The Robinson Center for Graphic Arts and Communication Design at the CCNY Art Department

FEB.15 FALL DEADLINE OCT.10 NEW DEADLINE SPRING DEADLINE

About

EDM is

A professional program leading to the B.F.A. degree. The 75 credit major culminates in a semester-long Thesis Project. Application to the B.F.A. is by portfolio.

COURSES in

Graphic Design
Imaging
Illustration
Multimedia
3D Design
Web Design
Typography
Animation
Video
Interaction Design
Digital Photography

FAQ on

What is the difference between the B.A. in Studio Art and the B.F.A. Program in Electronic Design & Multimedia?

News

Two EDM Students Participate in Google's Summer of Code 2021

Anais Gonzalez ('21) and Niki Ito ('22) spent their summers working with Google and the Processing Foundation as part of the Google Summer of Code Program.

Anais Gonzalez created a series of examples using the p5.xr library that show people how to work with creative coding concepts inside of virtual space. Anais made examples for virtual reality on the web covering topics as diverse as typography, interactivity, and embodiment.
Read more about Anais' project here

Niki Ito created a web-based Artist Activist Toolkit that can act as a utility and possible guideline for other artists, activists, and coders on how to narrate and visualize stories to advocate for important issues using p5. As a step-by-step example for activism through storytelling and code, Niki Ito's project is an interactive code-based visual narrative to advocate for the Asian American Community.
Read more about Niki's project here.

New Special Topics course for Fall 2021!

ART 49512 (Course ID: 152135)
Visualizing Resistance: Experimental Illustration and Motion Graphics
Fridays, 2pm to 4:50pm, 3.0 credit hours
Instructor: Krisia Ayala and Art Jones
Special Topics class is in partnership with the CCNY Dominican Studies Institute

In this experimental illustration and motion class, students will design an animated and web-based narrative to retell the story of the first documented anti-slavery rebellion which took place in 1521 at a Dominican Republic sugar plantation. Working from a provided script, students will begin with illustrated responses and storyboards before producing a collaborative website incorporating motion graphics, animation, information design, and sound to convey the historical, emotional, and social impacts of this uprising. Throughout the semester, students will have access to experts from the CCNY Dominican Studies Institute and will collaborate with Sonic Arts students in sound design, dialogue editing, and audio mixing. The collaborative project, in remembrance of the rebellion's 500th anniversary, will bring this forgotten event to a wider audience and public consciousness. Students' work will be featured on the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute's website, First Blacks in the Americas / Los Primeros Negros en Las Amricas, an internationally recognized and one-of-a-kind digital site, also the product of a collaboration among experts, students, and others. This Special Topics class is in partnership with the CCNY Dominican Studies Institute.

Prerequisites: ART 39528 (2D Animation Principles) or ART 39560 (Digital Video 1) and ART 39540 (Web Design 1). Instructor permission is required for students not meeting the prerequisites.

New Course for Spring 21: Animation Master Class

In Spring 2021, thanks to a generous donation from the Robinson Center for Graphic Arts and Communication Design, EDM is running an Animation Master Class for students aspiring to launch their careers within the animation industry. Students pitch an idea to be selected for the class, and are accepted based on prior experience, animation career goals, and their project idea. This semester, students are intensively working on conceptual, technical, and industry skills to develop professional-level portfolios in animation. The class is being taught by Professor Pilar Newton.

storyboard for an animation depicting the universe, a shell, and birds interacting with the shell

Images are from Spring 21 Animation Master Class student Francesca Blanco (BA Digital Design), and showcase her storyboard / thumbnail images for work-in-progress animation development

Financial assistance for Thesis production expenses

Continuing in Fall 2021, scholarships may be available to offset BFA EDM Senior Thesis production costs. Application should be directed to Professor Mark Addison Smith, and all applications (including project budget) will be confidential. More information to come when planning for Fall 2021 BFA Thesis begins.

Fall 2020 Classroom Spotlight: Artist Charly Palmer Zoom-visits Illustration 2!

During Fall 2020, students in Nathan Sensel's Illustration 2 course met for a 2-hour conversation with designer and illustrator Charly Palmer, who runs a successful design studio in Atlanta, Georgia. Charly, whose artwork was recently featured on the cover of Time Magazine, has a fortune 500 clientele and is the artist of children's books including Mama Africa! about Miriam Makeba. The wide-ranging discussion included a tour of his studio and a look at current work and collaborations. Many of the questions that the students asked led to insights and reflections on getting started in the industry and the ins and outs of collaboration.

Image of artist and illustrator Charly Palmer in Studio

Student Spotlight: Professor Krisia Ayala’s Illustration 2

During Professor Krisia Ayala’s Fall 2020 section of Illustration 2, students developed illustration work with perspectives rooted in personal narrative and an eye toward client work. As part of the virtual class, Professor Ayala invited multiple visiting artists who demonstrated their workflow strategies in order to help students understand the relevance of their projects in real-world challenges.

Top-left: Playing Card Design: Audrey Moffitt (BA Digital Design)
Bottom-left: Four Seasons Promotional Postcard: Heba Saad (BFA EDM)
Right: Music Event Poster: Elizabeth Fernandez (BA Digital Design)

Exhibits

Spring 2020 and Fall 2020 BFA EDM Senior Thesis exhibitions are now online!

Poster by Dilan Rodriguez

Poster by Ada Comonfort

Spring '20 BFA projects include: an exploration of Japanese onomatopoeia through typographic animation • design of an artisanal coffee brand that empowers women, spotlighting producers and baristas • an illustrated book of Dominican folktales • an infographic and Instagram campaign to reduce plastic bag use • a cafe branding that recreates the atmosphere of 1960's Golden Age in Egypt called Effendi Cafe.

Visit the SPRING 2020 BFA Show

Fall ’20 BFA projects include: a graphic novel that empowers second-generation youth, as told through the eyes of a Mexican-American boy • an illustrated-history textbook, website, and game that spotlights significant Latinx figures • a virtual museum that amplifies works by BIPOC, Disabled, and LGBTQIA+ artists • a tea shop branding that promotes the health benefits of Cantonese Leung-cha to the New York area • a book and series of tattoo designs that elevates tattoo art in mainstream culture • an infographic set and magazine that explores the history and resurgence of Hanfu, the traditional clothing of Han Chinese people.

Visit the FALL 2020 BFA Show

Events

Razzle-Dazzle designer Zipeng Zhu visits the EDM Club!

Zipeng Zhu, a Chinese-born designer, art director, illustrator, and animator in New York City, who wants to make everyday a razzle-dazzle musical, virtually visited the CCNY EDM Club on November 4, 2020. He presented a lecture, Making Work In Response To Time, and answered questions from our EDM students. Zhu's client list includes Apple, Adidas, Adobe, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Twitter, Netflix, New York Times, Harry’s, Viacom, The New Yorker, Fox, Away, Animal Planet, CNN, MTV, Refinery29, Chobani, and Samsung. After he graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, he worked at Pentagram and Sagmeister & Walsh. He was one of the Art Directors Club Young Guns 13 winners and has been recognized as PRINT’s New Visual Artist and by The One Show Young Ones. His work has been exhibited all over the world, including New York, Barcelona, Dubai, Mumbai, Shanghai, and other major museums and institutions. Currently, he runs his creative practice Dazzle Studio and gift shop Dazzle Supply.

Profile

Laisa Barros, Pixar's 2018 CCNY summer intern gets her dream job!

EDM student Laisa Barros (Computer Science major, Digital Design minor with a focus in UX/UI and Animation) who was the first (2018) CCNY summer intern at Pixar, has been hired by Pixar as a Production Support Engineer, the same area as her Internship.

Says Laisa, “My job requires me to be able to communicate with both technical and non-technical people. I am assisting them daily with desktop equipment for their virtual workstations whether it be a faulty hardware or software. I'm also writing scripts for command line utilities or using command line interface tools to diagnose virtual machines issues. I truly enjoy helping people and it's very rewarding to see how happy they get once I fix their workstations. I love Pixar's culture of learning and the constant collaboration and open communication that I have with my team. I feel like everyday I am learning something new and that I am encouraged to do so. I'm really happy I found a way to combine art and technology in my career. I'm super happy to be doing my dream job!”

Pixar's Halloween 2019 Internship presentation at EDM

Pixar's Beth Sasseen, Head of University Outreach, and Sets Art Director Paul Abadilla spoke to an overflow crowd of students gathered in CG252 on October 31st. This was Pixar's third visit to EDM.

Paul Abadella gave students an overview of his career in animation. He showed some whimsical sketches depicting his childhood in the Philippines as well as some of his set design work on Brave, Coco and Monsters U. He then gave a description of his work on the Incredibles II abd showed storyboard animatics for a climactic scene in which Elastigirl discovers the Lair.

Abadilla started as a sketch artist in several Pixar art departments doing shading and set design on the feature films Monsters University and the Academy Award®-winning films Brave Inside Out, Coco and The Incredibles 2. In addition, Abadilla has worked on the short films The Blue Umbrella, Pixar’s first television special Toy Story of TERROR!, LAVA and the Academy Award®-nominated Sanjay’s Super Team.

He recently wrapped production on the upcoming film Soul which is an upcoming fantasy adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures.

Beth Sasseen then took students through the steps of applying for the Pixar summer internship. She showed a presentation describing each type of Pixar internship, gave tips about what Pixar looks for in student portfolios and explained the application process. After the presentation, students moved over to Professor Newton's class for portfolio reviews and to continue the conversation!

Apply for an upcoming Pixar internship!

Pixar offers internships to college students or recent graduates within one year post-graduation. Internships in animation, art, business operations, editorial, marketing, production management, software research & development, story, systems, and technical direction are held in the summer for twelve weeks, or in the fall or spring for six months. Internships are paid, with travel expenses and housing assistance provided, and selection is extremely competitive.

The Pixar online internship system will open for applications December 2022. If you are interested in applying, you will need a portfolio of your animation or other art or design work, a resume, and a cover letter.

Check the Pixar website for current details and deadlines: http://www.pixar.com/internships

Contact Professor Newton-Katz for advice on your application.

Alumni

Alumni Night

Alumni night will return during academic year 21/22. Please continue to check the website and social media for upcoming dates and times.Recent graduates in Electronic Design and Multimedia have found jobs in Print and Publishing, Imaging and Illustration, Web Design and Web Programming, UX/UI, 3D Modeling and 2D/3D Animation, Digital Video and Motion Graphics at companies, including:

BAM / Brooklyn Academy of Music
Bumble and bumble
Columbia University Medical
Condé Nast
College Board
Discovery
Dow Jones
Droga5
Fast Company
Fox Corporation
IDEO
Jessica Weber Design
Lyft
McGraw Hill
NBC Sports
Peacock / NBCUniversal
Penguin Random House
Scholastic
Squarespace
Tiffany & Co.
Quantum Networks
United Nations
The Wall Street Journal
The Washington Post
Victoria’s Secret

Recent graduates are freelancing for clients, including Bergdorf Goodman, J.Crew, MAC Cosmetics, The New York Times, PBS, PepsiCo, and Virgin Cruises.

Please join our CCNY Electronic Design and Multimedia Alumni Group on LinkedIn to network and keep in touch. You have to be a member of LinkedIn before you can join.

Join The CCNY Electronic Design and Multimedia Alumni Group in LinkedIn

If you are about to graduate or are a recent graduate, you are invited to join The CCNY Electronic Design and Multimedia Alumni Group. It's a great way to network, stay in touch with your peers and former instructors, and learn about job opportunities. You have to be a member of LinkedIn before you can join.

Please help us by filling out a brief questionnaire about your job status after graduation.

Info

EDM Competitions and Opportunities Calendar

Check out the EDM Calendar for listings of competitions, awards, scholarships and other opportunities for students in the B.F.A. or B.A./Digital Design Concentration.

EDM Library: borrow an art or design book

You can see the list of books in the EDM Library and reserve a book by using the online link to send an email to the EDM Club. Over the summer, we will be putting our book collection reservations online, so you will soon be able to make a direct reservation on the website.If you would like to donate art or design books to the Library, contact the EDM Club or the CLTs.

B.A.: Concentration in Digital Design

Students in the B.A. majoring in Art can choose the Digital Design Concentration option if they are interested in focusing on EDM (major code: DGTLDSGN). For more information go to the Advising page or check with the Art Office. This option is designed for students who are not in the B.F.A. or who are waiting to apply for the B.F.A.

Insurance Policy Required for DOC Checkout

Students who want to check out DOC/Art Department equipment valued at $300 or more must now provide proof of personal insurance for the entire replacement value of the equipment borrowed.See the Checkout page for complete information about this policy and learn how to obtain insurance which will also cover your computer, phone and camera.

EDM, Electronic Design and Multimedia