The goal of our design program is to provide perceptual, conceptual, and technical skills needed for a lifetime of professional practice in graphic design. In your courses you'll build skills of visual research, idea generation, analysis, problem solving, and innovation. You’ll learn and practice basic design principles and essential visual skills, using typography, photography, drawing, illustration, 3-dimensional, and fine arts skills. You’ll explore both traditional tools and the latest technologies to produce a wide range of projects, including print, web, motion, environmental, and interaction design.
You’ll enjoy being a member of the design department’s student community from your first day in school through to graduation. In your first semester, our Language of Design course immerses you in a design studio environment, and introduces you to habits of thinking and making that result in thoughtfully conceived design projects. You’ll apply these to increasingly complex situations as you progress through our curriculum, and have the opportunity to develop ideas and projects that reflect your own special interests.
In addition to our design curriculum, you will benefit from a university general education program and from an array of mind-expanding elective courses in other AIB and Lesley University disciplines. Many students choose a minor in another discipline, such as Art History, Psychology, or Business Management. Also, a number of students complete double majors in specifically designed programs including Design and Illustration, Design and Fine Art, and Design and Photography. Our required internship program allows you to experience first-hand the challenges and rewards of the actual working day, while our semester abroad exchange programs enhance your education with a new world view, providing enriching experiences and global connections.
Design faculty at Lesley University’s Art Institute of Boston bring decades of high-caliber experience and skills, and a diverse range of approaches to their design practice. We believe your own work as a designer is informed by interdisciplinary studies and by participating in the wide range of creative and intellectual activities that AIB, Lesley University, Boston, and the world have to offer. There is an incredibly rich professional design community in the Boston/Cambridge area and we connect you directly to that through faculty who are active design practitioners, professional development courses, guest lectures and critiques, studio visits, and activities with professional design organizations. As a Design major at The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University you’ll experience the impact of design in contemporary society, and discover your own power as a designer to make the world a better place.
Featured Courses
Visual Communication
Focus on the conceptual and practical problems of visual communication. Learn to consider the context of the communication and create (or vary) messages for different audiences, formats, or media.
Graphic Design London
This alternative to Spring Break travel course in London will examine the role of graphic design to Britain's history, culture, education system and studio practice. Students will explore British design through its modern typography, books, information design, print design and digital media.
Faculty Spotlight
Matthew White
Assistant Professor of Web Design
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Kristina Lamour-Sansone
Associate Professor of Design
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