01
Cohort-based learning
Students enter the program together and graduate together, building creative relationships that last well beyond the program.
Creative people go further
Two-year degree · Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
DesignWhatMatters.
The Graphic & Web Design program at North Idaho College teaches you to think critically, communicate visually, and build work that makes an impact outside the classroom.
Design thinking
Visual communication
Real world experience
Industry connections
Why GDES
What makes
GDES different
The Graphic & Web Design program at North Idaho College is built around one thing: graduating with a professional portfolio that proves what you can do.
02
Student-produced portfolio show
Pitch, design, and produce a professional exhibition of your work as the capstone of the program.
Real work real audiences
03
Real production labs
Mac labs, laser cutters, large format printers, 3D printers, and a T1V interactive wall.
Professional tools real results
04
Portfolio-driven curriculum
Every course builds toward a professional portfolio that proves what you can do.
Courses today opportunities tomorrow
The NIC Guarantee
Your degree
comes with a
job guarantee
Finish the two-year AAS in Graphic & Web Design and North Idaho College stands behind it in writing. If you are not employed six months after graduating, the college keeps working with you.
The work
Made by students
Real projects from the program, spanning brand identities, product design, web builds, and motion.
Capstone
The Portfolio Show
Every student pitches a concept for the annual GDES Portfolio Show. One concept wins, and the whole graduating class builds it together: the brand, the website, the printed materials, and the exhibition of their portfolios.
It is a real show with a real brand, and it is how two years of work goes public.
2026 Portfolio Show
The Proof
Cohort model
Start together. Graduate together.
You move through the curriculum with the same group, from your first semester to the final Portfolio Show.
That builds real collaboration and honest critique, plus the kind of creative friendships that last well past graduation.
Where you make it
Labs and production
Two buildings of Mac labs, fabrication tools, and shared studios where you take an idea all the way to a finished object.
- 01Mac Design Labs
- 02Laser Cutters
- 03Large-Format Printer
- 043D Printer
- 05T1V Interactive Wall
- 06Green Screen Studio
Alumni
Where graduates work
GDES alumni design and build for studios and companies across the country.
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Study design on the lake
North Idaho College sits on the shoreline of Lake Coeur d'Alene, one of the most scenic campus settings in the Pacific Northwest.
Downtown is walkable, the outdoor recreation runs year-round, the creative scene keeps growing, and Spokane is 30 minutes away.
Visit
See it for yourself.
Tour the labs, meet the faculty, and see student work in person. A visit is the fastest way to know if GDES is right for you.