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MIAD ranked #1 Graphic Design School in Wisconsin by Animation Career Review

In its 2023 rankings, Animation Career Review named MIAD the #1 Graphic Design School in Wisconsin and in the top 7% of design schools in the Midwest. The college’s Animation and Illustration programs also received top rankings.

Animation Career Review evaluates the academic reputation, employment data, depth and breadth of program faculty, tuition value, and graduation and retention rates both of independent colleges like MIAD and of public universities.

Catherine Currie, Communication Design ’23, illuminates the program’s and MIAD’s student excellence. She will join Nike for a summer internship, winning over 1,500 graphic design candidates from across the country to be the only graphic design intern at the company. She was previously awarded the prestigious Type Directors Club National Scholarship and has gained national recognition for her typography.

“[MIAD] does a really nice job of prioritizing their students and creating a relationship with their students,” says Currie. “Being here I really built a foundation of trust and a network of professionals that I can rely on for the rest of my life.” Click here to hear about Currie’s internship and projects.

MIAD’s Communication Design program prepares students for print and digital work that informs and educates in new ways, always through the lens of the end user, and through partnerships and internships in Milwaukee and beyond. In today’s global economy, alumni fill important positions at established advertising agencies, design firms and major corporations, with many leading their own creative businesses.

In addition to the rankings in Animation Career Review, MIAD has been named a previous Top Design School by Graphic Design USA.

Learn more about MIAD’s Communication Design program and alumni success.

News

MIAD Animation professor’s short film to premiere at SXSW

This March, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) Professor Lou Morton’s short film “MINE!” makes its world premiere at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival. Last March, Morton’s animated music video “Born Days: How to Disappear” received a Juror Award at the 62nd Ann Arbor Film Festival, where it had its world premiere.

Keith Negley: Award-winning illustrator and writer

When award-winning illustrator and author Keith Negley ’00 isn’t completing projects like his most recent book of “forgotten trailblazers,” he’s creating portraits of celebrities like Taylor Swift, Emma Stone and Chelsea Clinton, and doing editorial illustrations on topics like neurodivergence, organ transplants and the opioid crisis.

Two MIAD alumni named Mary L. Nohl Fellows for 2025

Two alumni from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) have received Emerging Artist fellowships from the 2025 Mary L. Nohl Fund for its 2025 cycle: Margaret Griffin ’23 (Fine Art + New Studio Practice) and Open Kitchen, co-founded by Rudy Medina ’12 (Integrated Studio Arts).

FYE Juried Media Arts Festival 2024 celebrates first-year student works

Seven students received awards at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design’s juried FYE Media Arts Festival – an in-house screening and celebration of video, animation and sound design works by current and former First-Year Experience (FYE) students held on November 26. The 56 entries were judged by multimedia and filmmaking professionals Emma B. Barany, Gabe Leistekow and Sara Sowell.