New York City is a bustling hub of art, culture, and innovation, making it the ideal place to learn arts like graphic design. With a plethora of esteemed institutions, pervading artistic culture, and endless people in need of creative services, NYC offers unparalleled opportunities for aspiring graphic designers. Whether you're a beginner wanting to dip your toes in the field or an established artist looking to upskill, you can find opportunity down every avenue in NYC!
In this article, we’ll explore what you need to know about studying and finding work as a creative in New York City. Find out more about places to study (and how to make it through the admissions process) and where to look for internships and jobs in graphic design in NYC.
How to Get Into Graphic Design: Preparing for College & Careers
Certain colleges will require an art portfolio in addition to decent grades, extracurricular activities, and acceptable SAT or ACT scores. If you have resources in your high school like supportive teachers, computers with relevant design software, and access to a decent printer, you will have an easier time putting your portfolio together.
However, not every school has resources like these. What can you do in this instance? Here are some ways to develop and assemble your student portfolio for college admissions.
Step One: Be Interested in Graphic Design
Explore your interests before you commit to attending an art program in college. Start by finding things that inspire you, like paintings, package designs, advertisements, websites, graphic prints, digital art, prints, etc. Then, really imagine being the person who makes things like that. Does it make you excited?
Explore the question: what is graphic design? Research all the different avenues of graphic design (there are more than you think!) and see if any of the jobs and responsibilities resonate with you.
If you feel excited to learn and also driven to practice and hone your skills while accepting critiques and knowing you’ll make mistakes along the way, you will find that life in an artistic career can be fulfilling!
According to the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), graphic design is “the art and practice of planning and projecting ideas and experiences with visual and textual content."
It's an interdisciplinary art that combines fine arts with design with the intent to facilitate visual communications.
Step Two: Study Art in High School
Whether in school or in your own time, learn how to do graphic design. You can learn via online bootcamps, local classes for teens, or YouTube. Be sure to practice a lot to hone your skills.
Use all the tools available to you; even if you don’t have access to tools like Photoshop, InDesign, AfterEffects, Procreate, or other design software, do what you can with what you have. The portfolio reviewers will want to see that you already have a handle on artistic skills and a real passion; they won’t care as much whether you were privileged enough to have access to expensive software if you show that you deeply care for the arts.
Step Three: Get Guidance for Making Portfolio Pieces
The next most important thing is to know how to make a graphic design portfolio.
Once again, if you have the resources at school, this will be much easier. Either as part of tutoring graphics or as a mentorship, ask your art teacher(s) to help you create adequate portfolio pieces. They can give you advice on projects to take on to fill in gaps in your presentation.
Building a portfolio can be daunting and challenging, and that’s why it helps a lot to have a mentor. If you don’t have a teacher or equivalent person who can coach you, you can hire a graphic design private tutor on Superprof to help you build your portfolio. They can give you ideas for projects, help you achieve the goals you have for your art pieces, and help you assemble your portfolio for review by the admissions board.
Create more pieces than this and only select the ones that really help you shine.
Step Four: Assemble Your Portfolio
Unless you are going to be present in-person for your portfolio review, you will likely need to submit a digital portfolio. These days, most people put together a website like Behance, Squarespace, or Dribbble. However, some schools may require you to upload files to their application portal as well.
Assemble high-quality photos of your physical works and prints in a physical portfolio. Ensure that your pieces are mounted appropriately for presentation.
If you’re transporting physical media for a portfolio review, make sure you secure it all well so it doesn’t get damaged during transportation!
Make sure you include text, like artist statements with your works, to give context to them and show the portfolio reviewers that you know what you’re talking about and why you made certain design choices.
Step Five: Present!
If your evaluation has a presentation element, make sure you practice what you’ll say about each piece and work on building your confidence and conviction before you get to the meeting. Art is subjective, so your more conceptual pieces may not be in everyone’s taste, but you can still explain your creative decisions to show that you are competent in art and design.
It’s easier said than done, but if you’re applying to a college program with a portfolio requirement, you can put forward a great body of work if you simply prepare in advance and have a passion for graphic design!
Best Graphic Design Schools in New York City
Now, what are some of the schools you can consider when you want to study graphic design in NYC? Here are some of the top schools for design programs in the Big Apple.
School of Visual Arts
Earn a BFA in Design, Advertising, or Illustration at SVA. Students in the design track can take classes like principles of visual language, designing for interactive experiences, integrated advertising and communication, experimental book art, zines, augmented and virtual reality, designing for social change, graphic design x fashion, motion graphics, portfolio development, and more!
State University of New York - Fashion Institute of Technology
Learn graphic design and gain a BFA in Graphic design from this highly esteemed educational institution. Students learn concepts like design in cultural context, print and digital production, typeface design, motion graphics for designers, and must complete a senior thesis and internship. Students can also declare minors in supporting subjects like film and media studies, communication studies, digital typography, multi-sensory branding, and color studies.
The New School - Parsons School of Design
Students have several graphic design-related choices at Parsons, like a BFA in one of the following subjects: Communication Design, Design and Technology, Integrated Design, and Illustration. There are also dozens of minors to choose from, like art and design history, creative coding, data visualization, design studies, fine arts, printmaking, and visual studies.
Earn an Online Graphic Design Degree in New York City
New York City has a lot to offer aspiring creatives because of its extensive artistic culture. The abundance of cultural institutions like museums, clubs like the AIGA, opportunities to work with creative entrepreneurs, and more means that it’s a great place to explore regardless of where you earn your education.
Choose your favorite online program and live in NYC to earn your degree from your preferred institution (and maybe save a little money) while integrating yourself into the NYC art and business scene!
Here are some great choices for a graphic design online degree you can pursue while living in NYC.
Southeastern University - Jannetides College of Business, Communication & Leadership
Considered one of the best graphic design schools online, SEU offers a BS in Digital Media & Design that prepares students for a variety of creative careers. Students learn subjects like digital marketing and analytics, digital imaging, digital illustration, and magazine design and production.
Sessions College
Earn your BFA in graphic design degree online with Sessions and take courses like the study of graphic design, intro to marketing, logo design, UX/UI design, and classes on the vital components of the Adobe Suite, plus a capstone and portfolio review.
Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design (RMCAD)
The graphic design courses online provided by RMCAD allow students to earn a BFA in graphic design from home. Courses include vector illustration, raster image processing, 3D design: space and materiality, sign and symbol, a sophomore portfolio review, web design, experience design, and a senior capstone.
Where to Learn Graphic Design in NYC Without Enrolling in College
For those who want to make a career change or who already know enough about graphic design that going to college doesn’t make sense, you can always instead enroll in a program that helps fill in your gaps in knowledge without committing to a multi-year program. It’s usually more affordable and flexible, too!
Bootcamps, Workshops, and Classes
Self-paced and shorter-form classes are a great way to learn only what you need to know in a formal and professional setting.
The New York Institute of Art + Design (NYIAD)
When considering comprehensive online graphic design programs, make sure you take a look at this one! Students can learn everything they need to pass the Adobe Certified Expert exam.
Noble Desktop, NextGen Bootcamp & CourseHorse
These platforms are great places to find workshops and classes at a variety of locations around the city, including online.
Pratt Institute - Continuing and Professional Studies
Complete the graphic design certificate from Pratt either online or in-person and learn everything you need to know about Adobe Creative Cloud and how to use the tools.
Hunter College
Earn a certificate in graphic design, which covers various fundamentals like InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator, as well as a portfolio review.
NYIM Training
The Photoshop bootcamp provided by NYIM prepares students for beginner graphic design in just three days.
Design is a solution to a problem; art is a question to a problem.
John Maeda
Learning with a Tutor
Learning with a graphic design tutor isn’t limited to your high school days. You can learn all the technical skills, practical skills, and artistic skills you need with a tutor.
Easily find hundreds of graphic design teachers for online or in-person lessons on Superprof!
Learn with Self-Teaching
Luckily, art like graphic design is something you can feasibly learn on your own. Research videos on YouTube, look for free university courses and spend a lot of time practicing in order to improve your skills and increase your knowledge.
How to Get an Internship or Job in Graphic Design in NYC
Finding a place of employment is important for aspiring designers to gain experience in their craft as well as in the industry (and networking is an added bonus). Here are some ways you can get connections while searching for jobs in graphic design in NYC.
Make the Cost of College Count
Many teachers at art schools in NYC are involved with various organizations, like the Art Directors Club (ADC), the Type Directors Club (TDC), the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), and the Society of Publication Designers (SPD). Ask your professors for guidance on working with these organizations, or see if they know anyone in their network who needs an apprentice, intern, assistant, freelancer, or other type of help you can provide!
Join a Creative Community
Remember that New York City is the place where you can find a person or a group who values your specific brand of artistic vision and you can all run with it together. Think of Andy Warhol and The Factory; no matter how out-there or mild you are, you can find your people.
Attend art events, gallery shows, museum classes, and meetups to find people with whom you can make valuable connections for your art, career, and personal life.
Good Ol’ Fashioned Job Searching
Look for openings on platforms like LinkedIn, Dribbble, Glassdoor, and Indeed. While not very exciting and definitely overused, it’s possible to find openings for graphic design internships and jobs on these websites.
Learning graphic design in New York City is a great idea if only for the simple fact that the city is known to be teeming with creative opportunities at all times. If you’re looking to work as a creative, you can surely find your niche in the City That Never Sleeps!
Discover professional graphic design lessons online with Superprof!
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