College for Creative Studies

This , we're featuring Brook Banham, CCS Transportation Design alum, adjunct professor, and Detroit creative whose work celebrates the city’s deep roots in cars, culture, and creativity.

His piece Formula, featured in the 2026 Re/View: CCS Alumni Exhibition, imagines a '72 Pontiac Formula 400 Trans Am hybrid doing donuts outside the RenCen, a tribute to Detroit’s automotive legacy and the spirit!

See Formula and explore more work from CCS alumni from the Re/View: CCS Alumni Exhibition here: https://www.ccsdetroit.edu/student-exhibition/ccs-alumni-exhibition/

Thinking about art school? Come see what makes CCS different! ✨

Tour campus, meet faculty and current students, explore our studios, and get your questions answered at our Open House on June 27.

Your future creative self will thank you.

Learn more and register here: https://ccsdetroit.my.salesforce-sites.com/events #/list?keyword=Campus%20Tour

This , we’re spotlighting Christine Wakefield, a ‘22 Product Design alum, who had the opportunity to design the Color & Materials for a bespoke Lincoln Navigator created for Serena Williams.

“Every decision was about crafting an experience that feels as powerful and effortless as Serena herself,” Christine shared. Designing for one of the world’s most iconic athletes, talk about a dream project.

Go behind the scenes of the design process in Lincoln’s series, where Christine shares more about bringing the project to life here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-tdYL-YnBA&list=PLAEESfiI93W--zPvgjcUns4zV3jV3in5m&index=2

“Say nice things about Detroit.” - Emily T. Gail

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.