Posters designed by April Greiman, spanning her career.

King’s Poster collection is the first one in the United States. It includes primarily the political and cultural posters. King’s posters offer a visual history of the global political radicalization of the late 1960s and early 1970s, including the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa and the Anti-Nazi League in Britain​.​

Collection contains the personal and professional papers of Leah Hoffmitz Milken, including work done by Hoffmitz Milken for Letterform Design, her personal design firm; research and materials related to courses she taught at ArtCenter College of Design and other schools; and work by her students at ArtCenter and other schools.

Items in the collection are predominantly visual and include sketches of letterforms and typefaces; printing proofs; posters; photographs; and a small collection of student work on CDs. There is relatively little correspondence or original writings.

Books given as part of the original donation are not included in this description. They can be found cataloged in the online catalog at http://library.artcenter.edu/.

Acquired from the UK-based private press of I.M. Imprimit, the Pouchée Specimen Sheets are a rare collection of antique ornamented types, originally produced at the foundry of Louis John Pouchée (b. 1782, d. 1845). The letters were engraved by hand in the 1820s as patterns from which metal types could be made and sold to poster printers. They are richly ornamented fat-face styles, incorporating images of flowers, fruit, animals, musical instruments, agricultural implements, and Masonic symbols within the letterforms.

These International Initiatives files document the programs and projects of the department, including Designmatters, from its inception in 2001. The bulk of the collection, the files of Series 2, documents Designmatters projects such as the Nyumbani village in Kenya and class sponsorships. Series 3 contains materials related to the biennial Art Center Design Conference, from initial planning to post-conference feedback. The Centro de Diseño y Arte documented in Series 4 is a Mexican art school established under the guidance of Art Center faculty and staff. Departmental computer files are on CDs in Series 5. Series 6 consists of posters advertising Designmatters programs, as well as a few of student work.

This collection consists of files and printed materials created by the Admissions department from the 1930s through 2007. The bulk of the collection is statistic reports on incoming students.

The Administrative Files of Series 1 include form letters used by the department. In addition to Admission Statistics reports in Series 2, there are statistics on enrollment, grades and inquiries by prospective students. The restricted Portfolio Review Logs in Series 3 list all the prospective students by the date they brought their portfolios in to be reviewed, and whether or not they were accepted.

The Printed Materials in Series 4 are mainly handouts to prospective students, including brochures and “View”, which is geared toward high school students. Series 5 consists of general recruitment posters. The 2006 posters feature artwork by alumni Calef Brown (ILLU 1988) and Ann Elliot Cutting (PHOT 1987).

The Toyota Lecture collection consists of posters, videos, and audiotapes of the lectures. The Toyota Motor Corporation Endowed Lecture Program was established in 1984 through a generous $1 million endowed gift to Art Center College of Design from Toyota. The endowment was used to bring accomplished professionals working in fields directly related to Art Center's departments, as well as architects, writers, historians, critics, and social commentators, to speak on campus.

In June 2009, the name of the lecture series changed to The Big Picture.

The Public Programs collection primarily consists of catalogs, brochures, and program materials from Art Center at Night, Art Center for Kids, Art Center for Teens, Summer Institute for Teachers, and other programs. The administrative files in Series 1 contain reports and planning records from David Walker, Director Public Programs (1996-2007).

Note that photographs from Public Programs exist in the Photograph collection. A CD of images from Summer Institute of Teachers was removed from this material and moved to the Photograph collection.

These Library records were created by Elizabeth Galloway, Library Director from 1979 to 2013. The collection includes memos, minutes, reports, and surveys, which document the activity of the Library Director as well as Art Center. The bulk of the material was collected by Galloway rather than generated by her, and documents Art Center's administration generally more than the administration of the Library specifically. The David R. Brown files include memos sent by Galloway to Brown, memos from Brown to Galloway and to the Vice Presidents, and memos to and from the Board of Trustees. Additionally, minutes of the Curriculum Committee, minutes of the Vice Presidents meetings, minutes and correspondence of the Library Advisory Board, and minutes and newsletters of the Student Government all document planning and changes in the way Art Center operated from the mid 1980s to 2001. A draft of the Leon Whiteson history of Art Center includes Galloway's notes and corrections. Various reports from departments within the school, including enrollment statistics (for international students, Art Center at Night, and Saturday High) as well as independent consultants' reports, add further insight.

These audiotapes originally housed in the Library are recordings of a varied collection of Art Center events, visiting speakers, and classes.

This collection contains ArtCenter exhibition invitations, announcement, posters, and catalogs from the early 1930s to the present. The collection did not come from one source, and was compiled from years of various exhibitions. In addition, the collection represents all of the ArtCenter galleries, although exhibitions from the Williamson Gallery make up most of the collection beginning in 1992.

Series 1 has materials from Art Center's main exhibits, featuring many prominent artists. Some of these exhibits are traveling, and some are curated by Art Center staff and guests. There is a gap in our collection between 1955 and 1976. An exhibit on Richard Avedon's photographs was an important event for Art Center, shown just two months after the opening of the Ellwood building in 1976. Also historical was the Christopher Le Brun exhibit in 1992 that launched the new Alyce de Roulet Williamson gallery. Beginning in the early 2000s we began more partnerships with other Pasadena institutions, such as with Neuro, 2003 and ear(th), 2004 (both collaborations with Caltech), The Universe, 2001 (with related exhibits around Pasadena), and In the Dermisphere, 2007 (part of a Pasadena festival: SKIN: Art and Ideas).

Series 2 contains invitations and announcements for student exhibits from 1934 - 2004. The early records are mostly for an annual exhibit of student work from all departments. Most of the later records are for individual student MFA shows. This series is incomplete and contains records that were gathered together in 2003. Other materials for student shows may be found in individual department collections. The regular Grad Show announcements are found in the Graduation collection.

These Exhibitions records were created by Stephen Nowlin, Vice President, Director, Williamson Gallery from 1985-2021. The collection includes reports, contracts, correspondence, and clippings which document the activity of the Director as well as the Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery and Sculpture Garden.

The Administrative files are mainly correspondence files. Of interest is the file on ArtCenter's original website, of which Nowlin was integral to the design and creation. The ArtNight files consist of brochures, meeting notes, and correspondence documenting ArtCenter's participation in Pasadena's citywide cultural event. The Exhibitions files document the many exhibitions Nowlin curated in the Williamson Gallery. Included are gallery mockups, loan agreements, and lists of art/artists. The Sculpture Garden files consist of loan agreements, condition reports, maps, and artist biographies. The Student Gallery files are mainly information sheets filled out by the students identifying their work for exhibition labels. The Clippings files contain photocopies of newspaper reviews of exhibitions.

The Faculty Council Collection consists of by-laws, policies and procedures, meeting minutes, memos, and faculty enrichment grant applications.