Communication Design can move people, change minds, and deepen understanding in a complex world. Here, you’ll learn how.
Communication Design Studios
Media Gallery
The Flat Lab
360° view of Graphic Design Studio | California College of the Arts
Spaces for design
About BFA Communication Design
🛠️ Spaces for design
From printers and scanners to guillotine cutters and binding equipment, you’ll have the tools to test out your idea for a zine, see what your work looks like printed or even produce custom stickers and buttons. You can take your design work to the next level with 3D printers, sensors, LEDs, or laser cutters—all of which Janel Mitchell (BFA Graphic Design 2022) used for a large-scale installation about police violence and racial injustice.
FlatLab
Located on the second floor of our main building, the FlatLab houses several different types of professional-grade printers. It features two Risograph printers, a Xerox color phaser, and a 24-inch-wide Epson P7000 inkjet printer.
Communication Design Homeroom
This colorful working space is the place for collaborating and connecting with your peers, from before class to late into the night. You’ll find all the tools you need to make your design dreams come true, from printers and scanners to sticker and button makers, binding machines, an extra-large lightbox, a cutting station, free paper in all the colors of the rainbow, and tons of supplies, plus a cozy corner with books and zines to mine for inspiration.
🖥 About BFA Communication Design
Communication Design at CCA prepares you with a professional-level portfolio and a distinctive point of view. In a world shaped by constant communication, the ability to design messages that are clear, intentional, and impactful is a powerful asset. Alongside your cohort, you’ll be challenged to think critically about how your work shows up in the world. You’ll use as many physical tools on campus as possible, ending with a solid conceptual and technical portfolio.
📝 Fluid by design
In classes and workshops taught by working designers, you’ll gain experience with traditional and new techniques—from practicing to manually controlling color in tie-dye workshops to building environments in augmented (AR) and virtual reality. Communication Design also partners with other programs, like Printmedia and Fashion Design, so you can take courses like “Personal Publishing,” or help fashion design students create AR displays of their work.
