School of Graphic Design

We Make Art Work

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Design That Shapes the Future

Create work that’s bold, beautiful, and built for impact. At the STEM-designated School of Graphic Design, you’ll learn from industry pros, master the latest software and AI tools, and work across print, digital, packaging, UI/UX, and motion graphics. Our students win awards from Communication Arts, GDUSA, and Graphis—and graduate with portfolios that open doors at studios, agencies, and top brands.

Join us: On campus in San Francisco, online, or virtually via Zoom (select classes)

Companies that Employ Our Students

Students & Alumni

Always Creating. Always Moving Forward.

At the Academy, creativity doesn’t pause at graduation. It accelerates. From day one, students bring bold ideas and leave with portfolios that speak louder than résumés. And when they graduate, they launch into creative careers.

This is where passion meets purpose—on campus, in studios, and on global stages.

Our alumni are out there now winning awards, leading teams, and shaping culture.

See More Success Stories

Richard Jennings

“I absolutely love my experience at the Academy of Art. Anyone who ever asks me about it, I always say: if you really want to become a working designer, go to the Academy of Art. That’s where you’ll learn the fundamental skills that apply to every avenue of creativity and design.”

MFA Graphic Design Alumni, Senior Vice President at Warner Bros. Discovery

Johnny Seldman

“The industry insight and thesis development at the MFA program set me up for a successful career in graphic design. The faculty helped me develop my formal and conceptual skills , and also the practical skills like presenting to groups, critiquing work, and writing a design proposal.”

MFA Graphic Design Alumni, Founder and ECD of Selman Design

Zach Zacobsen

“The Academy has taught me that the difference between professional work and amateur work is night and day. It’s something you can’t learn until you have the right professors and mentors to guide you.”

BFA Graphic Design Graduate, MFA Graphic Design Student

Sadie Williams

“The Academy challenged me to really think about why I design, not just how. I got to experiment a ton, refine my process, and learn how to communicate ideas with clarity and purpose. It helped me build a design voice I’m proud of.”

BFA Graphic Design Alumna, Designer at Linktree, previous designer for Meta, Airbnb, and Eventbrite

Facility Highlights

Equipment Lab

Our equipment lab features state-of-the-art equipment like a jet-milling machine for cutting metal, a McEnglevan MIFCO forge machine, a plasma cutter, and 250-amp welders. The lab also features the only complete art and sculpture neon studio in California, and a mold-making studio for one-, two-, and three-piece plaster and rubber casts.

A woman in a burgundy top is working on abstract paintings in a brightly lit studio with colorful artwork and supplies around her.

Painting Studio

Our painting facilities include full-time anatomy studios and a full-time multimedia room. All classrooms and studios are equipped with easels, tabourets, model stands, spotlights, cleaning stations, and painting storage racks to accommodate any style of painting. The prop room is well-stocked with over 100 fabrics and over 2500 different props for your reference. We also have a dedicated room for framing and photographing art.

A woman presses clay onto a printing block in a studio with

Printmaking Studio

Our main printmaking facility includes six presses for intaglio, relief, and monotype printing. The intaglio and relief studio embraces both traditional and sustainable approaches, with support for both zinc and copper etching. The silkscreen studio concentrates on the photo emulsion process and includes a dedicated darkroom. The studio is equipped with ink, screens, a light table, and digital output capabilities.

A man works on a scary white sculpture of a seated woman with a bird on her head, using a blowtorch, in a studio with brick walls.

Sculpture Center

Our sculpture center houses a complete wax studio with gating and sprue stations, as well as a ceramics room with slurry tank, silica sand stations, front-loading computer programmed electric and gas kilns, a slab roller, extruder, and a pug mill.

Seven Skutt Electric Kilns
Mid-sized, top-loading, and digitally controlled, these Skutt kilns offer precise, repeatable firing for bisque, glaze, and mid-range ceramic work—ideal for student projects.

One Large Cress Side-Loading Kiln
Our largest electric kiln features a side-hinged door and spacious chamber, perfect for large-scale or high-volume firings, with digital precision and ergonomic loading.

Two Toki Test Kilns
Compact and fast, the Toki kilns are built for glaze tests and small projects—speeding up experimentation with quicker heat cycles and efficient results.

A person welding metal in a workshop while wearing a protective jacket and visor.

Welding Studio

Our welding studio features industry standard TIG, MIG, stick, and gas welders; power tools; a sand blaster; and patina stations.

Person wearing a mask uses a sander on a wooden circular piece in a woodworking shop.

Wood Shop

Fabricate objects and jigs on both natural and artificial wood in our wood shop. Work with band saws, drill presses, a jointer, a planer, miter saws, a panel saw, wood shapers, and table routers. Two wood lathes, two isolated sanding rooms with spindle and disc sanders, and one more lathe for working foam plastics give you the control to polish your designs. The wood shop also features four SawStop table saws as part of our ongoing commitment to safety.

Workers using torches to melt metal in a foundry with flames and protective gear.

Bronze Foundry

Located in South San Francisco, our bronze foundry is forged for full-process casting. Multiple crucibles, a hydraulic crane, burnout kiln, sandblaster, and a Laguna Raku kiln give students the tools to transform molten metal into masterpieces.

A woman wearing a paint-stained apron works with a machine in a workshop, adjusting its frame.

Framing Shop

Frame It Right.

The framing shop is open to all students and is equipped for paintings, works on paper, and more. Turn your work into professionally finished pieces suitable for display.

Supervised sessions available by appointment only.

Your work. Professionally finished.