Sponsored Projects

Partner with ArtCenter’s community of innovators and creators.

Engagement with industry has been a critical element of the ArtCenter experience since it was founded in 1930. These professional collaborations bring industry thought leaders into unrestricted and creative environments to look through the lens of the next generation of artists and designers and explore together the future of design. 

These highly successful partnerships allow the industry to stay relevant through being exposed to new design methodologies and blue-sky solutions to current corporate challenges. Through the insights, fresh perspective and creative vision of ArtCenter’s talented students, innovative ideas emerge. Sponsors work closely with faculty and students in 14-week Studios and in short and immersive, three-day DesignStorms. Sponsors have the unique opportunity to identify talent as they really get to know the students, see how they work and experience their design-thinking process first-hand. These shared experiences are mutually beneficial for sponsors and students as they often result in student intellectual property acquisition, scholarships and opportunities for internships and future employment.

ArtCenter offers a wide range of sponsored collaborative opportunities, both graduate and undergraduate, domestic and international. Our Sponsored Studios and DesignStorms are our most popular models of engagement, however, customized models are also available upon request.

Sponsored Studios

Sponsored Studios have evolved over the years, but the intention and promise is always the same: high-quality, professional experiences that bring current industry challenges and opportunities into the classroom and provide students the context for imagining future solutions. 

This flagship program gives partners the opportunity to sponsor studios in which select groups of upper-term undergraduate and / or graduate students explore a broad range of topics.  These unique collaborations between design education and industry inspire partners to create change.

Many sponsors collaborate with ArtCenter repeatedly due to the high-quality work ArtCenter students consistently deliver, which is a true testament to the benefits these programs offer.

DesignStorms

DesignStorms are three-day immersive workshops that pair ArtCenter’s expert faculty and select upper-term and/or graduate design students with sponsors to form transdisciplinary teams, usually five teams of three.

Over three days, the teams apply an intensive design methodology to explore deeply and discover fresh, innovative solutions. The sponsor takes ownership of all rights, title, and interests to the works created during the workshop.