AP 2-D Art & Design
Two-dimensional design — graphic design, digital, photo, printmaking, illustration.
What this AP portfolio requires
Your score (1–5) comes entirely from the portfolio — there is no written exam. It is submitted digitally through the AP Digital Portfolio.
Sustained Investigation
15 images — works, process, experimentation and revision
- Driven by your own inquiry question
- Must show practice, experimentation and revision
- Two written responses, 600 characters each
Selected Works
5 works shown in 5 images
- Skillful synthesis of materials, processes and ideas
- Written commentary for each work
- May come from your Sustained Investigation — or not
Elements & principles of 2-D design
Elements and principles of 2-D design: point, line, shape, plane, layer, form, space, texture, value, colour, opacity, transparency; balance, contrast, rhythm, repetition, proportion, scale, figure/ground, unity and variety.
One year recommended
Sustained Investigation needs real time to develop — we plan the full school year around the submission deadline.
Optional credited path
You can take this as a credited high-school course with us at NPC rather than after-school coaching. Just tell us when you enquire.
Target: a 4 or 5
We teach against the College Board rubric and mock-score your portfolio before you submit.
How to score a 4 or 5 in AP 2-D Art and Design
AP 2-D Art and Design is scored entirely on a digital portfolio, not a sit-down exam. Readers look for clear design thinking, real investigation and skilled use of 2-D design principles.
- 01
Choose your inquiry question early
Your Sustained Investigation is built around one question you explore through making. Pick it by early fall so you have months to develop it. Open questions that lead somewhere new work better than a fixed theme.
- 02
Let practice, experimentation and revision show
Readers want to see how your thinking moved, not just finished pieces. Include tests, failed attempts and reworked versions. Each image should push the inquiry a step further.
- 03
Make design principles visible
2-D is about design decisions: composition, contrast, emphasis, rhythm, figure-ground, colour and type. Photography, graphic design, illustration and mixed media all fit. Show you chose each element on purpose.
- 04
Write short, specific written responses
The written evidence should name your inquiry and explain how your making developed it. Be concrete about materials, processes and ideas. Check the current College Board course description for prompts and limits.
- 05
Pick Selected Works that stand alone
Selected Works show your strongest synthesis of materials, processes and ideas. They can come from your investigation or elsewhere. Choose pieces a stranger would understand without you in the room.
- 06
Document as you go
Photograph work in good, even light at every stage, and keep a dated folder. Crop cleanly and colour-correct. Weak photos hide strong work in a digital submission.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Treating the inquiry as a topic list instead of a question you test
- Uploading only polished final pieces with no visible process
- Copying or closely referencing others' images without making the work your own
Want to know where your portfolio stands?
Bring your current work to a free review — a mentor will tell you the most useful next step.
What you'll learn
A staged path — fundamentals first, then specialization, then the portfolio itself.
Foundations & skill building
AP readers score skill first — we build it before the portfolio starts.
- Elements and principles of 2-D design
- Composition, figure/ground and visual hierarchy
- Value, colour and surface control
- Drawing and observational skill as the base
- Experimenting across media and processes
- Building a working sketchbook
Sustained Investigation (60%)
15 images driven by your own inquiry question — the heart of the score.
- Finding an inquiry question worth a year of work
- Practice, experimentation and revision — and proving it
- Documenting process, not just finished pieces
- Writing the two required responses (600 characters each)
- Iterating work in response to critique
- Curating the strongest 15 images
Selected Works & submission (40%)
5 works, 5 images — pure skill and synthesis.
- Choosing 5 works that show true 2-D skill
- Writing commentary: materials, processes, ideas
- Photographing and editing images to AP standard
- Academic integrity and citing any source material
- Uploading to the AP Digital Portfolio
- Mock scoring against the AP rubric before you submit
Why students choose NPC
Portfolio prep is crowded. What is rare is a twenty-year record of actual offers, and mentors who have done the job.
20+ years and 3000+ graduates
Offers from Harvard, Cornell, RISD, Carnegie Mellon, Parsons, ArtCenter and USC — 590 offers and $19.6M in scholarships in the last six years alone, published school by school.
Mentors from the industry
Art directors and artists whose work spans Disney and Nickelodeon films, LEGO films, Tencent and AAA games — people who know what a portfolio has to survive.
Fundamentals first, always
Admissions committees reject weak drawing before they ever reach your concept. We build observation, perspective, value and colour before specializing.
Built to each school’s requirements
CSM, Parsons, RISD and Sheridan all ask for different things. We build to the schools you are actually applying to — not a generic portfolio.
Start with a portfolio assessment
Portfolio and AP tracks are by enquiry only. We look at your goals and current work first, then plan the course and hours around you.
Common questions
How is AP 2-D Art and Design scored?
There is no written exam. Your Sustained Investigation and Selected Works are scored by trained readers against a published rubric. Read the current College Board course description and scoring guidelines so you know exactly what each row rewards.
Does AP 2-D Art help university applications?
Yes, often. A strong AP portfolio is real portfolio work, and many art and design schools welcome pieces from it. For comprehensive universities, it can support an optional arts supplement and shows sustained creative work.