Communication Design

Audiences are distracted. Attention spans are short. And communicators who can break through the noise with high-impact design, meaningful messages, and memorable experiences are in demand across a range of industries.

This program gives you a robust foundation in design and prepares you to apply for a BFA in several specialized design fields. You’ll master a wide array of hands-on skills, gain proficiency in the technology needed to create the multidisciplinary experiences required in today’s marketplace, and understand the conceptual ideas that drive design.

Part of the Communication Design Pathways Department, this Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree program will introduce you to the diverse means and tools of visual communication, including digital design, design process, typography, and color theory. It also prepares you to apply for the following BFA programs.

Advertising and Digital Design
Graphic Design
Packaging Design
Spatial Experience Design

Degree Details

You can earn a one-year Associate in Applied Science (AAS) in Communication Design Foundation online.

Our students immediately put what they learn in the classroom and on field trips into practice while building connections in the design industry.

a candle and it's packaging, a cardboard box

Tamara Jerardo Mayne, Communication Design ’11, started selling homemade candles on Etsy and went on to open the Brooklyn Candle Studio, which offers scents such as Fern & Moss and Sweet Fig.

Communication Design Foundation students presented Shakespeare in Motion, a series of short animated sketches, including a version of the Scottish play that's more MacCheese than Macbeth.

A pair of Communication Design faculty members mentored students to create FIT’s 75th anniversary logo, which the college used to commemorate the occasion on all its communications for the year.

Creative thinkers. Talented doers. Imaginative innovators … Join a growing group of alums who become design leaders across a vast array of creative industries.

I often like to think of a project as if it had never been done before, try to define the problem at its most basic form and see if that takes me somewhere different than the conventional.

Ufuk KeskinCommunication Design ’07, multidisciplinary designer

AAS graduates are prepared for entry-level positions in graphic design and corporate communications firms, publishing companies, retail art departments, and advertising agencies, but typically go on to complete an FIT bachelor’s degree program in a specialized design field.

Beyond Graduation

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Many faculty members are founders and creative directors of their own agencies, with impressive clients and projects, who bring industry expertise to the classroom. Meet more Communication Design faculty.

Sondra Graff

Graff works in design, pedagogy and performance. Her projects span the range from promotion for performing artists to installation and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Rocco Piscatello

Piscatello, principal of Piscatello Design Centre, is a designer who specializes in the creation of design systems that integrate brand identity, interactive digital experiences, and environmental signage for clients and cities around the world.

Ronald Basca

Bacsa is an assistant professor in the Communication Design Department, specializing in advertising and graphic design. He has worked as a creative director at various ad agencies, with a roster of clients that has included AT&T, General Motors, and Walt Disney.

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