MIAD named ‘Top Design’ school for third consecutive year

For the third consecutive year in a row, the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design has been named a Top Graphic Design school by Graphic Design USA magazine.

Two MIAD Communication Design students – junior Ana Villarama and senior Josie Borja Truax – were also recognized as students to watch in 2018.

According to the magazine, the Top Graphic Design honor is awarded to “institutions that excel in preparing students to work successfully and effectively in a professional graphic design setting.”

“The Communication Design program at MIAD is focused on helping our students become our graduates who will have very successful careers in a variety of design areas,” said MIAD’s Chair of 2D/4D Design Dale Shidler in a press release.

MIAD’s Communication Design program helps students gain experience by taking on internships with partners like the Pettit National Ice Center and Colectivo Coffee.

“The program takes on a lot of qualities of professional communication design environments,” Villarama said in a press release. “I think, overall, it’s a great emulation of the real world.”

Villarama worked with Core Creative, a full-service advertising and branding agency in Milwaukee. While there, she worked on social media graphics, print ads and promotional videos.

Truax interned at Scott Advertising, a food service advertising agency in Milwaukee, assisting with photoshoots, ad and logo design.

The students will now focus on the 2018 MIAD Senior Exhibition that will run from April 20 to May 12, where Villarama, Truax and the rest of the seniors will show off their thesis projects.

“We have been working so hard and I know it will be a great show come April,” Truax said in a press release.

For a full list of Graphic Design USA's Top Graphic Design Schools in 2017, visit gdusa.com/features/gdusa-2017-top-graphic-design-schools.

For a full list of Graphic Design USA's students to watch in 2018, visit gdusa.com/studentstowatch2018/gdusa-students-to-watch-in-2018.