The School of Communication & Design (SCD) traces its origins to the Department of Pattern Design, established in 1928 with the National Academy of Art. Over nearly a century, it has gone through various stages including the Department of Applied Art, the Department of Applied Fine Arts, the Decoration programme under the Department of Arts and Crafts, and the Department of Visual Communication Design. In 2023, the School moved from the Xiangshan Campus of China Academy of Art to the Liangzhu Campus and was established as the School of Communication & Design. The School now offers master's and doctoral programs in Design as a first-level discipline, and has established a multi-level teaching and research system that integrates undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs, as well as an internationally leading academic team. SCD offers the National First-class Undergraduate Program in Visual Communication Design, and its curriculum is structured around two interdependent tracks—the Department of Visual Communication Design and the Department of Social Strategy Design—which together form the two sides of communication design. The program's course clusters—"Oriental Vision", "Branding & Image", "Omni-media Communication", "Content Genealogy", "Social Narrative", and "Urban and Rural Strategy"—are organized into three conceptual pairs: form and content (Oriental Vision and Content Genealogy), image and social subject (Branding & Image and Social Narrative), and media and spatial platform (Omni-media Communication and Urban-rural Strategy). These pairings generate content that traces its origins, design narratives that engage with social construction, and knowledge frameworks that integrate diverse disciplines—forming the School's strategic direction in design humanities and interdisciplinary studies.

The School is supported by platforms including the Green Exhibition Installation Laboratory, the Light-Color Fusion Laboratory, and the Rural International Joint Training Base, which provide robust support for teaching, research, and industry-university collaboration. In response to ongoing social and technological change, the School continuously cultivates students’ keen insight into visual culture, execution capacity for design innovation, and perceptual sensitivity to communication media. It equips learners with the holistic competence to deliver design-driven systemic solutions for priority domains spanning ecological sustainability, community building, rural revitalization, and public services, ultimately nurturing design talents with profound humanistic literacy and strong interdisciplinary integration vision.

Faculty and Staff

·Total faculty and staff:37

·Professional faculty members:32

·Professors:9

·Associate professors:17

Student Body

·Total students: 549

·Undergraduate students: 336

·Master’s students: 197

·Doctoral students: 16

Dean: Jiang Jun

Associate Dean: Liu Yihong

Email: caasjcbxy@163.com