College for Creative Studies

Say nice things about Detroit.

We’ll start: the creative spirit here is unmatched.

Now it’s your turn, say your favorite thing about in the comments!

Click here to discover even more reasons we love Detroit -> https://www.ccsdetroit.edu/detroit/

This , meet Michael Maher Jr., a 2007 Illustration alum, and the artist behind iconic film graphics, storyboards, and creatures from projects like Argo, The Ides of March, and Netflix’s Stranger Things.

What started with drawing caricatures on Michigan film sets turned into a career designing on-screen worlds, creating the terrifying Vecna, and even directing sequences for one of Netflix’s biggest shows.

Michael’s story is all about trusting your instincts, staying curious, and saying yes to creative opportunities, even before you feel fully ready.

Read the full interview to see how his CCS experience helped shape a career in storytelling, film, and design: https://www.ccsdetroit.edu/news/michael-maher-jr-07-illustration/

Missed the Student Exhibition Opening?
You’ve still got time to experience the creativity, experimentation, and hard work our CCS students poured into this year’s projects.

The Student Exhibition is free and open to the public through May 29, featuring work across all of our departments, precollege, undergraduate, and graduate, as well as alumni work at our Re/View: CCS Alumni Exhibition.

Trust us, you’re going to want to see what the CCS community has been making.

Plan your visit here: https://www.ccsdetroit.edu/ccs-event/student-exhibition/

From the classroom to the billboard!

CCS Communication Design and Strategy students partnered with Movement Electronic Music Festival to create a billboard campaign for one of Detroit’s most iconic events.

Four student teams developed concepts, built pitch decks, and presented their ideas directly to the Movement team, bringing strategy and design together in a real-world creative pitch experience.

Congratulations to Team Reverb: Elise Sansbury, Nidhi Srikanth, Owen La Belle, and Ava Quail, whose winning design is now up on billboards across the city!

And shoutout to the incredible work from the other teams:
Team Melt: Eben Breton, Mar Oviedo, Luis Blanca Inigo, and Thomas Rascol
Team Technotic: Dylan Abraham, Ceci Morales-Enriquez, Ethan Phail, and Zander Connally
Team 313: Veronica Trevino, Amelia Loshaw, Yona Dominguez Goicoechea, and Kelli Choi

Detroit creativity 🤝 Detroit techno.

At the CCS Thesis Select 2026 Presentations, graduate students were specially chosen to share their exemplary thesis/capstone projects, which explored everything from sustainable infrastructure and emotional resilience to anxiety-conscious CMF design and community healthcare innovation, the future of design on full display.

Featured presentations included:
Jack Xianze Liu, MFA Transportation Design: imagining an Afro-futurist future powered by renewable energy and smart mobility systems.
Calvin Hao-en Sun, MFA User Experience Design: redesigning social media as a tool for emotional awareness and personal growth for Gen Z.
June Jeonghwa Hong, MA Color & Materials Design: creating CMF solutions for business travelers with height-related anxiety.

The evening also recognized the inaugural recipient of the Maria-Luisa Rossi Award for Excellence in Graduate Research: Ananya Thakur, MFA User Experience Design, for MemPulse, a project supporting cardiovascular health through community healthcare workers.

Congratulations to all graduate award recipients and to Ananya on this well-deserved honor.

Ready to spend a weekend making something incredible? ✨⁠
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CCS Precollege Makers Weekend is back June 26–28, 2026, three days of hands-on workshops for creatives ready to explore new skills and make work they can actually take home.⁠
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Choose from Leather Bag Making⁠, Jewelry Design - Setting⁠, Large Format Photography,⁠ and Printmaking⁠.
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Whether you’re trying something new or leveling up your craft, Makers Weekend is your chance to create alongside artists, designers, and fellow makers on CCS’s campus.⁠
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Spots are limited! Click here to sign up now ->https://www.enrole.com/ccs/jsp/index.jsp?categoryId=62790C70

CCS is proud to name Veronika Scott (‘11 Product Design) our 2026 Distinguished Alumna.

From a CCS class project to an internationally recognized organization changing lives around the world.

What began as a junior-year assignment became Empowerment Plan, the nonprofit behind the EMPWR coat and a “paid-to-learn” model that provides employment and support services for individuals experiencing homelessness.

Inspired by her own experiences and shaped by her time at CCS, Veronika’s work is a powerful example of how design can create real impact.

Congratulations, Veronika!

Tonight, comes alive.

Join us on campus for the 2026 CCS Alumni Exhibition starting at 5 PM, then celebrate the next generation of artists and designers at the 101st annual Student Exhibition Opening beginning at 6 PM.

From alumni work to senior thesis projects, both campuses will be packed with creativity, community, and the kind of art you have to see in person.

See you at , grab your tickets now: https://ccs-seo-tickets.square.site/