Graphic Design

Make a powerful impression on people and the world.

Want to create designs that influence people and make a difference in the world? With a bachelor’s in Graphic Design from Columbus College of Art & Design, you can do just that. Here, you’ll develop technical skills, learn to consider design from a user’s perspective, and build your professional network as you learn in and outside of the classroom.

At CCAD, you’ll take on real-world assignments with real-world clients like Airstream and Red, White & BOOM!, and you’ll take part in events such as the American Advertising Federation-sponsored event “The Pitch,” which focuses on social change projects. Plus, you can join the AdGraph Collective, a group for students who love design (and pizza), and local professional organizations, such as the Columbus Society of Communicating Arts.

Our Graphic Design students win top awards in regional and national advertising and graphic design competitions, and our graduates make work that makes change around the world. Not to mention, our hometown, Columbus, is a growing design hub whose agencies actively recruit CCAD alumni.

Recent employers

American Greetings
Apple
Bath & Body Works
BrandWell Solutions
Civitas Experiential
E. & J. Gallo Winery
Huntington Bank
IBM iX
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
JPMorgan Chase
Lane Bryant
Nationwide Insurance
Origo Branding
Orlando Museum of Art
Procter & Gamble
Wondersauce

Graphic Design Student work

Critical Resistance Informational Collateral

Braylon Thompson

Gumroad App

Seeun Do

Right Place, Wrong Person Event Campaign Design

Summer Hamed

Aussie Sauce

Graison Ray

Ovulove

Eryn Coughlan

Martin Scorsese for GQ Magazine

Corinne Henslee

Atwood Editorial Design

Benji Decker

dubblefilm

Jack Hanigan & Violet Larimer

Tourism, Campaign, & Logo Brand Guide

Mance Ranne

Japanese Breakfast Album Redesign and Collateral

Will Todd

Spaces to Make

Our campus has the tools and the spaces to help you make your vision real.

photography-studio-media-gallery-240909 — Create work in our video and photography studio outfitted with Canon DSLR cameras and professional lighting equipment.

computer-lab-media-gallery-250408 — Computer workstations with dual monitors and industry-standard software—plus, image scanners and Wi-Fi enabled black-and-white printers—provide you with the tech you need to create designs with impact.

ccad-fablab-media-gallery-240909 — You can make use of the Tad Jeffrey FabLab, the CCAD Print Lab, and our open-access computer labs to take your work from a concept to a professional-level.

Faculty

Meet the people who will help you along your creative and professional journey.

Eunice Delaquis

Assistant Professor

Toia Rivera

Visiting Fulltime Faculty

Adjunct Faculty

Course Spotlight

DESIGN CONCEPTS

Learn design principles and how to promote products and services through a user experience perspective. For your final project, you’ll create a portfolio that displays your advertising and graphic design work as well as your marketing strategies.

Graphic Design First Year Experience

Academic Year

Fall 2023 - Spring 2024

Freshman Year - Fall

Course Title
2D Creative Practices
Systems of Drawing
Collaboration
Art History
Writing & the Arts

Freshman Year - Spring

Course Title
Intro to Graphic Design
What Can a Drawing Do
3D Making with Care
History of Design & Applied Arts
Math Quantitative Literacy

Graphic Design careers

After earning their BFA in Graphic Design, our graduates leave ready to take on such roles as:

Art director
Brand manager
Creative director
Digital designer
Graphic designer
Environmental graphic designer

Graphic Design News

Student Success

CCAD student scores with Cleveland Cavs graphic design internship

Lucas Velazquez’s (Graphic Design, 2025) summer internship with the Cleveland Cavaliers shows you can land a job with the NBA without perfecting your jump shot.

Alumni Stories

Graphic Design grads lend their talents to Bath & Body Works product lines

Headquartered in Columbus, like many of the world’s biggest retail brands, Bath & Body Works has hired a number of talented, skilled CCAD students and alumni over the years—creative thinkers who have found professional success and fulfillment in their work.