School of Visual Concepts

I’ve had nothing but wonderful experiences at SVC. I’ve taken a handful of design and software classes now and have taken away so much from each class, it’s a really great resource for working professionals in the area. The instructors and staff put a lot of care and thought into every offering and it’s a great value for the cost.

I've had nothing but incredible experiences here. The teachers are exceptional and the school puts the students needs first. I would highly recommend this school to anyone; from taking a singular workshop class to a certificate program.

I enjoyed free lectures at SVC.

I took some UX classes there. They were pretty good, covered all basics, good hands on experience.

All of my experiences with them have been positive, and I leave feeling inspired. I've learned a lot, had fun and made some good connections.

I took some classes here after attending the Art Center in Passadena. They were great!

I went to the School of Visual Concepts for a day-long workplace training on content strategy. I'd never been here before, but would definitely go again! The school is located in a busy, high-traffic part of South Lake Union. There's a paid parking lot across the street, but it was also easy to get to by bus. The building is fairly large, with several classrooms and conference rooms. It's pretty minimalist, but the letterpresses and type trays are cool and fun to look at, and the hallways display interesting student work and large-scale steamroller prints from the annual Steamroller Smackdown competition they run. They also sell letterpress cards made in-house, with some cute designs. Our training was from 9-4, and while I knew they were providing lunch, it was a nice surprise that they also offered breakfast: bagels, donuts, coffee and fruit. They also had an excellent snack bar for grazing throughout the day, with chips, trail mix, fruit snacks and cookies, plus coffee and tea. The bathrooms were conveniently located, small but clean and well-maintained throughout the day. There were several other events running at the same time, but the facilities were well maintained all day long. Our presenters were an in-house instructor and a guest speaker, and they did a good job keeping things interesting over a long day, with videos and activities to break up the speaking. That said, there were some downsides. Our group of about 50 was really too big to fit, even in the largest room, and the people on the edges of the room had a hard time seeing the monitors. The large meeting room is almost all floor-to-ceiling windows, and even with the blinds drawn, there was a lot of glare; combined with a slideshow that was white text on a light blue background, it was very difficult to see -- which wasn't ideal, since our activities required seeing what was on-screen. The street outside was high-traffic, including frequent buses, and there was some sort of construction project going on in the parking lot that was quite loud and distracting. Most of this, I think, can be chalked up to a group that was too big. However, we fell behind almost as soon as the training began, which threw the schedule off -- we didn't get a break until after 11. Lunch was scheduled for 1, which felt kind of late, though at least we had the snack buffet to work on! Overall, I liked the facility, and most of the issues we had came from being too large of a group for the room we were in. They offer letterpress and hand-lettering classes for individuals, and I'd really like to come back and try one of those. If you're looking for graphic design or printing classes in the SLU area, do check out the School of Visual Concepts.

I am always anxious before going to a place I've never been before. The staff here was so kind and made me feel welcome and known the moment I walked into the classroom. I feel this is so important -- without a learning *community* learning is difficult. I took a full day workshop on visual meeting facilitation. I have tangible and valuable skills from just one short day here and am looking forward to applying what I learned in my work!! Also - free breakfast and lunch! Only gripes/suggestions: 1 - when doing name tags it's nice to get into the habit of asking students to state/write gender pronouns, SVC doesn't seem to have a policy around this but I think it would be appropriate 2 - this might only be specific to my instructor, but I think more could've been done to set ground rules for class at the beginning (like how/when to ask questions). there were a couple students in my workshop who ended up dominating conversations. this is really common with extroverts who quickly jump in with comments. But sometimes implementing a policy of "if you just spoke, wait a bit to see if someone else has something to add" can be helpful and encouraging to more quieter types/internal processors in the room. I also had a list of questions i wrote down expecting we would have time to ask questions at the end, but we ran out of time. So policies around class participation could be helpful! I enjoyed the more interactive parts of this workshop especially when we broke into groups and had more time to chat with each other and apply what we were learning. Highly recommend classes at SVC, I'll be back when my wallet lets me!

SVC was a much needed life raft when I decided to change careers. The staff is helpful and interested in their students and always happy to take the time to answer questions when navigating this competitive industry. Their warmth and encouragement leaves me inspired and challenged to make the best work possible.

SVC is an indispensable resource for anyone who wants to develop their advertising skills and work in the Seattle industry. The teachers are talented Creative Directors, Art Directors, and Copywriters who care about the work and genuinely want to help students succeed. I owe the best part of my book, an internship, a great Copywriter partner, and an award from Communication Arts to SVC. Recommended with no reservations.

I've been taking classes at SVC for so long I don't even remember how I got started. But many years later, I still sign up for classes as often as I possibly can. The atmosphere is pure fertilizer (the good kind!) for creative minds. The people are the warmest, most caring and intelligent creatives I have ever met. I want to live in that village and be inducted into that tribe. You think I'm exaggerating? Then you obviously haven't taken classes there. I LOVE SVC. L O V E . It is my favorite place to be. My heart flutters when I drive towards it for my evening class, slows to a relaxed and happy tempo once I'm in the building, and it hangs in my chest when it is time to leave. SVC didn't get me a job. I had a job. But it made me so, so much better at it! It has kept my spark alive. The myriad talents I've sharpened there have made me the "that guy that everyone goes to when they don't know how to do something". I've become, thanks to SVC, indispensable at my company. All the while, keeping my creativity bone well-lubed and fully content. SVC is the antidote of the crushing corporate grind. It is the Mecca of Those Who Like to Make Cool Shit. It is worthy of your attention, and worth every dime you want to flip their way. Get to know Larry, Linda, and the rest of the staff and students. Everyone there is totally bitchin'. Go, sign up for something. Try something new! Make cool shit. Because this is the best place to learn to do it.

Going to SVC has been one of my better life choices. They've helped me get jobs I really like and I've met some really amazing friends through them. This school has been a really great thing to be part of.