Graphic Design
Type, brand and visual systems.
What this major can become
Real roles our students grow into, the industries that hire them — and why this path is a good bet.
Jobs you can do
- Graphic Designer
- Brand / Identity Designer
- Art Director
- Packaging Designer
- Type Designer
Industries that hire
Branding agencies, in-house design teams, publishing, advertising, social media
Why it’s a good bet
- Every company on earth needs visual communication
- Fast path to freelancing and your own studio
- Foundation for art direction, UX and motion careers
Recommended schools
Programs our Graphic Design students most often apply to — and get into.
What you'll learn
A staged path — fundamentals first, then specialization, then the portfolio itself.
Foundation training
Design schools still want to see you can draw and see.
- Observational drawing and mark-making
- Composition, hierarchy and the grid
- Typography fundamentals and letterform drawing
- Colour theory in practice
- Value, contrast and figure/ground
- Image-making across media
- Sketchbook and visual research habit
Graphic design specialization
Systems, not one-off posters.
- Logo design and brand identity systems
- Editorial and layout design
- Poster and campaign design
- Packaging and print production
- Type as image and expressive typography
- A full identity or editorial project
Portfolio & application
Range wins: drawing, making, and designing.
- Curating breadth: fine art, drawing and design together
- Showing process and iteration, not just finals
- School-specific requirements (RISD, OCAD, SAIC differ)
- Artist statement and written supplements
- Portfolio layout, photography and PDF export
- Mock interviews and portfolio reviews
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.
Graphic Design — made by our students
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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.