Industrial Design students acquire technical skills in drawing, form giving, model making, problem solving, and computer-aided design, but the real emphasis of the program is on creativity, curiosity, innovation, and belief in one's own visual intelligence.
Students envision not only new generations of products, but also new services and businesses, from broad ecological, commercial, and cultural perspectives. To facilitate such far-reaching work, they receive a foundation in anthropological research, material culture, and whole-systems thinking. They work individually and as teams and make the most of CCA's proximity to Silicon Valley and its wealth of technology.
Visits from top designers, a lively lecture series, ongoing collaborative projects, internships, and a wealth of study-abroad options complement the program. Regular industry-sponsored projects have brought Gaia&Gino, Mattel, Pantech, Samsung, Timbuk2, Tupperware, and other innovative companies to campus to work with students on projects of mutual interest. The goal is to assist our students in bringing ecology, culture, and technology together for the benefit of the consumer, the community, and the environment.
Facilities on the San Francisco campus include a dedicated Alias lab; a modeling and fabrication shop with a vacuum-form machine and equipment for metal- and woodworking; a fuse deposition modeling (FDM) machine; and the New Materials Resource Center, which offers a hands-on, comprehensive, interdisciplinary collection of resources with an emphasis on eco-friendly and alternative materials. Students also have access to a state-of-the-art rapid prototyping facility.
CCA students have exhibited their projects at the Milan Furniture Fair, the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, and the International Home and Housewares Show. Our graduates work for top design firms in California, New York, and beyond. Current students have won national recognition in I.D. magazine's Annual Design Review and Student Design Review, the Industrial Designers Society of America's International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) competition, and the International Housewares Association Student Design Competition.
