When I was 15 I came across the bright orange catalog for the Art Center College of Design in California. It was at my town library in Lexington, Massachusetts.
And I was astonished.
Car Design, Animation, Industrial Design, Painting, Film, Graphic Design…the FUTURE! And it was breathtaking. All of it. And it was an entire universe away from my colonial town founded in 1647.
I eventually went to Parsons here in New York City (and then MassArt), but Art Center always felt like a dream unrealized.
Then, earlier this year Art Center announced a remarkable new Graduate Program in design. And I’m beyond honored to join the new program’s great board.
This new MFA is geared for early- to mid-career pros who aspire to lead the next global generation to shape design, culture and society at large - and extend the boundaries in all directions.
Expanding upon the College’s undergraduate Graphic Design curriculum, the two-year MFA program immerses students in strategic thought, making and design leadership. Aligned with a socially responsible transmedia platform, courses explore typography, print, interaction, motion and packaging. The graduate curriculum also explores emerging practices of activating architecture through dynamic media. The program emphasizes entrepreneurship, leadership and management.
“Not only do we want to provide our students with the creative skills they need to tackle complex design challenges, but also the leadership skills needed to shape professional creative environments,” is what the kickass director of the new program Sean Adams said. Sean himself is a recipient of the AIGA Medal - our profession’s highest honor.
The first class is now up and running.
Bravo, Sean, to you, your killer faculty and my fellow board members. And let’s find someone from an old Massachusetts town to go.