BFA in Graphic Design

Otis College’s BFA in Graphic Design program develops sophisticated image makers, typographers, and storytellers who balance real-world problem-solving with fearless experimentation.

Students in the Graphic Design BFA program learn to communicate by combining image and type to create meaning. Students generate new ideas, find solutions, and explore the formats, techniques and visual language best suited to each concept. Critiques, reviews, and workshops empower students to achieve the highest level of design excellence.

Graduates of Otis College are equipped to pursue careers across a wide range of design fields, including branding, interactive design, information and environmental graphics, entertainment, packaging, advertising, and emerging technologies. As a STEM-designated program, it also allows international students to apply for a 24-month OPT extension, providing the opportunity to work in the U.S. for up to three years after graduation.

Graphic Design at Otis

In the Otis College BFA in Graphic Design program, we focus on core knowledge and skills that prepare you to meet the professional standards of today and adapt to emerging trends in the field. In addition to design, the program elevates your communication and presentation skills to help you succeed in any context. Hands-on learning in and outside the classroom enhances the experience, with opportunities to work with clients on real-world design challenges and engage with a diverse array of professional artists and designers.

What You’ll Learn

The BFA in Graphic Design program combines  art history and capstone learning with studio assignments. We provide core knowledge and skills in individual areas of interest, and allow you to apply them to 2D, 3D, and 4D fields. You’ll create projects in a wide variety of  contexts,  from social media, digital applications, and extended reality  to product development, environmental graphics, print-based work, and more.

• Year One: Core Skills and Fundamentals
• Year Two: Immersion and Experimentation
• Year Three: Professional Preparation
• Year Four: Innovation and Individual Focus
  
  

Program Curriculum

Otis Design Lab

An innovative collaboration between students, staff, faculty, and external clients, Design Lab functions like a commercial art and design agency within Otis College. Projects are overseen and directed by the Creative Director and executed by a team of students from different fields of study. 

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Career Possibilities

Studying in Los Angeles has major advantages. Our graduates work in a variety of graphic design roles and media. Recent graduates have gone on to work for influential companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, Anthropologie, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), , GUESS, Metro, and Capitol Records, among others:

Careers and Internships

Graphic Design Faculty

Otis College faculty are respected professionals and working artists in the graphic design world. They bring distinct perspectives and valuable experience to the classroom.

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