video / alumni / fine-art / student-voices
April 07, 2025
Written and Produced by: Christine Spines

Your Creative Journey Starts Here.

Student Voices

Meet Ivanna Cardenas, Transportation Design

Transportation Design student Ivanna Cardenas moved from Colombia to pursue a career that didn't exist where she grew up — automotive design.

"In Colombia, the artistic world is not very developed, or at least it wasn't when I was there," she says. "It felt like you could only be one of three careers: law, doctor or finance. That wasn't something I was really into. I was always much of an artist."

After attending a design-focused high school in Miami, Ivanna found her way to ArtCenter. "When I came to L.A. to visit ArtCenter, I was like, this is paradise. I want to live here."

In the Transportation Design Department, Ivanna has found a community that values diverse perspectives and supports students at every stage of their creative development.

As president of the Women of Design Club, Ivanna works to build community for incoming students. "I think the community is so important — having resources and knowing what your upper-term students are doing, just to work together, collaborate, share ideas."

Faculty mentors like John Krasinski have been instrumental in preparing Ivanna for the industry. "He's so kind and gives really good advice," she says. "He was very clear with us one class. He said, 'I'm pretty much interviewing you every day.'" That real-world approach has paid off: Ivanna will intern at General Motors this summer, working in clay sculpting.

ArtCenter's location in Southern California puts students at the center of the automotive design industry. "There's so many design studios — Mazda, Kia, Hyundai, Genesis," Ivanna says. "This is just like the center of so much of the industry."

Last year, Ivanna and three other students traveled to Monterey Car Week with ArtCenter, where they were exposed to supercars, hypercars and industry leaders. "It was like a candy store. It was really a great experience."

For Ivanna, the work is challenging but rewarding. "I love the direction that futuristic design is going, and just seeing my skills constantly getting better, me getting stronger and more confident, growing into the best version of myself. I think it's so powerful."