Ringling College Announces Entertainment Design Major

Sarasota, Oct. 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ringling College of Art and Design announced today its newest major, Entertainment Design with an emphasis on Themed Environments. This is the 14th major for the College and the fourth major to be rolled out in the last three years (along with Creative Writing, Visual Studies, and Virtual Reality Development). Ringling College is now accepting applications for enrollment in the Entertainment Design major beginning fall of 2019.

Students of this program will bring stories and worlds to life by creating robust user experiences revolving around themed environments. This major includes the design of spaces for theme parks and other destinations, themed dining areas, museums and exhibitions, zoos, retail establishments, and restaurants. Students in Entertainment Design will discover how to design and build experiences that delight, amuse, enchant, and enthrall—all in an effort to have guests and users feel that they have been transported to new places.

Dr. Larry R. Thompson, President of Ringling College, says, “One of the unique features of Ringling College of Art and Design is the way it continues to develop new and pioneering programs that provide the education for the future creative leaders of our world. Graduates of this new Entertainment Design program will have the opportunity to develop a dynamic combination of creative and technological innovation skillsets that will equip them to drive the evolution and invention of new forms of entertainment that will inspire and create unique opportunities for organization of the future.”

Ringling College is well positioned for this major because it is located a quick car ride away from the country’s entertainment capital of Orlando, FL where students will have unparalleled opportunities to visit, study, and learn from industry masters. As it does with its other majors, The College will bring in renowned, successful practitioners so students can learn directly from them and their professional experience. A highly collaborative industry, Entertainment Design demands insight and input from artists, designers, and other creatives to develop the concept for, visualize, and then realize a shared vision. So, Ringling College students in Entertainment Design will work across majors while honing their own visual communication and creative problem-solving skills. 

On the importance of collaboration, Dr. Thompson, continues, “I want to thank Dr. Peter McAllister, our Vice President for Academic Affairs, and his team and the faculty of Ringling College for the development of this wonderful new academic major to add to our growing list of innovative and cutting-edge opportunities for the future.”

The program’s emphasis on Themed Environments means that students will focus on building for 3D, including consideration of space, material properties, and fabrication. Advanced skills will be developed through several digital design techniques, including 3D modeling, 3D prototyping drawing, and CAD drawing.

Ringling College is a member of the industry's major organization, the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA). Students recently organized a Ringling College student chapter.

About Ringling College of Art and Design
Since 1931, Ringling College of Art and Design has cultivated the creative spirit in students from around the globe. The private, not-for-profit fully-accredited college offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 13 disciplines and the Bachelor of Arts in two. The College's rigorous curriculum employs the studio model of teaching and immediately engages students through a comprehensive, first-year program that is both specific to the major of study and focused on the liberal arts. The Ringling College teaching model ultimately shapes students into highly employable and globally aware artists and designers. www.ringling.edu