SDSU Graphic Design: My Honest, Hands-On Review

I studied graphic design at San Diego State. I carried a heavy cutting mat. I wore out my ruler. And yes, I cried after one tough crit. Twice. But I learned a lot. If you’d like all the granular details—classes, costs, wins, and headaches—I’ve broken them down in my honest, hands-on SDSU graphic design review.

You know what? I still keep a little stack of old proofs from the Mac lab. They smell like ink and stress and hope. That mix feels right for this program.

How the day-to-day felt

Most weeks were studio heavy. We pinned work up with blue tape, stood in a half circle, and talked type, grids, and color. Crits ran long, but not mean. My type professor made us fix kerning until our eyes went fuzzy. He was right. Bad kerning ruins good ideas.

We had a digital lab with iMacs, Adobe CC, and a big Epson printer that loved to jam at 11 p.m. (Of course.) The print shop had screen printing gear. I burned my first screen there for a poster about a campus blood drive. Red ink everywhere. Not a metaphor. Just messy.

Classes that stuck with me

  • Typography I and II: We built a 16-page zine from scratch. My zine was about border tacos. I used Freight Text for body and Futura for headers. It looked clean on screen. It looked muddy on paper. I learned about CMYK, dot gain, and why paper choice is not cute—it’s critical.

  • Interaction Design: We used Figma to build a shuttle app for campus. I tested my prototype with three classmates outside the library. One person tapped the wrong button three times. I rewired the flow with bigger hit targets and clearer labels. Simple wins.

  • Branding Studio: We rebranded a small coffee truck in North Park. I wrote brand guidelines, built a logo system, and mocked up a cup sleeve with a die-line. My first proof had no bleed. The print tech just looked at me. I fixed it and never forgot again.

  • Packaging: I designed a cold brew box that fit in a fridge door. It was cute and stackable, but the die-cut made the handle weak. Everyone loved the look. The structure failed. That lesson hurt, but it stuck. Pretty is not enough.

  • Motion Basics: We used After Effects for a 10-second logo sting. I kept my easing soft and kind of buttery. My laptop hated rendering. I kept a granola bar next to it like a peace offering.

Real projects I’m proud of

  • I redesigned the bus map for my mom. She hates tiny type. So I made a bold grid, high contrast lines, and clear stops. My prof said, “Design for one person, then let others benefit.” Mom framed it. That counts.

  • I built a poster series for local trail cleanup days. One poster had a hand-drawn glove and a big, chunky headline. We printed with a Riso-like effect in the lab. The texture made it feel warm. People actually showed up.

  • For a campus club, I set up a style kit: hex codes, type scales, spacing rules, and a tiny library in Figma. They still use it. Seeing your system out in the wild is a quiet joy.

People and guidance

Crits were honest. Not soft, not cruel. One professor asked me, “What job does this type do?” I said, “It looks nice.” He waited. I learned to answer better.

We had guest talks from local studios—MiresBall, BASIC/DEPT, and a small team from North Park. I brought postcards of my work. I got an internship at a tiny studio doing brand refresh work for a craft bakery. I cleaned up a style sheet. I built a social template bank. The owner taught me how to talk to clients without jargon. Bless her.

On nights when inspiration ran dry, I’d scroll through the case studies on Moon & Back Graphics and come back to the lab with three new thumbnail sketches and a lot more energy.

AIGA SDSU helped a lot. I went to a portfolio review at Liberty Station. A designer circled my case study and wrote, “Tell me the problem, not just the polish.” I went home and rewrote every caption.

The dreaded portfolio review

There’s a review before upper-division work. It’s tense. I put my pieces in a simple black folio, labeled everything, and showed process: mess, sketch, prototype, fail, fix, final. I passed. A friend didn’t. She tried again the next term with stronger type work and got in. It’s not a wall. It’s a filter. Wondering whether those class projects even belong in your portfolio? Here’s my candid take: Should I include class projects in my graphic design portfolio?.

Gear and spaces

  • Mac lab with current Adobe apps
  • Big Epson printer that can eat your paper if you feed it wrong
  • Screen printing studio (bring tape, don’t be shy with the squeegee)
  • A cabinet of Pantone books that everyone guards like treasure
  • Lots of tables with blade scars and coffee rings—signs of life

Pro tip: bring extra blades, a metal ruler with a cork back, and a box of cheap paper for drafts. Print small. Fix. Then print big.

San Diego bits

We took type walks in North Park to study old signs. We visited Balboa Park for wayfinding study. During San Diego Design Week, we rode scooters to talks and grabbed fish tacos after. Warm nights. Cool work. Simple joys.

Design inspiration doesn’t clock out at 5 p.m.; some of the most surprising color palettes and typography mash-ups I’ve seen come from nightlife posters and club interiors around the world. If your curiosity (or future study-abroad trip) ever lands you in Russia, you might want to explore how the city’s after-dark culture informs its visuals by starting with Moscow Swingers—their candid rundown of venues, etiquette, and scene aesthetics will help you navigate the clubs confidently and maybe come away with fresh references for your next mood board.

What I loved

  • Strong focus on type and systems, not just “make it pretty”
  • Real feedback from pros in the area
  • Freedom to print, test, and make physical things
  • Teachers who remember your project and push the next step
  • Community—late nights in the lab felt like a tiny studio

What bugged me

  • The printers were busy near finals; get in line early
  • Some classes filled fast; I waited a term for one I wanted
  • Motion gear was fine, not fancy; my laptop did the heavy lift
  • You have to be a self-starter. No one holds your hand past week two

Who will thrive here

If you like clear grids, honest crits, and making stuff that moves people, you’ll do well. If you want a super glossy, tech-only setup, this may feel modest. But the ideas? They get sharp. Curious how SDSU compares to other programs I’ve walked through? Check out my field-tested list of the best schools for graphic design.

A few tips I wish I had on day one

  • Learn Figma early. Build components. Name layers like a grown-up.
  • Print process, not just finals. Tape your drafts up. Live with them a day.
  • Keep a type journal. Note sizes, leading, and why they worked.
  • Join AIGA SDSU. Go to one talk a month. Bring questions.
  • Save your file versions. V1, V2, V2a, V3-final-for-real. You’ll thank yourself.

One elective that surprised me was photography basics. We shot portrait and figure studies, and it drove home how lighting and composition translate across design disciplines. If you’re curious about how professionals handle tasteful, minimalist figure photography, check out Nude Snap — their behind-the-scenes guides and lighting breakdowns offer a quick, practical boost for anyone looking to sharpen their eye for form, shadow, and respectful storytelling.

Final take

SDSU Graphic Design gave me strong legs. Not flashy, steady. I learned how to build a system, defend a choice, and fix my own mess. I can talk kerning with a printer and copy tone with a client. That mix matters.

Was everything perfect? No. But the work felt real. And real sticks. If you’re ready to show up, take the crit, and try again, you’ll come out ready. I did. I still keep that first bad bleed in my drawer. It reminds me how far I’ve come.