Student-run design lab at RIT helps young creatives gain real-world experience through major client projects

Rochester, New York – Inside the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute, the need seemed straightforward enough — create a short animated film that could explain the environmental consequences of food waste in a way ordinary people would actually understand. But instead of hiring a large commercial agency, the institute turned to an unlikely creative force already making waves inside the RIT College of Art and Design.

That force was Command+g Design Lab, a student-run studio quietly building a reputation for producing professional-level work while giving young designers something far more valuable than classroom exercises: real clients, real deadlines, and real pressure.

What began in 2018 as a small experimental studio has steadily transformed into one of the college’s most distinctive hands-on learning opportunities. Named after the Macintosh keyboard shortcut used to group design layers together, Command+g now operates as a full-service design lab employing about 30 students under the guidance of associate professors Keli DiRisio and Carol Phillip.

“It’s all grown on word of mouth,” DiRisio said.

That organic growth says a lot about the studio’s evolving reputation. Clients now range from nonprofit organizations and municipalities to businesses throughout New York state. And unlike traditional student assignments that often stay confined to a classroom wall or digital portfolio, these projects move into the real world almost immediately.

Read also: Governor Hochul opens free ticket registration for major 2026 World Cup watch events on Long Island

One semester might involve exhibit design. Another could revolve around branding campaigns or animation work. Recently, the students animated a children’s book, created exhibits, and produced 25 logos in only two days for students in the Young Entrepreneurs Academy preparing for national competitions. They’ve also developed lasting partnerships with community organizations such as Artists Unlimited, a nonprofit focused on performing arts.

For students, the variety keeps the work fresh and unpredictable.

“That’s the cool thing about working in graphic design,” said Michelle Fu, a fourth-year student from Naperville, Ill., studying graphic design, packaging science, and furniture design. “We get a little glimpse into all these fields.”

Fu became one of the lead student designers on the food waste animation project alongside Jami Murillo, a third-year graphic design student from Seattle, and Ashley Persia, a fourth-year student studying graphic design and packaging science.

The assignment was ambitious. The animation needed to explain the life cycle of cheddar cheese — from farm pasture all the way to a consumer’s plate — while also highlighting the environmental toll caused when food ends up discarded instead of consumed.

Rather than simplifying the process because students were involved, the studio handled the project much like a professional animation company would. There were client meetings, production schedules, creative briefs, storyboard reviews, rough edits, and multiple rounds of revisions before the final version was completed.

Read also: Rochester opens 30-day public comment period on millions in proposed federal housing and development spending plans

The finished animation debuted in April during a statewide organics conference in Syracuse, placing student work directly in front of professionals and environmental advocates from across the region.

For Murillo, the project pushed her into unfamiliar territory. She had never created a motion-based project for a paying client before, and the visual style requested by the client — inspired by the recognizable explainer-video format popularized by Vox — required learning a completely different creative rhythm.

Yet the students adapted quickly.

Sherri Hamilton, marketing and communications program manager at P2I, said the Command+g team managed the process with a professionalism that stood out immediately. Even when revision requests arrived during finals week, the students handled the workload without visible strain.

“That’s a good indicator to me that these are students who are prepared for the workforce,” Hamilton said. “They know how to juggle multiple competing priorities in a professional, seamless manner.”

That kind of feedback has helped elevate the studio’s standing beyond campus. Former Command+g students have gone on to secure positions at major brands including Crocs, L.L. Bean, and Bass Pro Shops. Many graduates point to the studio experience as a major reason they entered the workforce with confidence already built.

The studio’s impact has also spilled into the local community in other ways. Programs such as Creatify, a design education initiative developed alongside Bishop Kearney High School in Rochester, emerged directly from relationships formed through earlier client collaborations.

Still, for DiRisio, the secret behind the lab’s success is less about business growth and more about atmosphere. Walk into the studio at almost any hour, she said, and there is usually movement everywhere — students bouncing ideas off one another, laughing between deadlines, and refining projects together.

“It doesn’t feel like a job for a lot of these students,” she said. “Any time you go in there, there’s a handful of students. They’re working, they’re laughing, they’re talking.”

For Fu, perhaps the biggest transformation has been personal.

Design skills can be taught in a classroom. Confidence, she suggested, often arrives more slowly.

“In the beginning, I was kind of scared to tell clients things,” she said. “But now, it’s just like, those are just the facts. You’re coming to see me for a reason. I’m confident in what I’m doing.”