“My appreciation for space planning and design is born from early childhood experiences,” says Certificate Program in Interior Design graduate Amber Lowi, who is also founder and principal...
Art and Design
“I've loved art and design—especially interior design—since I was a little girl,” Paulette Sarmiento enthuses. “It all began when my mom started a renovation in our penthouse apartment in Bogotá,...
Let’s defer to famed film director George Lucas, who, in The Heart of the Matter, beautifully said: “The sciences are the ‘how,’ and the humanities are the ‘why’ — why are we here, why do we...
“I was raised in Laguna Beach by a mom who really encouraged creativity. Her inspiration along with the natural beauty of the city’s location and its then-liberal attitude toward the arts were a...
Judy Doherty understands that education is not just one step forward in a career progression, but it is an ongoing process of learning to update and hone skills.
Now that many people are staying at home more than usual, many remote workers are looking to upgrade the place in which they spend the vast majority of their time.
We are so excited to announce that we are celebrating our 130th anniversary! Since 1891, it has been our pleasure to serve and support our students’ academic and professional goals. We remain...
Successful people rarely rest on past performance, and Lulu Wang well knows the benefits of accruing new knowledge as she continues on her career path.
Lulu’s journey toward a UX career...
“During Diagramming and Prototyping for UX—the first class I took at UC Berkeley Extension—I remember the instructor saying that ‘architecture is the gateway to UX design,’” recalls Sana Maqsood...
Clara Azulay is no stranger to design. She has a bachelors in design studies and graphic design from San Jose State University. She has professional experience as a designer at TechSoup Global,...
“I have always been empathetic with a curious mind, always striving to learn more,” says Garima Sikdar. “My passion for design stems from the challenge of balancing conformity and creativity. The...
When you listen to Jennifer Mahoney, it’s instantly clear that she deeply respects her design students as goal-oriented strivers. As Jennifer describes her students, “They've already been down the...
After establishing herself in an affiliate marketing career, Isabel Korman realized that she wanted more from her career. She wanted to be able to create and think creatively on the job, engage in...
Working 80-hour-weeks as a corporate lawyer drove Kelly Finley to look for something else.
That this something turned out to be a drafting course with us, and, ultimately, a career in...
Elinor Cheung wanted two things: to live in a warmer climate and to paint. Item #1: She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, from Minnesota. Item #2: She completed the Specialized Program in...
Graphic Design instructor Josh Halstead discusses the origins of his design philosophies, artistic practice and teaching.
Kitty He’s atypical career path to user experience design is actually pretty typical for UX professionals.
Animation instructor Iveta Karpathyova finds the merging of design and movement and storytelling an exhilarating combination. She had been drawn to art, fashion and dance throughout her schooling...
When Macarena Muniz moved to the United States from her native Chile, she thought that her previous job experience might not be weighed accurately when competing for positions with local...
Walking into the art room as a sixth grader, Rucha Chattur was enraptured by the colorful scene that met her eyes: the brilliant paint bottles, the scatter of brushes and the bright paintings...
Career change is never easy. It takes education and training, work, a belief in self and—sometimes—just a spark of confidence.
Although a particular fact may be solid and unwavering, the interpretation of that fact can be subject to change depending on the person exposed to it and the manner of presentation. The fact is...
Ivan Trujillo, the director of the Graphic Design and UX Design programs at UC Berkeley Extension, recommended that we talk with Ricky Pascual, one of his recent graduates. Ivan was impressed by...
Like many starting college, Ankita chose a major where the expectations were known: Her father was a businessman, so she studied business. But Ankita always had a penchant for design.
For a lot of people, a career in STEM is the end goal. But for Oscar Ko, a career as a software engineer at Boeing was just a launching pad.
What is an allegory, a symbol, or an emblem? How do we distinguish Rococo from the Baroque? Why the rise in Neoclassicism in the mid-18th century?
We recently had the pleasure to join together to celebrate the must-deserved recipients of the 2018 Honored Instructor Awards.
We recently had the opportunity to visit Extension student and product specialist Lisa Jacquiot.
Marcela Corona was already leaning toward a design career when she first came to the United States with her partner, a graduate student at UC Berkeley.
Stephen Wong, one of our esteemed Extension Honored Instructors for 2017, exemplifies the best that we have to offer: professionally talented, devoted to his students and intellectually curious....
As part of San Francisco Design Week, legendary Berkeley printer and artist David Lance Goines gave a wide-ranging talk at our San Francisco Campus that used examples from his printing career to...
Named after artist Paul Cézanne, Bay Area native Cezanne Rothberg turned to graphic design after a year and a half as a travel photographer and writer in Bali.
This is the third year that the Department of Art and Design will host events at Extension’s SF campus as part of SF Design Week. This year’s low-fee events...
Yoko Tahara was inspired to start an artistic career when she viewed a series of woodblock prints by noted artist Shiko Munakata
You can be forgiven a dropped-jaw reaction when you learn about Sharon Hunter’s many accomplishments. A nurse for 30 years at St. Joseph Health in Eureka, Calif., Hunter gets a deep satisfaction...
Aiqin Zhou has been fully immersed in creating art since the age of five. As a child growing up in China, Zhou fell in love with calligraphy, and through the years expanded her talents into brush...
User experience design requires you to employ both right and left-brain thinking. You have to have the technical chops while keeping the user front and center (think: “I’m a people person!”). For...
Šárka Volejníková is helping to turn run-down Hilltop Park in San Francisco's Bayview District into a vibrant center for the neighborhood and nature. This UC Berkeley Extension instructor works at...
Molly Mueller patiently built her knowledge and skills in a variety of positions that necessitated an eye and talent for design.
Carlos Javier Ortiz forges strong bonds with the subjects in his photographs, which document the tragic loss of young life in urban communities such as those on the south side of Chicago.
Shannon D. Schmidt teaches several of our cutting-edge art courses, including The Found Object: An Exploration of Appropriation and Contemporary Art and Soft Sculpture.
If you're not familiar with the resources available, however, you may not realize the range of plants that require little water.
While being a pharmacist is challenging work, Juyun Yim wants a career where she can express her creativity.
For many people, retirement provides the opportunity for leisure, travel, taking classes for personal enjoyment. But for Ben Lee, retirement means studying for a new career.
Jennifer Lugris is at her best when she has a paintbrush in her hand. Lugris began taking art courses in Los Angeles, eventually moving to the Bay Area.
Melissa Mizell is a principal at Gensler, where she has worked on high-profile projects such as the Terminal 2 redesign at San Francisco International Airport.
Created to inspire the imagination and ignite critical dialog through art and film, the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) is now open to the public.
Instructor Doug Wittnebel describes his exhibit, which previously hung on the walls of the San Francisco campus, as follows: "Outside and inside of my work life at Gensler and my...
Elena Ortiz began her professional career at Texas-based Houston Chronicle newspaper, setting type and designing layouts back when rulers and exacto knives were a printer's primary tools.
Communications isn't just about words, social media posts or newsletters.
Sometimes a degree isn't enough. For Samantha Edwards, the Certificate Program in Landscape Architecture is the perfect complement to her B.S. in landscape design.