Illustration is the art of communicating concise ideas with images in any medium. Illustration shows us who we are by visualizing how we perceive, interact with, and think about the world. It sheds light on world issues in magazines and newspapers, it narrates our inner world in graphic novels and animations, lets us enter our daydreams in picture books and artist toys, clarifies data and guides our movements in illustrated diagrams, maps and signage.

Illustration relies on several skills that are applicable to a wide range of illustrative activities, including curiosity about the world and the ways in which it works, proficiency in solving creative problems and the ability to visually express oneself and ones ideas through a variety of technical means.

The Illustration Program at Parsons The New School for Design teaches students to be exceptional visual communicators. Program graduates confidently pursue multifaceted careers, creating editorial illustration, comics and graphic novels, picture books, motion graphics and animation, toy and product design, pattern and surface design and gallery art.

The focal points of the Illustration program’s well-rounded education are:

-technical proficiency in both traditional and digital media

-conceptual thinking and creative problem solving

-literacy in the history of art

-design, and illustration

-social and cultural awareness

With these tools, students are well equipped to enter and transform the creative field of their choice, and are able to pursue personal and professional artistic goals with a solid educational foundation.