Choosing the right work for your portfolio is often the first step and hardest part of creating a solid print portfolio. Your work should be recent and every piece should be as strong as possible. Having a variety of work is essential because it shows you are versatile, but you will still want to tailor your print portfolio based on the job you are applying too.
If the job is for a position at a magazine, then having a majority of site designs instead of magazine spreads in your portfolio might not work out for you so much, so keep in mind what job you are applying for when choosing pieces.

Organizing and Displaying

The presentation of your pieces is very important. All your pieces should be trimmed and printed out as large as possible, especially for work such as posters you want to display it as large as possible. You should also use some type of removable tape or sticky material to keep your work secure on the pages. You don’t want your work shifting around and all lopsided when you open up your book in an interview!

Starting Strong

First impressions are everything; so make sure you put one of your best pieces at the start of your portfolio. This will help wow the viewer and entice them into wanting to see more, but the catch is to make sure the rest of your portfolio is just as good! Don’t put your resume in the first sleeve, place it in the back or keep them out of the portfolio.

Portfolio Flow

There should be a good flow to your portfolio, try to find a balance between types of work, color and the strength of the designs. If you have 6 great designs and 6 good designs alternate between good and great and make sure you start with a great and end with a great design!

Portfolio Spreads

Don’t just focus on individual pages and how they look. Take a step back and see if the pages look good side by side. Try mixing and matching pieces to see which look best side-by-side. Your poster design may look like crap next to one of your site designs, but it may look great next to one of your magazine spreads. Try to keep projects together as well, avoid showing the business card for a company at the start and then the letterhead for that company a few pages later.

Ending Strong

Ending strong is just as important as starting strong, because this is the last thing that will be imprinted in the viewers mind, so you want it to be a good last impression.

Labeling Your Work

Labeling projects will help you while you talk about your work, but if you leave your portfolio behind and they look at it again, it will help them understand what each project is about. Keep the labeling short and sweet. Give it a title, describe who it was for and possibly a short sentence about the project in general.

The Amount of Work

Everyone has a different opinion about how many pieces you should have in a portfolio, but the key is finding a balance so your portfolio does not seem to short or too long. I would recommend at least 10-12 pieces, but no more then 18-20.

Practice Your Presentation

Make sure you are able to speak about each piece going over topics such as the concept, style, who it was for, what the company was about and the goal of the project. Practice talking about each project out loud and even in front of friends or family, until you are very comfortable speaking about each piece!

Other Essential Items

When you go to an interview you should bring other items besides your portfolio. Make sure to have several copies of an up-to-date resume, cover letter, business cards and if you portfolio case is expensive make sure to have a disposable portfolio to give your potential employer. You might also consider brining a CD with a PDF portfolio file on it, that is as small in file size as possible.

You portfolio is a reflection of yourself and it will be an essential part of your life as a designer. Work hard at creating it, take care of it and keep it up-to-date!

• Create a portfolio.  A portfolio that demonstrates creativity, versatility, and competency for the type of jobs you want is a must. If you are applying for a specific job, you can customize your portfolio by adding pieces that are similar to the work the gig requires.

• Use the Web.  Lots of artists have been “found” through their impressive Web sites. Creating an awesome Web site is especially important for graphic and Web designers. And don’t neglect the many sites that post available art jobs online. 

• Use contacts from previous projects and professional organizations.  You don’t usually find artists in polo shirts and popped collars networking at traditional mixer-type functions. Networking probably seems pretty repulsive to most artists. But the truth is that many good jobs are found through personal connections. So stay in touch with people you’ve worked with and think about joining a professional organization or social network. It probably won’t be that bad.

Another option is getting a degree or professional certification. Art school will help build your portfolio and will introduce you to other artists and teachers with professional connections. Plus the degree will add another attraction to your resume. 

Source:
Artist Resource

As I do with most artists profiled here, I ask the simple question. Did this artist attend art school to help refine his instrinsic talent? The question so far is unanimously, yes!

Chris Bolden has been painting since 1990. Graduating from Pasadena Art Center College of Design in 1997 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration, he immediately began working and is currently an artist on the long-running animated television series The Simpsons. He first worked on the show as a background illustrator and designer, and more currently as a color-key artist. Sources of artistic inspiration for Chris come from painters such as: N.C.Wyeth, Winslow Homer, and John Singer Sargent.

With the right training and portfolio, your opportunities in the art and design world are limitless.

Photo featured: Throwin’ Poses done in ink and watercolor on paper towel. For more great pieces by Chris, visit his site Surf Forever.com. Here’s a quick link to his Watercolor series.

Keep up the great work Chris, let’s surf soon.

For a complete list of Art Schools, visit our homepage.

Disclosure: Chris is a long time friend of mine. We spent our years in high school surfing and listening to punk rock.

Design for the Slopes: How to Become a Snowboard Designer
Imaging seeing your design on a snowboard that’s pulling crazy flips in the half pipe or rocking the moguls in the terrain park. Designing snowboards is one of the most specific, competitive fields of art, but it’s also one of the coolest. So how can you “clip in” to the world of snowboard designers? Here are a few ideas:

Snowboard Design Contests
Some snowboard companies have design contests– these contests are a good way to get practice designing boards, and to get free gear and lift tickets if you win. Companies offering contests include:

Prior Snowboards
Salomon Snowboards
Monson Snowboards, and many more. 

Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop has a new snowboard design program that allows you to create graphics on a snowboard-size template. You can even see where the bindings will cover the design.

School
Some art schools and other colleges have snowboard design teams or clubs. For example, at the University of Toronto the snowboard design team does everything from designing and fabricating the boards to marketing and selling them. Cool.

Sources:
Adobe Photoshop
Monson Snowboards
Prior Snowboards
Salomon Snowboards
University of Toronto- Snowboard Design Team

With two locations in California–the Getty Villa in Malibu and the Getty Center in Los Angeles–the J. Paul Getty Museum provides public access to European sculpture, painting, drawings, and manuscripts, as well as American and European photography and over 44,000 artifacts of ancient Greek, Roman, and Etruscan culture. The center also sponsors research, publications, and educational programs.  

• Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Founded in 1910, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art features a collection of over 100,000 pieces gathered from the ancient world as well as contemporary art studios. You can explore art from Europe, the United States, Latin America, and the largest collection of Korean art outside of the Korean peninsula. There’s also an extensive research library and Japanese garden open to the public.

• Armand Hammer Museum of Art at UCLA

Operated by the University of California Los Angeles, the Armand Hammer Museum–aka “the Hammer”–began from the personal collection of former OPEC Chairman Armand Hammer. Currently, the Hammer exhibits contemporary and historical art–from drawings, paintings, and sculpture to photographs and films. In an effort to promote the work of underrepresented contemporary and historical artists, the Hammer offers lectures, symposiums, film series, readings, and musical performances open to the public. 

• Autry Museum of Western Heritage

Co-founded by film legend Gene Autry in 1988, The Autry National Center–formerly The Autry Museum of Western Heritage–now incorporates the efforts of three institutions: The Museum of the American West, the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, and the Institute for the Study of the American West. Together, all three explore the art and history of the American west through a collection of art and artifacts, special exhibitions, and programs.

• California African-American Museum

Located in Los Angeles, California, the Corita Kent Art Center showcases the seriograph and silk screen artwork of Sister Corita Kent (1918-1986), a practicing Catholic nun and artist/activist. As part of the ecumenical Immaculate Heart Community, the Corita Art Center offers public exhibitions of Sister Corita’s art, educational outreach programs, and a calendar of weekly lectures and symposiums.

• Corita (Kent) Art Center

Begun in 1965 as The Egg and the Eye, an Arts- and Crafts-themed café, the Craft and Folk Art Museum exists today as a “living museum.” Although there’s no permanent collection, the CAFAM offers rotating exhibitions of folk art from around the world while inspiring contemporary craft artists of all ages through workshops, summer camps, and classes.

• Craft and Folk Art Museum

Begun in 1965 as The Egg and the Eye, an Arts- and Crafts-themed café, the Craft and Folk Art Museum exists today as a “living museum.” Although there’s no permanent collection, the CAFAM offers rotating exhibitions of folk art from around the world while inspiring contemporary craft artists of all ages through workshops, summer camps, and classes.

• Fisher Gallery at the University of Southern California

Founded in 1939, the Fisher Gallery is the accredited gallery of the university of Southern California. Dedicated exclusively to fine art, the Fisher Gallery presents exhibitions ranging from antiquities and old masters to contemporary local, national, and international artists–in addition to the permanent collection. Educational outreach programs–including lectures and symposiums–are free and open to the public.

• Korean American Museum

Established in 1994, in the West Hollywood home of Viennese architect Rudolph M. Schindler, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture offers a year-round events calendar of exhibitions, symposiums, lectures, and concerts, as well as a bi-annual residency program for eight artists and architects from outside the U.S. 

• MAK Center for Art and Architecture

Established in 1994, in the West Hollywood home of Viennese architect Rudolph M. Schindler, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture offers a year-round events calendar of exhibitions, symposiums, lectures, and concerts, as well as a bi-annual residency program for eight artists and architects from outside the U.S. 

• Museum of Contemporary Art

One of the largest facilities dedicated to present-day creativity, Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art offers visitors a permanent collection of  2,345 pieces created since 1945. Although the permanent collection focuses on surrealism, minimalism, and conceptual photography, the MCA also offers rotating exhibitions, as well as lectures, classes, and workshops for art fans of all ages. Situated on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, the MCA facility includes a 300-seat theater, terraced sculpture garden, gift shop, and restaurant.

• Museum of Neon Art

Founded in Los Angeles in 1981, the Museum of Neon Art is dedicated the promotion and preservation of fine art in the medium of electric light–specifically, the neon sign. MONA offers exhibitions of neon light and art, Neon Cruises (bus tours), and eight-week neon art workshops for prospective illumination artists.  

• Skirball Cultural Center

Applauded as one of the world’s most dynamic cultural institutions, the Skirball Center of Los Angeles explores four thousand years of Jewish tradition through revolving exhibitions of rare artifacts, photographs, and interactive multimedia stations. The facility, designed by New York architect Moshe Safdie, includes a museum, revolving exhibitions of music, comedy, theatre, film, and literature, a Café, museum store, even an interactive model of Noah’s Ark!  

• Southwest Museum

One of three institutions administered by the Autry National Center, the collection of the Southwest Museum is currently closed to the public while new facilities are constructed to house the museum’s over 250,000 artifacts. In the meantime, you can still visit the museum store on Saturdays and Sundays, enjoy weekend family activities–including arts and crafts and a hands-on archaeology program–or visit the Braun Reserch Library by appointment.

• UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History

Located at the University of California Los Angeles, the Fowler Museum of Cultural History consolidates the varied collections of non-western art and artifacts on the UCLA campus. The Fowler’s permanent collection includes 150,000 pieces of art and over 600,000 archaeological artifacts from the ancient, prehistoric, and present-day cultures of Africa, Latin America, and North America. In addition, the Fowler museum sponsors rotating exhibitions and interdisciplinary events, including lectures, hands-on workshops, and film-screenings.  

With a career spanning seventy years, two World Wars, and incorporating the traditions of neoclassicism, surrealism, and cubism (of which he was a founder), Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) remains one of the most famous and versatile artists of the twentieth century. His massive body of work encompasses prints, paintings, drawings, and sculptures. His most famous works include Les Demoiselles d’avignon, his first cubist painting, an Guernica–a mural depicting the 1937 bombing of a Basque fishing village.

Source:

Pablo Picasso Biography and Artworks-The Art History Archive

As an artist, Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) accomplished more in ten years than most painters do in a lifetime. From early experiments in Dutch realism and French impressionism, Van Gogh developed his own unique style of expressive brushstrokes and vivid–almost explosive–colors, producing some 840 paintings and one thousand drawings between 1880 and 1890. Although productive, Van Gogh’s career was plagued by financial worry and declining mental health, culminating in his suicide at age thirty-seven.

Source:
Van Gogh Museum: Official Site

From humble beginnings as the illegitimate son of a notary, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) grew to become one of the most universally gifted human beings in history. In addition to his seventeen surviving paintings (each a supreme example of Renaissance art), da Vinci also applied his genius as a draftsman, sculptor, musician, philosopher, inventor, scientist, and military engineer–even designing rudimentary tanks and flying machines five hundred years before the Industrial Revolution.

Source:

Gelb, Michael J. How to think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Everyday.

New York, Random House. 1998.

Together with Manet and Renoir, Claude Monet (1840-1926) emerged in the late nineteenth century as one of the founding fathers of Impressionism–at the time, a completely new style of painting that emphasized visible brush strokes, the primacy of light and color over line, and composing in the open air. His first success as a painter came in 1874 when his Impression: Sunrise (from which the term impressionism derives) shocked Paris’s artistic and academic society.

Source:
Guggenheim Museum

The pioneering figure of Pop Art, Andy Warhol (1928-1987) entered New York ’s art scene after a successful career as a commercial artist. Working in multiple media–painting, silk screening, printmaking, and film–Warhol mass-produced a body of work whose subject matter and technique emphasized repetition, consumerism, and American pop culture. Over his 30-year career, Warhol’s studio (”the factory”) pumped out images of soup cans, Coca-Cola bottles, and celebrities–often to the shock and dismay of critics.

Source:

The Warhol Foundation

Once heard to say “I am surrealism,” Salvador Dali (1904-1989) began his career as a student of the renaissance masters. By 1926, he had turned classical technique toward photorealistic depictions of intricate, often nightmarish dreamscapes–vast plains occupied by distorted figures, insects, and double images (his most famous work, The Persistance of Memory, features melting clocks). In addition to paintings, Dali produced sculpture, illustrations, writings, and films–even collaborating on projects with Alfred Hitchcock and Walt Disney.

Source:

Gala Salvador Dali Foundation

Although skilled as a draftsman, sculptor, and printmaker, Henri Matisse (1869-1954) is remembered principally as a painter and the founder of fauvism. Although he studied the works of the old masters, he was inspired by contemporaries Van Gogh and Gaugin to create brightly-colored works that his critics mocked as bestial (fauvism comes from fauve, the French word for “wild beast”). Matisse’s most famous work, The Dance, showcases his strikingly use of color and shape.

Source:
Metropolitan Museum of Art

(Wassily Kandinsky) Originally trained as a lawyer, Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) began to study painting at thirty. His early works incorporated pointillist and fauvist techniques, but by 1911, his artistic style shifted to abstract representations of internal feelings and music (rather than external visual objects). Abstract expressionism–as his style would later be called–shocked the art world of Kandinsky’s time, even contributing to his expulsion, first from his native Russia (under Soviet rule) and, later, Nazi Germany.
Source:

The Guggenheim

Originally trained in imitative realism at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Student’s League of New York, Georgia O’Keefe (1887-1986) developed a unique artistic language that pursued emotional expression through stylized representation. In 1916, her work attracted the attention of photographer Alfred Stieglitz, who offered O’Keefe support throughout her career and their subsequent marriage. In 1929, they moved to
New Mexico, where O’Keefe completed her trademark series of cattle bones and southwestern landscapes.

Source:

O’Keefe Museum

A monumental figure of Holland’s Golden Age, Rembrandt Van Rijn (1606-1669) began his career as a court portraitist, quickly gaining a reputation for his ability to capture human mood and gesture. Although his portraits are among the most celebrated in Western culture, much of his work consists of biblical and mythological scenes composed with a striking approach to color, light, contour, and arrangement. His masterpiece, The Nightwatch, showcases Rembrandt’s his unique artistic language.

Sources:

Encyclopedia Britannica

1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Art History
http://www.metmuseum.org/home.asp

Check out the official Website of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Navigate from the homepage, to take a virtual reality tour, shop for souvenirs and books, make a charitable donation, or plan a visit. If you want to check out the Met’s permanent collection, you can browse art and artifacts by curatorial department, or search the database for individual pieces.

2. Artcyclopedia: The guide to museum quality art history information
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/

One of the most comprehensive guides to art online, Artcyclopedia provides some 95,000 links to 180,000 world masterpieces. Browse over 8,200 artists by name, movement, medium, or nationality; search on titles of works or search by world region to connect with the world’s most famous museums–from the Louvre to the Rijksmuseum. Regular posts provide you with art world news and articles on famous artists and artistic movements.

3. World Art Treasures (Historical art)
http://www.bergerfoundation.ch/index.html

An educational site built in memory of art historian/collector Jacques-Edouard Berger (1945-1993), The Berger Foundation World Art Treasures site offers access to slides from Berger’s personal collection. Browse slides by region, artist, or historical period (artifacts from ancient Egypt, China, Myanmar/Burma, Cambodia, and Japan are well-represented in Berger’s collection). Other highlights include historical notes and timelines, as well as lectures and essays by Berger and colleagues.

4. The Getty Museum: Art History
http://www.getty.edu/

One of the largest supporters of the arts worldwide, the J. Paul Getty Trust maintains a Website with information on the Getty Museum and Research Institute (both in Los Angeles). You can check out events calendars, subscribe to the Getty’s e-newsletter, or take advantage of other online resources. Browse artists by name, medium, or theme–or check out the Getty’s collection overview. You can also order museum publications, apply for grants, or volunteer at the Getty. 

5. Voice of the Shuttle: Art & Art History
http://vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=3404

Launched in 1994 to serve humanities research online, Voice of the Shuttle (VoS) is an evolving online database with links to art history resources around the world. Link to famous art museums, galleries, research institutes, and auction houses. You can also link to the homepages of contemporary art journals, and world-renowned university art departments.

6. About.com: Art History
http://arthistory.about.com/?once=true&

From the site that has it all, a category for Art History! At About.com’s Art History site, you’ll find short artist bios as well as more extensive guides to figures of the art world–from artists and their patrons to famous models and forgers). You can also check out online overviews and timelines of artistic movements, user articles on art and culture, and extensive links to shopping for art online. 

7. Smithsonian American Art Museum: Art History
http://www.americanart.si.edu/index3.cfm

Here you’ll find the website of the Smithsonian American Art Museum–the first federal museum dedicated to American art. Plan your visit online, or check out what’s new at the SAAM. Browse by category or search by artist name, work title, keyword, or accession number. You can also check out a full program calendar of traveling exhibitions, guest lecturers, and special performances or shop SAAM online for books, postcards, and souvenirs.

8. Library of Congress: Art History
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

Organized by the Library of Congress, American Memory is a multimedia website providing free online access to more than 9 million digitized photographs, manuscripts, recordings, books, pamphlets, and other cultural treasures from the Library of Congress and other institutional collections. Browse 100 collections by subject, creator, time period, or geographic location–or search across multiple collections. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Use American Memory’s Ask a Librarian feature to chat with librarians online.

9. Art History Network
http://www.arthistory.net/index.html

Arthistory.net brings together numerous art history resources from the World Wide Web. Here you can link to the homepages of art schools and galleries in Seattle, San Francisco, Savannah, Atlanta, and Chicago, or browse galleries by state. You can also link to articles on art history by historical period, cultural movement, or world region.

10. Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids: Art History
http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/new_pyramid/pyramids/html/el_pyramid_intro.htm

An offshoot of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s main site, Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids provides online access to images and descriptions of forty-one artifacts from the Met’s Egyptian exhibit. Drawn from over thirty museums in Egypt, Europe, and North America, the artifacts showcase the art history of Egypt’s Old Kingdom (roughly 2650-2150 B.C.)–from 3D models of pyramid complexes, to images of royal statues, sculpture, and jewelry.  

11. Legacy of Genghis Khan: Art History
http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId={36C74128-EEF8-11D5-9414-00902786BF44}

An excellent online resource from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Legacy of Genghis Khan traces the artistic influence of the Yuan dynasty on the art and culture of Iran’s medieval Ilkhanid rulers from 1256 to1353. Check out images and descriptions of illuminated manuscripts and decorative arts of the period–from textiles and metalwork to woodwork and ceramics. You can also hear audio descriptions and read the exhibition’s introductory essay for a historical overview.

12. The Glory of Byzantium: Art History
http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Byzantium/byzhome.html

The Byzantine Empire lasted for more than 1,000 years and produced a flourishing artistic culture. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s online survey of Byzantium explores art from the two golden ages of Byzantium (324-740 and 843-1261) as well as the late period. You can browse artwork arranged by theme or period, read historical notes and descriptions, and even arrange classroom activities.

13. Cleopatra: Art History of the Ancient World
http://www.artic.edu/cleo/index.html

Named for Egypt’s last and most famous queen, Cleopatra is a multimedia guide to the Ancient Art Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Here you can view art and artifacts from ancient Greece, Egypt, and Italy. Browse artifacts on a timeline or by geographic region. Images of artifacts include short descriptions and audio-visual commentary on ancient art, culture, and life.

Art Nouveau – A painting, decorative design, and architectural style developed in England in the 1880s. The style is distinguished by the use of graceful lines, interlaced patterns, flowers, plants and other nature inspired themes.

Classical Style – The term “classical” is often applied to all the art of ancient Greece and Rome, as well as to any art based on logical, balanced principles and deliberate composition.

Cubism - An art style developed in 1908 by Picasso and Braque whereby the artist breaks down the natural forms of the subjects into geometric shapes creating a new kind of illustrative space.

Dadaism – An art style founded by Hans Arp in Zurich after WW1.  This style challenged the established canons of art, thoughts and morality.

Expressionism – An art movement of the early 20th century in which traditional obedience to realism and proportion was replaced by the artist’s emotional connection to the subject. These paintings are often abstract, the subject matter distorted in color and form to highlight the artist’s emotion.

Impressionism – An art movement founded in France in the last third of the 19th century. This style of painting is characterized by short brush strokes of bright colors used to recreate visual impressions of the subject at a particular point in time.

Medieval Art – The art of the Middle Ages ca. 500 A.D. through the 14th century. The art produced immediately prior to the Renaissance.

Pop Art – A style of art that is inspired from commercial art and items of mass culture such as brand name packaging, and popular foods.

Post Impressionism – A term applied to the work of several artists – French or living in France – from about 1885 to 1900. Post Impressionists were united in rejecting the relative absence of form characteristic of Impressionism and stressed more formal qualities  of the subject matter.

Realism – An art style of the mid 19th century, which promoted the idea that everyday people and events are worthy subjects for important art.

Rococo - A style of art, architecture and furnishings popular in Europe in the first three quarters of the 18th century that emphasized ornate but small-scale decoration, curvilinear forms, and pastel colors.

Romanesque - A style of architecture and art dominant in Europe from the 9th to the 12th century. Romanesque architecture, based on ancient Roman models, emphasizes the round arch and barrel vault.

Neoclassicism – “New” classicism – a style in 19th century Western art. Neoclassical paintings have sharp outlines, reserved emotions, deliberate composition, and cool colors.

Neo-Expressionism – “New” expressionism – a term originally applied to works done primarily by German and Italian artists in the post-WWII era.  Neo- Expressionist works depict intense emotions and symbolism, sometimes using unconventional media and intense colors.

Ringling School of Art and Design, Sarasota
This school is one of the country’s finest arts institutions. Of the arts and design courses offered, three are particularly relevant to concept art: Illustration, Computer Animation and Game Art and Design. First year students follow a core curriculum of drawing, color and design, before specializing in their second year.

Art Center College of Design, Pasadena
This is one of the world’s leading graphic and industrial design colleges.  The Art Center is renowned for a range of programs geared towards preparing students for a career in the commercial arts field. Illustration is the key course of interest, but the project design program is also popular.

School Of Visual Arts, New York
Originally known as the Cartoonists’ and Illustrators’ school, the School of Visual Arts is located in Manhattan. Eleven undergraduate and nine graduate level programs are offered.  Courses like those looking to be a concept artist.

Rhode Island School of Design, Providence
Founded in 1877, The Rhode Island School of Design is home to the best Master of Fine Arts course in the US. They have a large illustration department with capacity for 240 students. Students studying Illustration can choose from a range of electives, including narrative storytelling, comics and editorial illustration.

 Academy Of Art University, San Francisco
“Built by artists, for artists” is the motto of this private school of art and design. The university has top illustration course suitable for prospective concept designers as well as a range of industrial and product design programs.

The Juilliard School was founded in 1905 as the Institute of Musical Art.  The purpose was to establish a music academy in America to rival European conservatories, and its original founder was Dr. Frank Damrosch, the godson of Franz Liszt. In 1919, Augustus D. Juilliard, a wealthy textile merchant, died and left the largest single bequest for the advancement of music at that time. 1924 the Institute of Musical Art was changed to The Juilliard School of Music.

The Juilliard School is a conservatory offering pre-professional training in its programs for music, dance and drama, with a highly competitive applicant pool. Only about 8 percent of applicants are accepted; therefore, only those students who are best qualified to fill our limited spaces will be admitted.

Juilliard’s central mission is to educate talented performing musicians, dancers and actors so that they may achieve the highest artistic standards, as well as become leaders in their professions. This exceptional school takes pride in providing students with the educational, professional, social and emotional foundation necessary for them to embark on successful careers and productive lives as artists, leaders and citizens.