2021 grad Annie Wheeler (front, center) landed a job at Spark DSG before she graduated. She has since been promoted to senior UX/UI designer and is the youngest senior designer Spark has ever had.
Shavaun Grant ‘16 recently was promoted to senior graphic designer, photographer and project manager at Sol-Millennium Medical Group, headquartered in Chicago.
An Augustana liberal arts education introduces students to the world of ideas, and gives them the tools to explore that world. The graphic design major and minor encourages you to grow your own unique design process while applying design skills across a range of projects spanning from social concerns to corporate branding.
Graphic design majors begin with study of typography and design in both digital and analog contexts. Core classes provide foundational knowledge from the design field. An expansive list of electives invites you to follow your interests. Advanced studio classes examine the ways in which design shapes culture and fosters creative pursuits.
Upper-level studio courses provide space and support for design students to make work with their specific life goals in mind. Seniors enjoy flexible Senior Inquiry (SI) options: studio-based project, 4-credit internship or the completion of SI requirement in a different area of study.
Go to interesting places: Amsterdam, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, as well as Vietnam, Ireland, Ghana, Morocco and Senegal.
Do interesting work: Make cities greener, improve community health and teach college students. They pursue a variety of paths, including freelancer, professional photographer, grad school assistant, marketing specialist, social media strategist, project manager, web designer, UX/UI, visual designer and more.
Join interesting employers: Audentio, Augustana College, Blooming Color, Crate and Barrel, Dentsu Redder, Healthcare Tech, Heart of America Group, John Deere, National Football League, TCS Educational System, Ruffalo Noel Levitz, Quad City Storm and Spark DSG.
Creative thinking
Combine ideas to create something new. Use imaginative ways of solving problems.
Disciplinary knowledge
Gain a deep understanding of your subject and how it connects to other subjects.
Intellectual curiosity
Set yourself up for lifelong intellectual growth. Take responsibility for your own learning.
Intercultural competence
Understand real and imaginary similarities and differences. Use more than one perspective to view issues.
Critical thinking and information literacy
Judge and construct arguments, raise questions and define problems. Make a conclusion based on evidence.
• Graphic design majors at Augustana will draw from their liberal arts education (valuable background for every academic field). As a result, you develop both deeper perspective and broader awareness, fueling your creativity and originality.
• Beginning classes have only 30 students, and upper-level courses are usually smaller. The close faculty-student relationship is especially important for hands-on work in graphic design.
• A faculty advisor will work closely with you to integrate your experience toward future goals.
• The Quad Cities has different-sized commercial graphic design studios and companies for potential internship opportunities.
• Many Augustana study-abroad programs include an art component. $2,000 with Augie Choice helps cover living and travel expenses.
Olivia Doak '22 is the higher education reporter for the Boulder Daily Camera in Boulder, Colo.
Andrew Mayszak '22 is a graphic designer and project manager at Blooming Color in Naperville, Ill.
Annie Wheeler '21 is a senior UX/UI designer at Spark DSG, based in Philadelphia.
Jessamine Burch '20 is the Division of the Arts social media specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Austin Elledge '20 is a graphic designer/animator for the National Football League in Los Angeles, Calif.
Trang "Tracy" Ngo '19 is a senior graphic designer at Dentsu Redder in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Monica Wierzbicki '18 is a medical illustrator and graphic artist at Body Scientific International in Chicago.
Comet Blecha '18 is the co-founder of Comet Collaborative and a freelance designer and project manager.
Amanda Ebert '17 Murphy is a marketing product specialist/creative designer at Parksite in Batavia, Ill.
Chelsea Mentado '17 is a senior event marketing specialist at Zipline, based in San Fransisco.
Shavaun Grant '16 is a senior graphic designer, photographer and project manager at Sol-Millennium Medical Group.
Nikki Radloff '15 is a chief design officer at Audentio, LLC in Janesville, Wis.
“V [Professor V Phipps] has taught me to get back up and never stop thinking differently, something I am lucky to take with me when I leave Augustana.”Read More
“I feel more empowered to be an activist while using design as a platform to make calls to action and promote change.”Read More
“Coming into Augustana, I knew I wanted to pursue writing and design. Not a lot of colleges have that combination of degrees!”Read More
Armed with a degree in graphic design, Shavaun Grant ‘16 returned home to the Chicago area after graduation and found plenty of opportunities. He recently was promoted to senior graphic designer, photographer and project manager at Sol-Millennium Medical Group.
Anyone who’s unsure of what a liberal arts experience can look like — meet Augustana’s Caden Foulke ’24 from Brentwood, Tenn., and Aykeem Spivey ’24 from Gurnee, Ill.
The breadth of a liberal arts education was on full display at the Augustana College Celebration of Learning, where students and faculty presented their academic work for the year.
