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The CMDC HandbookYour Guide to The Program

Superpowers

What are Superpowers?

Superpowers are how the CDMC program refers to a student's area of specialty, where they have the most skills and want to focus their career. The CMDC program is awesome because there are so many specialties to choose from that your degree can be tailored to prepare for work you're really passionate about!

This page gives an overview of what Superpowers are offered by the CDMC program and gives a description of the Superpower along with a description of the jobs and tools that are used in that Superpower. Take a look through these options and see which appeals to you the most!

Web Development

Code on a computer

Mentor

Will Luers & John Barber

Job Examples

Front End Designer

Back End Designer

Full Stack Web Developer (front and back)

Search Engine Optimization Specialist (SEO)

Content Developer (video, images, writing, sound, etc.)

Web design and development is a field that focuses on creating webpages and web apps. It can include frontend, backend, and full stack work. Job titles can vary depending on the employer and job requirements; some examples include web developer, frontend developer, backend developer, JavaScript developer, web designer, software engineer, and content or web specialist. There are a large variety of tools and technologies used in this field.

Search Engine Optimization, abbreviated SEO, is about boosting the ranking and visibility of a website and its content. Typically SEO is part of creating websites, but it can also be considered part of social media strategies as it helps increase the presence of the website and whatever person or company it represents. Some of the technologies used include Google Search Engine, meta tags and schema in HTML5, and using specific keywords to attract users. If the website is based in WordPress, Yoast is a major plugin among several that help with SEO.

Example of tools

  • HTML5
  • CSS3
  • JavaScript
  • PHP
  • SQL

Text editors/IDEs

  • Sublime
  • VS Code
  • Brackets
  • BBEdit
  • Git and Github/Gitlab

Alumni: Jacob Eddings, Cullen Thomas, Betsy Hanrahan, Jessica Grubbs, Jessica Unruh, Sorya Baxter, Roxana Moreno-Flores

Audio/Video

Audio/video program on a computer

Mentor

Will Luers & Brenda Grell

Job Examples

Audio/Video Producer

Audio/Video Post-Producer

Audio/video production and post-production involves creating, editing, and finalizing audio and video media. Producers can generate their own content, but can also edit content that was previously filmed or recorded by different people. This can be things like environmental audio for games, soundtracks for movies, show or movie trailers, and promotional videos.

Example of tools

  • Adobe After Effects
  • Adobe Premiere Pro
  • Adobe Audition

Alumni: Joel Clapp, Ransom Reed

Multimedia Design

Tablet with design software icons on it

Mentor

Chris Dreger

Job Examples

Multimedia Designer

Content Developer

Multimedia design is a form of design that is primarily digital but can use techniques from traditional fine arts. It involves color theory, typography, form and function, as well as a knack for using design or art-based software. The designer’s work may include logos, illustrations for a website or digital book, or branding for a business or product.

Content development involves creating a variety of media and text items. This can range anywhere from blog posts, graphics, videos, and animation. The central idea is that something is being created. Companies may want a content creator to produce content for their social media, take photos, or create images for later use.

Example of tools

  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Illustrator
  • InDesign

Alumni: Miranda Embrey, Megan Tuthill, Katya Farinsky

Social Media

Phone with social media apps on it

Mentor

Michael Rabby

Job Examples

Social Media Marketer

Social Media Communication Specialist

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Specialist

​​Social media as a superpower is about promoting and boosting the online presence of the company, website, or product. It involves conducting research into the userbase of said product and determining how best to reach them. It can also include managing social media accounts, posting to a blog, or developing new content for social media platforms.

Example of tools

  • Later.com
  • Canva
  • Campaign Monitor
  • Hootsuite

Alumni: Tanner Schneider, Becca Roy, Kara Klaus

Animation

A Variety of Animation Software Program Logos

Mentor

Brenda Grell

Job Examples

2D/3D Animator

3D Modeler

Character Rigger

Character Design

Concept Artist

Animation is all about knowing how to create animations fluently. This mainly involves those who can design in either 2D and/or 3D. Job examples are animators, concept artist, game developer, graphic designer, illustrator, VFX artist, and web designer.

Example of tools

  • Adobe Premiere
  • Adobe After Effects
  • Adobe Animate
  • Maya
  • Blender

Alumni: Jaden Denfeld, Lily Tan, Nix Pendergast, Flynn Gonzalez, Rachel Kramer

Digital Publishing

Someone typing on a computer

Mentor

Will Luers

Job Examples

Multimedia Writer

Digital publishing is for those who are involved with writing in the hypermedia area along with understanding the different mediums of writing. Jobs usually revolve around where writing is needed from writing for online media (newspapers and magazines) to multiple varieties (video games, television and film). Some jobs would require one to understand how to use hypertext.

Example of tools

  • HTML5
  • Adobe Creative Suite

Alumni: Stratton Slater

UX/UI Design

Someone holding a phone in front of a computer

Mentor

John Barber

Job Examples

UX/UI Designer

Information Architect

UX Researcher

UX/UI design, or user experience/user interface design, is a field that emphasizes designing products, interfaces, websites, or tools that work intuitively with its userbase. They do research, conduct tests, and make recommendations based on their findings. They can also create the design of the product itself, using tools like Figma or Adobe XD. That said, some of their design work can also be done with simple paper and pens.

Example of tools

  • Adobe XD
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Figma
  • Sketch
  • Axure RP

Alumni: Michael Carson, Tair Tedorov, Lauren Varney

Game Studies

Two people holding video game controllers

Mentor

Will Luers

Job Examples

Game Designer

Game Developer

Game studies involves those who are into creating video games or studying video games. Those who want to create video games can either do the design or development of video games, or they can do both. Jobs mainly involve game companies for those who want to create games.

Example of tools

  • Java
  • C or C++
  • Unreal Engine
  • Unity
  • Maya
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe After Effects

Project Management

Someone creating a schedule

Mentor

Dene Grigar

Job Examples

Project Manager

Project Coordinator

Project management is for those who are leaders and are capable of managing a team to complete various projects. These people are capable of multitasking, communication, and understanding different tasks. They may communicate more with their team leads on the status of the project or changing direction, but ultimately oversee everything.

Alumni: Colin Smith