The Design Division at California College of the Arts is a sanctuary for creative risk-taking, where wonder and imagination are amplified through rigor and craft.

We equip makers, thinkers and doers with the wherewithal to envision alternative futures, and the creative capacity to deliver inspired, generative solutions. CCA advances contemporary practice and the self-realization of the designer as a dynamic agent of cultural, social and ecological change, while providing strategic access to specialized resources and deep professional networks. We do so through formal preparation in the art of design, in systems thinking, problematization, storytelling, experimentation and business strategy, all nurtured by the boundlessness, technological leadership and non-conformity particularly characteristic of Bay Area culture.

Events and Exhibitions

• Design Lecture Series on Youtube
• Spring 2024 End-of-Year Thesis Show and Reception
• Design Lecture Series Archive
• Work by Graduating Design Students
• Current Events
• Archived Events

News and Media

• Design Division Instagram
• CCA Newsroom - Women of IxD
• ICFF- 2024 Design Winners
• KQED The Arts - 2024 End-of-Year Fashion Show
• Dezeen - Design Studios to Watch in San Francisco
• ABC7 News - Bay Area Students Engineer Eggshells Into Sustainable Building Material

Undergraduate Programs

• BFA in Fashion Design
• BFA in Furniture
  • NEW! BFA in Furniture with a minor in Industrial Design
• BFA in Graphic Design
• BFA in Illustration
  • NEW! BFA in Illustration with a minor in Comics
  • NEW! BFA in Illustration with a minor in Visual Development
• BFA in Industrial Design
  • NEW! BFA in Industrial Design with a minor in Furniture
• BFA in Interaction Design

Undergraduate Minors

Learn more about CCA's five undergraduate minors: Ecological Practices, Computational Practices, Social Practice, and Community Engagement, History of Art and Visual Culture, and Writing and Literature.

Graduate Programs

• MFA in Design
• MBA in Design Strategy (DMBA)
• MDes in Interaction Design
• MBA in Design Strategy + MFA in Design dual degree

Header Image Credit:

Artwork: "Skool" by Michael Kang (BFA Illustration)
Typeface Design: "Condensed Milk" by Donnah Perez (BFA Graphic Design)