| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design | Milwaukee |
| 2 | University of Wisconsin – Madison | Madison |
Our 2020 ranking of the top graphic design school programs in Wisconsin. For an explanation of the ranking criteria, click here.
Founded in 1974, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) is Wisconsin’s only four-year, private college of visual art and design. The school, which serves nearly 900 degree-seeking students, 600 pre-college students, and 250 outreach/special programs students, is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD)—a consortium of 39 leading art schools in the United States and Canada. The school offers five degree programs and more than a dozen minors. This includes a BFA in Communication Design.
The program prepares students to work in marketing communication firms and major corporations. Communication Design coursework “will begin with the study of two-dimensional design and end in the creation of a professional portfolio,” says the school. Students will study Digital Design, Art and Photography Direction, Typography, Advertising, Package Design, and Design for Electronic and Interactive Media.
Throughout the program, students will have opportunities to take on internships at advertising and design firms in Milwaukee and across the U.S, as well as build a portfolio with real-world experience through MIAD’s Visual Resources Studio. “Self-promotion, presentation and collaboration will all be introduced and refined throughout the program.”
Graduates have gone on to land positions such as Advertising Designer, Art Director, Graphic Designer, Package Designer, Storyboard Illustrator, and Web Designers. In addition, many graduates of the program head their own successful design firms and advertising agencies.
Founded in 1848, University of Wisconsin – Madison (UW Madison) serves approximately 45,317 students enrolled in over 200 undergraduate majors and certificates and more than 250 masters, doctoral, and professional programs through 13 colleges and schools. The School of Education houses the Art Department, which offers a BFA in Graphic Design. This unique program has an optional focus in Book Structures and Artists’ Books.
The BFA program “emphasizes the process of visual communication of ideas and information,” says the school “with attention to aesthetic considerations, working process, presentation, craftsmanship, and methods through illustrations, photographs, pattern, line, shape, texture, and type to solve problems and reach audiences.”
Practical study in the area involves the “design and production of books, broadsides, brochures, and posters; the development and application of logotypes and design formats; and utilizing the facilities of letterpress, computer technologies, and graphic reproduction techniques.” Course highlights include Cultural Context of Graphic Design and Typography, Graphic Design for Branding and Identity Graphic Design for Packaging, Posters, Publications and Interactive Media, Information Graphics, Motion Typography, and Typeface Design.
Students will also complete Design Portfolio and Professional Practice as well as Senior Graphic Design Thesis and Exhibition.
