A study explored what the nature of the curriculum and program design for a graduate program in design management should be and whether a demand for such a program exists in West Michigan. Four groups of individuals related to design management as a profession were surveyed: alumni, practicing professionals, employers, and current senior-level visual communication students (approximately 212 total). The first three groups were surveyed by mail; students received questionnaires at the end of a class session. Findings indicated the following: more than 50 percent of students, alumni, and practicing professionals would possibly be interested in a design management graduate program at Ferris State University; current students had a definite interest in the program; courses believed most important to the curriculum were communications, design, Macintosh computer, and management; very important courses were marketing, public relations, and writing; the preferred delivery methods for the course work were evening courses throughout the year, and weekends were also rated highly; current students preferred online delivery of course content; and about half of alumni and a third of practicing professionals were interested in studying through the internet. A majority of employers indicated they would hire a graduate of a design management program; 50 percent would pay between $30,000 and $45,000 for a design manager. Appendixes include curricula from other institutions and survey instruments. (Contains 26 references.) (YLB)