ultimately broaden their understanding of the world around them.

The design camp is coordinated with the University's Summer Honors Institute. The goal of the program is to nurture the ability of high school students (entering 10th and 11th grades) in gifted and talented programs from Ohio. Students are encouraged to think about subjects in more abstract and complex ways, and are opportunities for exploring education and career options.

The 2009 design camp will be held Sunday, July 5 through Friday, July 10. This academic camp will expose students to a variety of design disciplines, design methodology and creativity through the process of researching and redesigning a corporate identity program for a local commercial, governmental or non-profit organization. Workshops, projects and presentations also will help students to define design as an education and career path.

In 2008, Design: Think. Know. Do. was offered during the week of July 13–18. The design camp students worked with department faculty and undergraduate design students on a capstone project providing students with an opportunity to have a direct influence on the visual and physical presence of a section of the local village through initiating a strategy for urban renewal projects. Design camp students extended beyond discipline-specific boundaries to engage in a holistic design process that drew on students’ experiences and broadened their perspective. Students investigated main street commercial architecture as a reflection of community character and identity, historical and cultural trends, commercial enterprise, marketing and graphic design.

For more information about the "Design: Think. Know. Do." Camp at the University's Summer Honors Institute, click here.

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Portfolio Workshop for High School Students

The department of art & design, along with the undergraduate admissions office, offers an intense summer art workshop for current high school students and recent graduates. Designed for those who want to develop a strong college admissions portfolio, this workshop teaches students how to improve their studio art skills in drawing, painting and ceramics, develop a theme for a series, address issues related to studying art and design in college, and prepare for a career in visual arts.

For information about the Portfolio Workshop, please contact us at 419.772.2160 or art@onu.edu.