Art Center College of Design

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Art Center College of Design
Established:	1930
Type:	Private
President:	Frank L. Ellsworth (interim)
Undergraduates:	1,482
Location:	Pasadena, CA, United States
Campus:	Suburban
Website:	www.artcenter.edu

Art Center College of Design (aka "Art Center") is a private college located in Pasadena, California, and was cited by BusinessWeek as one of the 60 best design schools in the world.^[1] The College logo is an orange circle, also known as the Art Center "Dot", which has been a part of the College identity since its inception by Tink Adams^[2]. Art Center offers undergraduate and graduate programs in a variety of art and design fields, as well as public programs for children and continuing studies serving the Los Angeles community. Art Center is particularly known for its Transportation (Automobile) Design and Product Design programs. It also has notable photography, graphic design, advertising design, illustration, fine art, film, environmental design and entertainment design programs. Art Center offers graduate degrees in Fine Art, Media Design, Broadcast Cinema and Industrial Design. The College maintains two campuses in Pasadena; both are considered architecturally notable.

Art Center built its reputation as a vocational school, essentially, preparing returning GIs for work in the commercial arts fields. It has traditionally maintained a strong "real world" focus, emphasizing craftsmanship, technique, and professionalism while somewhat de-emphasizing theory. Instructors are working professionals, for the most part, and projects are intended to map to real-life assignments with some being sponsored by industry or nonprofit organizations including Nike, Disney, NASA, and BMW. During the past decade, Art Center has developed programs and projects that focus on design's potential to generate positive social change and improve people's lives through the College-wide initiative, Designmatters. In recognition of Art Center's commitment to addressing social and humanitarian issues through design, in 2003 Art Center became the first design college to ever receive NGO (non-governmental organization) status by the United Nations.

Art Center offers programs year-round with three terms per year. While undergraduates can obtain a four-year Bachelor degree in about 2 years and 8 months (8 terms total), most students take a term off for independent study, part-time "lite" terms, or to complete industry internships, lengthening their stay to 3+ years. The accelerated learning environment stems from the college's trade school roots. Administrators and faculty want to develop "real world" work scenarios as much as possible, in which there are no summer vacations.

Art Center is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges[1] and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design[2].

Contents 1 History 2 Facilities 2.1 Hillside Campus 2.2 South Campus 3 Notable alumni 4 Notable Faculty 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

Art Center was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. During and after World War II, the Art Center ran a technical illustration program in conjunction with the California Institute of Technology. In 1947, the post-war boom in students caused the school to expand to a larger location in building of the former Cumnock School for Girls in the Hancock Park neighborhood, while still maintaining a presence at its original downtown location. The school began granting Bachelor's and Master's degrees in arts in 1949, and was fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in 1955. In 1965, the school changed its name to Art Center College of Design. The school expanded its programs, including a film program in 1973. The school moved to its trademark Hillside Campus in Pasadena in 1976. The school operated the Art Center Europe in Vevey, Switzerland for ten years starting in 1986. In 2003, the Art Center was granted Non-Governmental Organization status by the UN Department of Public Information. After mulling locations in Pasadena and downtown Los Angeles, Art Center opened the South Campus in Pasadena in 2004.

[edit] Facilities

Art Center College of Design maintains two campuses in Pasadena: Hillside Campus and South Campus.

[edit] Hillside Campus

Designed by noted modernist architect Craig Ellwood, the Hillside Campus broke ground in November 1974. The trademark "bridge building" dramatically spanned an arroyo and roadway on 175 acres (0.71 km²) wooded in the hills above Pasadena. Opening in 1976, the building was later expanded with the south wing, designed by former Ellwood associate James Tyler, which was constructed between 1989-91. The Hillside Campus houses classrooms and studio space, multiple computer labs, a model shop with traditional tools as well as rapid prototyping technologies (5 axis CNC, laser-cutting, FDM 3D printing, and plaster 3D printing) and painting facilities, a Color, Material, and Trends Exploration Lab (CMTEL), an (Auto) Interior Simulation Lab, photo and film stages and printing/editing facilities, as well as a student gallery and an external exhibit gallery, both open to the public. The Hillside Campus has been designated as a historic monument by the City of Pasadena.[3].

[edit] South Campus

The South Campus opened in 2004 in a former aircraft-testing facility built during World War II. Renovated by the Santa Monica-based firm Daly Genik Architects, it houses the graduate art program and studios, a print shop, a letterpress studio, and a full range of public programs (Art Center at Night, Art Center for Kids, Design-Based Learning Lab), as well as a unique 16,000-square-foot (1,500 m²) exhibition space known as the Wind Tunnel. The award-winning building received the first LEED rating in the city of Pasadena and its sustainable features include a "green" roof and sculptural skylights made of Texlon ETFE. The Wind Tunnel has hosted major events including the biannual Art Center Design Conference, like 2008's "Serious Play"; an annual Summit on Sustainable Mobility; large exhibitions such as "Supersonic: 1 Wind Tunnel, 8 Schools, 120 Artists", "Gardenlab", and "Open House: Architecture and Technology for Intelligent Living" (with Vitra Design Museum); and various community meetings and events.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Notable Faculty

[edit] See also

• List of colleges and universities in California

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Art Center College of Design
• Art Center College of Design Graduate Studies in Art MFA program site

v • d • e Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design United States: Art Academy of Cincinnati • Art Center College of Design • The Art Institute of Boston • California College of the Arts • California Institute of the Arts • Cleveland Institute of Art • College for Creative Studies • Columbus College of Art and Design • Cooper Union • Corcoran College of Art and Design • Cornish College of the Arts • Kansas City Art Institute • Laguna College of Art and Design • Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts • Maine College of Art • Maryland Institute College of Art • Massachusetts College of Art and Design • Memphis College of Art • Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design • Minneapolis College of Art and Design • Montserrat College of Art • Moore College of Art and Design • Oregon College of Art & Craft • Otis College of Art and Design • Pacific Northwest College of Art • Parsons The New School for Design • Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts • Pennsylvania College of Art and Design • Pratt Institute • Rhode Island School of Design • Ringling College of Art and Design • San Francisco Art Institute • School of the Art Institute of Chicago • School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston • School of Visual Arts • University of the Arts (Philadelphia) International: Alberta College of Art and Design • Burren College of Art • Emily Carr University of Art and Design • Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University • Ontario College of Art & Design • Osaka University of Arts • Victorian College of the Arts

v • d • e Colleges and Universities in Los Angeles County Community colleges Antelope Valley College • Cerritos College • Citrus College • College of the Canyons • Compton City College • East Los Angeles College • El Camino College • Glendale Community College • Long Beach City College • Los Angeles City College • Los Angeles Harbor College • Los Angeles Mission College • Los Angeles Pierce College • Los Angeles Valley College • Los Angeles Southwest College • Los Angeles Trade-Technical College • Mt. San Antonio College • Pasadena City College • Rio Hondo College • Santa Monica College • West Los Angeles College Public universities California State University, Dominguez Hills • California State University, Long Beach • California State University, Los Angeles • California State University, Northridge • California State Polytechnic University, Pomona • University of California, Los Angeles Private universities AFI Conservatory • Alliant International University • American Jewish University • American Musical and Dramatic Academy • Antioch University Los Angeles • Art Center College of Design • Azusa Pacific University • Biola University • California Institute of the Arts • California Institute of Technology • Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science • Claremont Colleges • Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising • Fuller Theological Seminary • Life Pacific College • Loyola Marymount University • Occidental College • Otis College of Art and Design • The Master's College • Mount St. Mary's College • National University • Pacific Oaks College • Pepperdine University • Southern California Institute of Architecture • Southern California University of Health Sciences • Southwestern Law School • The King's College • University of La Verne • University of Southern California • University of the West • West Coast Baptist College • Whittier College • Woodbury University For-profit branches American InterContinental University • Art Institute of California • Brooks College • DeVry University • The Los Angeles Film School • ITT Technical Institute • Western State University College of Law

Coordinates: 34°10′09″N 118°11′07″W / 34.16922°N 118.18522°W / 34.16922; -118.18522