MIAD Matters – Testimonials
“The level of engagement amongst the community, faculty and students was impressive – and quite frankly – very refreshing. I can tell you this, MIAD is a place that consistently possesses a spirit of sincere investigation. Students will definitely look back on their time at MIAD as special, nurturing and inspiring.”
James Ludwig
VP, Global Design + Engineering, Steelcase Inc.
Visiting creative in the MIAD Creativity Series
“I’ve visited many art and design schools around the world and found an atmosphere and confidence at MIAD that are unique… Students have a clear and well-deserved sense of themselves and their work, and that is a rare thing.”
Mark Rios, FAIA, FASLA
Founding Principal, Rios Clementi Hale Studios, Los Angeles
First visiting creative in the MIAD Creativity Series
“For several years, working with MIAD students has been Fiskars secret weapon.”
Paul Tonnesen
President, Fiskars Americas
MIAD Board of Trustees
“I personally learned long ago as chief marketing officer at MillerCoors the value of hiring MIAD students and graduates. Their incredible talents have continually fueled the growth and leadership of southeastern Wisconsin’s design community.”
Robert Mikulay
Vice Chair, MIAD Board of Trustees
“Delta brings blue-sky projects to the table, and we’re always impressed by the creativity of the MIAD students’ solutions.”
Judd Lord
Director of Industrial Design
Delta Faucet Company
“Working with MIAD students is a phenomenal way to bring creativity into the business environment.”
Chris Cox
Product and Marketing Director
Vision Fitness
“The included artists [MIAD Alumni] demonstrate strengths in a variety of media, a testament to the college’s multimedia approach and trends of the current art world.”
John McKinnon
Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art
Milwaukee Art Museum
“Harley-Davidson is energized by our growing partnership with MIAD and ability to assist in the development of the college’s campus and its students. Harley Stylists play an integral role in the college’s ground-breaking Industrial Design PowerSports course, which they helped to found in 2008, and, last fall, students from across five majors participated in The Helmet Project, Harley-Davidson Museum’s first feature exhibition. It is especially gratifying now to see how the Interior Architecture and Design students are using the donated materials to transform MIAD’s campus for all students.”
Matt Levatich
Harley-Davidson
President and COO
“Our relationship with MIAD, the epicenter of our creative community, recognizes that in the 21st century, the creative spirit is not marginal, but vital.”
Paul Krajniak
Director
Discovery World
“You don’t measure MIAD’s impact just by the wonderful artists it educates. Its grads work in companies throughout the region… MIAD is a vital part of our creative capital.”
Julia Taylor
President
Greater Milwaukee Committee
“As this [Helmet Project] exhibition demonstrates, MIAD produces gifted students who positively impact Milwaukee’s culture and business environment.”
Peggy Sue Dunigan
“The talent of the MIAD students is inspiring, and the faculty really does a great job of leading the students toward a real-world experience. That is a goal where all truly benefit.”
Ray Drea
Redirector of Styling
Harley-Davidson Motor Corporation
News
Paris study abroad illuminates creative practice for students
Madison Boeder ’25 found that study abroad trips through the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) resonated so strongly with their practice that the Fine Art + New Studio Practice major (Art History minor) went on two: Florence in 2024 and, this year, Paris.
Illustration & Animation rank top in state, highly in Midwest and U.S.
In Animation Career Review’s 2025 college rankings, the Illustration and Animation programs at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design were once again ranked number 1 in the state.
Art direction and alumni connection: Design student interns at Nike
This past summer, Olivia Nava ’26 (Communication Design) landed a fiercely competitive internship at athletic footwear and apparel brand Nike. Now that she’s back, the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) senior reflects on the experience, and the MIAD classes and connections that prepared her for this opportunity.
MIAD gallery offers photo students contemporary perspectives
In the photo area of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, where digital technology and the darkroom intersect, the Perspectives Gallery shines its own light on contemporary image makers.
Transformational reflection: Studying abroad in The Burren, Ireland
Each year, a group of Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) students spends four weeks in May investigating the Burren in County Clare, Ireland through text and image. Based at the Burren College of Art and led by Professor Leslie Fedorchuk and printmaker Matthew Presutti, the two-decade-long partnership between the colleges has produced meaningful reflection and transformational experiences for students.