Graphic Design

Make Things, and Make Things Happen

Cultivate your creative passion, your desire to move people and your interest in building a better world with a degree in graphic design.

Visually communicate ideas that inspire, inform and captivate by learning how to conceptualize, research, iterate, refine, critique, collaborate and ask questions. Choose our extensive BFA program if you intend to pursue a career as a graphic designer, or select our comprehensive BA program for design knowledge with the flexibility to explore professions outside the field (with the option of a double major).

Design a Successful Future

The graphic design curriculum at Colby-Sawyer mixes the creative process, practice and theory with professional preparation. Opportunities to learn alongside talented faculty and practicing designers in small classes, a required internship, and exhibition experience in our campus gallery enhance your learning while you develop a dynamic resume and refined portfolio.

Visits to design studios, production sites, and museums get you up close to the design process. Collaborations with campus and community partners as project clients provide you with hands-on, real-world design experience in guided and supportive scenarios – equipping you with an understanding of the interpersonal aspects of the design process too.

Your Capstone portfolio, a culmination of your design work at Colby-Sawyer, serves as your professional portfolio when you graduate – visually demonstrating your readiness for entry-level design jobs and/or graduate school.

Graphic Design Minor

For students pursuing other majors, the minor in graphic design affords the development of creative problem-solving skills and basic visual communication skills, as well as a rich understanding of design concepts, principles and practices relevant to diverse professional fields.

A minor in graphic design can be combined with any program of study. For complete information about minor requirements and course offerings, please refer to the college catalog.

A Modern Home for the Arts

With its spacious and modern design, the Davidow Center for Art + Design enriches the cultural and artistic experiences of students, alumni, faculty, staff and the larger community. The 15,000 square-foot space, which opened in fall 2017, offers studios, a state-of-the-art black box theater, a fine art gallery with views of Mount Kearsarge, a sculpture garden, and faculty offices – all topped with a solar array.

Express Yourself Outside the Classroom

Connect with others interested in creative expression by joining a student-led club or organization focused on the visual and performing arts. Make your stage debut with the Colby-Sawyer Players, or jam out with Vocally Charged a Capella group.