We are the public path to a creative career

The department of Communication Design is committed to increasing the variety of voices behind the concept in professions that utilize creativity, technology, and design. The foundation of our program is based on integrating fundamental theory and concepts with applied technology.
We believe in building a culture that encourages creativity, collaboration, and conceptual thinking. The department is uniquely positioned to provide a level playing field through a rigorous creative and technical education.

OUR STORY

Imported From Brooklyn is a story about finding the path to possible when you have more ambition than resources. More than half a century later, City Tech’s B.F.A. in Communication Design still offers a private school education at public school prices. Whether Tony’s story in the 60s or the school’s current Asian, Middle Eastern, South American, Eastern European, or Caribbean American students today, Imported From Brooklyn tells an important story about access to education, perseverance, and the grit needed to achieve one's dreams. Click the photo above to watch the film.

WE ARE THE DESIGN PROGRAM AT THE FOOT OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE

WE ARE A VARIETY OF VOICES

WE ARE CREATIVES PASSIONATE ABOUT TEACHING CREATIVITY. PLAN YOUR PATH WITH US. DOWNLOAD YOUR MAP >

OUR PARTNERSHIPS ENABLE IMPACT BEYOND OUR RESOURCES

“It was a pleasure to partner with Douglas on a series of learning experiences for Microsoft. One of our goals is to usher in a new and diverse tech workforce to fill the jobs of tomorrow. Collaborating with CUNY on a series of focus groups, interviews, and later a hackathon helped us gain valuable insights into the needs of those learning computer science for the first time. Those insights have led to product and programmatic actions. The students’ remarkable alacrity, vulnerability, and readiness make them an incredible crew to partner with! I’m incredibly grateful to and for Douglas’s leadership, growth mindset, and willingness to forge new models for academic/company partnership. I’m looking forward to future engagements with CUNY and highly recommend engaging with them for learning and mentoring.”
– Margaret Price, Principal Strategist, Microsoft

“Professor Davis’ deep understanding of his student population, the learning environment at CUNY,
and his extensive knowledge of both business and design generated a great deal of value, clearly measured by the program’s impact on student career trajectories, and classwork, but also by the impact it had on our designers’ own personal process and design practice. This work spawned a Google recruitment panel at City Tech, as well as a day-long Sprint with Professor Davis, Googlers outside of the original program, and students at the University of Oregon as well. Professor Davis’ work has been integral in providing students with resources and access to highly sought after design careers, careers that ultimately afford students the ability to play a major role in designing a more fair and equitable society.”
– Jason Randolph, Head of Equity Engineering, Google

‘In one of our bi-coastal projects, Douglas and I were invited to participate in a pilot venture with the Google UX team, led by Jason Randolph, Head of Equity Engineering. The focus of the project was to connect with schools that have broadly diverse student populations. Google invited CUNY and CSUN to participate, as both institutions over the years have demonstrated inclusion as part of our university priorities. The pilot program sought to create a new pathway to provide students from underserved communities with technology career guidance and resources. Douglas demonstrated not only his passion to advocate for his students but also his ability to strategically convince Google to dig deeply into an area they sometimes don’t see or recognize.”
– Dave Moon, Professor, California State University

NO APPLICATION TO ENROLL + NO GPA REQUIREMENT TO ENTER + NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE NEEDED TO BELONG = NO BARRIERS

WE INSPIRE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS TO ENTER THE INDUSTRY
AND GRADUATE WITH A RESUME

WE ARE A COMMUNITY THAT REACHES BACK TO PAY IT FORWARD

WE SEE HERITAGE AND OPPORTUNITY

The current Department of Communication Design dates back to the late 1940s when it was part of the New York State Institute of Applied Arts & Sciences. Its mission, then as now, was to educate men and women for employment in the design field. The curriculum emphasized fundamental skills in drawing, lettering, and typography, layout, and production.

“When I joined the faculty as a full-time member in 1979, both industry and the department hadn’t changed much over a period of nearly 30 years. When I became department Chair in 1988, my first major challenge was introducing computers into our curriculum in response to the changes going on in the design industry. I completed my final term as Chair in 2009 and a new generation of faculty soon began taking steps to reshape the program to meet the challenges of a new century.”
– Joel Mason, Professor Emeritus, Communication Design

CELEBRATING OUR BLACK HISTORY

“In her earlier days at City Tech, Dorothy Hayes, a woman, and with prestigious and traditional titles such as Professor and Scholar could be seen traveling to and from City Tech on her motorcycle. She was steeped in the creative intellectual environment in the 60s-70s in the east village, a turning point in the arts with iconic contributors and a major influence on its generation.”
– Stella Nicolaou, Educator and friend of Dorothy Hayes

“When I came to New York ten years ago I couldn’t find anybody Black in the commercial art field. Finally, after I found a job on my own, I did start to encounter Black people. But in the course of trying to develop my talent I found that if I went to them for some direction, they just wouldn’t give it. Nobody wanted to take the time to show or tell me anything. I vowed then that if I made it I would never turn my back on any Black person who came to me for advice and information and who really wanted to learn.”
– Dorothy Hayes, in The Black Experience in Graphic Design(1968), Print Magazine

OUR EVOLUTION

City Tech has undergone four name changes: New York State Institute of Applied Arts & Sciences; New York City Community College; New York City Technical College; New York City College of Technology. The department has undergone five name changes: Commercial Art  & Industrial Design; Commercial Art & Advertising Production; Art & Advertising Design; Advertising Design & Graphic Arts; Communication Design. The AAS degree in Art & Advertising Design attracted and produced numerous industry leaders including Tom Carnase and Tony DiSpigna.

Over time, it became increasingly clear that our AAS degree in Art & Advertising Design was too limited to provide students with both comprehensive design education and advanced mastery of the new technology. As a result, in 1996 the department began developing a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree in Communication Design. Introducing the B.Tech program also enabled the department to offer a variety of specialized tracks to the upper-level program. In addition to the original advertising design and graphic design options, the department soon added web design, multimedia, and illustration.

Perhaps, most importantly, for the first time in its history, the B.Tech program gave the department a place among the group of private, four-year design schools that had long dominated the New York marketplace. In Fall 2018 the department made history by becoming the first BFA offered within City Tech and the first NASAD accredited BFA in Communication Design in all 25 CUNY campuses.

THE PEARL DRAWING STUDIO

THE PEARL GALLERY PRESENTATION SPACE

THE FOUNDATION LAB

THE TYPE AND MEDIA STUDIO

Imported From Brooklyn is a story about finding the path to possible when you have more ambition than resources. The film celebrates world-renowned typographics master and distinguished professor Antonio Di Spigna's 50-year career working and teaching graphic design. This origin story chronicles Tony’s humble beginnings as an Italian immigrant to Brooklyn in the sixties, follows his early years at New York City College of Technology, on to Pratt Institute, and ends with his lively career as a partner at the prestigious Lubalin Studio in Manhattan in the 1960s-70s. More than half a century later, City Tech’s BFA in Communication Design still offers a private school education at public school prices. Whether Tony’s story in the 60s or the school’s current Asian, Middle Eastern, South American, Eastern European, or Caribbean American students today, Imported From Brooklyn tells an important story about access to education, perseverance, and the grit needed to achieve one's dreams.