April 30, 2020

ArtCenter College of Design Presents Online Graduation and Grad Show

On Saturday, May 2, 283 graduating students will participate in the ArtCenter College of Design ceremony choreographed using Zoom for a potential audience of 5,000. The public is invited to tune in.

Campus leaders have been brainstorming to figure out the best solution to recognize grads during quarantine. They’ve also been challenged to come up with a way for employers to meet grads as they prepare to enter the real world.

Typically, about 5,000 family, friends and recruiters participate in graduation events face-to-face.

This year, students will be introduced to employers by way of a virtual career fair platform. Nike, Google and DreamWorks are among the 100 companies getting in line to meet emerging talent using a virtual recruitment process. Additionally, ArtCenter has built its own custom platform to host an online Grad Show. Through innovative technology and human centered design, graduates will showcase their work to family, friends and potential employers. Even Grandma will be able to scribble a virtual message and chat online with her graduate.

"Of course, it was unfortunate that graduation was cancelled but it's been interesting to see how ArtCenter has been using their design thinking skills to swiftly come up with solutions,” said Tricia Sada, graduating Product Design student. “I've actually been excited on how these times provide a unique opportunity to be the start of a new digital experience for ArtCenter. We can extend the Grad Show website we're building into a showcase of the work that comes out of ArtCenter — like how MIT Media Lab is known for their projects or Harvard Business Review is known for their articles."

During the ceremony, when the announcer calls the name of each graduate, a slide with the student’s photo and artwork will appear on Zoom full screen. Students will be spotlighted live, briefly, at the end of the online ceremony. The event will livestream on YouTube and Facebook and be available for viewing afterwards.

To see what the College has created to celebrate the Class of 2020, visit https://gradshow.artcenter.edu/

The ceremony can be viewed on this site on Saturday, May 2 at 10 a.m. The Grad Show “event” is available Saturday, May 2 at 11:15 a.m.

About ArtCenter: Founded in 1930 and located in Pasadena, California, ArtCenter College of Design is a global leader in art and design education. ArtCenter offers 11 undergraduate and seven graduate degrees in a wide variety of industrial design disciplines as well as visual and applied arts. In addition to its top-ranked academic programs, the College also serves members of the Greater Los Angeles region through a highly regarded series of year-round educational programs for all ages and levels of experience. Renowned for both its ties to industry and its social impact initiatives, ArtCenter is the first design school to receive the United Nations’ Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status. Throughout the College’s long and storied history, ArtCenter alumni have had a profound impact on popular culture, the way we live and important issues in our society.

Contact:
Teri Bond
Media Relations Director
ArtCenter College of Design
teri.bond@artcenter.edu
626 396-2385



photo of graduation celebration