Why Los Angeles Is the Perfect Playground for Artists and Designers
Otis College’s Los Angeles location is ideally suited for creative careers.
Los Angeles is one of the world’s most vibrant creative capitals—a dynamic city where artistry and opportunity meet. Here, more than 760,000 creative workers fuel an economy that pays nearly twice the average salary of other sectors. From powerhouse industries in animation and entertainment to a world-class art scene and unmatched cultural diversity, L.A. is more than a career launchpad. It’s a living canvas that shapes, challenges, and inspires artists and designers in fields ranging from fashion and gaming to fine arts and product design.
Creative Industries Are the City’s Backbone
Los Angeles is a global hub for creative industries that stretch far beyond Hollywood’s influence, including entertainment and animation, gaming, toys, and fashion. The city’s legacy in animation and storytelling is legendary. Studios like Disney, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures Animation, and DreamWorks produce global hits from Avatar: The Way of Water to The Simpsons, creating pipelines of opportunity for animators and illustrators. Beyond feature films, careers in computer-generated animation, storyboarding, and motion graphics abound in television, gaming, and advertising, with top salaries of $150,000–$200,000.
SoCal also is home to global leaders in gaming, including Activision (Call of Duty), Riot Games (League of Legends), and Electronic Arts (Madden NFL), to name a few—all of whom demand top-tier talent in game design, 3D modeling, programming, and storytelling. These projects fuse cutting-edge technology with artistic vision, making L.A. a magnet for interactive artists. The toy industry is a creative complement to gaming and has caused nearby El Segundo to be rechristened “Toy Town,” where Mattel, MGA Entertainment, and Jakks Pacific employ 36% of the nation’s toy designers. From concept to global distribution, careers in toy and product design flourish here.
Los Angeles’s prominence in fashion also is undeniable. Its thriving local scene, where brands and designers like Reformation, Guess, Mike Amiri, and Good American are based, has been joined by such global brands as Versace and Chanel, who’ve staged oversized fashion events here in recent years. Buoyed by consistently perfect weather, a laid-back aesthetic, and fearless creativity, the city is especially appealing for clothing designers.
Home to a World-Class Art and Design Scene
Beyond commercial industries, L.A.’s art and design landscape rivals any global city. World-class museums—The Broad, The Getty, The Hammer Museum of UCLA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, among many others—are homes to priceless collections of ancient to contemporary work. What’s more, institutions like the Hammer and Getty champion emerging and established local artists with such events as Made in L.A. and PSTArts.
The gallery scene is equally dynamic, from internationally renowned spaces like Hauser & Wirth—which showcases influential contemporary artists—to experimental venues like Human Resources that nurture avant-garde practices. Major events like Frieze Los Angeles and the L.A. Art Show transform the city into a global stage and open doors for local artists.
Performing arts venues like the Walt Disney Concert Hall and Hollywood Bowl foster cross-disciplinary collaboration. Meanwhile, public art—from the historic Watts Towers to murals across neighborhoods like Boyle Heights and Echo Park—infuses daily life with creativity.
The city is also home to a vibrant design community, including the arts district downtown, as well as lesser-known spots in Hawthorne and Inglewood, just a stone’s throw from Otis’s Westchester campus. Every weekend abounds in gallery openings and artist studios like the Brewery Art Walk, L.A. Design Festival, and the Inglewood Open Studios. At WestEdge Design Fair, guests browse premium home furnishings and meet the makers. The Pasadena Showcase House of Design turns historic homes into walk-through masterpieces. The Downtown Art Walk draws thousands to gallery openings every month. And L.A. Fashion Week spotlights emerging designers at venues from Union Station to the Convention Center. All of these and similar events celebrate a range of talent and spark unexpected collaborations.
Diversity and Cultural Richness: A Creative Catalyst
It’s no secret that Los Angeles is one of the world’s most diverse cities, celebrated in the over 200 languages you might hear spoken at any time, the culinary enclaves, and the multiculturalism that fuels creative expression and exchange.
Neighborhoods like Chinatown, Little Armenia, San Pedro, and West Adams each add distinct colors to the city’s tapestry. These immigrant-rich neighborhoods have long fueled innovation.
L.A.’s food scene offers a literal taste of the world. In Koreatown, Park's BBQ and Surawon Tofu House, known for its spicy soondubu, are just a short stroll apart. Little Tokyo boasts Kouraku, the first ramen shop in the U.S., and century-old mochi shop Fugetsu-Do. Thai Town brims with markets and hidden noodle shops, while Little Ethiopia offers authentic injera and fragrant stews. These are more than meals—they’re living stories of community and culture.
And culture is on every corner of the city. The first weekend in November brings massive Dia de Muertos celebrations from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery to Gloria Molina Grand Park to Olvera Street downtown. Neighborhood festivals like Chelita: Art, Music, and Miches Festival create intimate spaces for cross-pollination, where a fashion designer might meet a muralist, or a toy maker finds inspiration from Aztec dancers. The soon-to-open Destination Crenshaw will bring over one mile of art and culture celebrating Black L.A. What’s more, the work of local artisans can be seen in Metro stations throughout the city and even at sports venues like the Intuit Dome and Sofi Stadium.
A Creative Capital Built for the Future
For Otis College students and alumni, L.A. isn’t just a backdrop—it’s a collaborator and catalyst. Whether pursuing a future in entertainment, fashion, gaming, fine arts, or forging new paths, the city offers the resources, networks, and cultural spark to transform artistic ambitions into professional success. Here, creativity is woven into the city’s very fabric, making L.A. the ideal home base for the next generation of artists and designers.
L.A. and Otis College are waiting for you to create the future. Learn more about our BFA and MFA programs or visit our Admissions page for upcoming deadlines.
