Car Design Programs

The challenges facing the transportation and automotive industry present tremendous opportunities for transportation designers. Art Center has long served as a globally recognized catalyst for innovation. As transportation designers, our students grow to become passionate problem solvers focused on developing design solutions to address these challenges.

With dozens of advanced automotive design studios and companies leading the emerging fields of new mobility and alternative energy located in Southern California, we are positioned at the heart of trans-portation design’s future. Our instructors are professional designers and successful entrepreneurs working in the industry and serving as experts on important topics being debated in the field. Thanks to this vibrant current of energy passing between the campus and the “real world, ” students gain an insider’s perspective of this rapidly changing and highly competitive profession.

Known for more than its longstanding influence in automotive design, our program can prepare you for a career in motorcycle, marine, aircraft, commercial transport, personal mobility and public transit design, as well as vehicle interiors. Exploring the balance between form and function, you will develop the ability to create vehicle concepts with distinct personality, improved function and broad social impact.

In addition to traditional elements of styling, comfort, safety and usability, our curriculum emphasizes vital topics such as sustainable mobility, the implications of brand, and product life cycle. You will gain fluency in drawing and in physical and digital modeling skills, plus develop an understanding of vehicle architecture, materials, process and aerodynamics. And you will join the next generation of designers tackling problems that may not be articulated yet, creating the future and participating in the innovation economy.