As the spring term winds to a close and students prepare for commencement and the feelings of freedom that summer inspires, now is the perfect time to reflect on the hard work and dedication demonstrated by our tremendously talented Graphic Design students from the School of Design and Human Environment (SDHE). Over the last week, there were two events that showcased the students’ work.
The first took place on June 4, as a very crowded Room 215 in Milam Hall was abuzz with energy as graduating graphic design seniors presented their final thesis projects to faculty, staff and classmates. Projects were far-ranging in their scope and intent, but all shared a common thread: each of them combined a thoughtfully designed project that had practical business applications.
Take for example Lillian Kansaku’s project for “Kenny: Your Money Pal,” a project comprised of a website and printed collateral designed to help college students navigate the sometimes confusing and overwhelming financial aspects of being a college student, or Michael McDonald’s “Sparkbulb” project that helps teach basic graphic design and digital marketing strategies to owners of start-ups who might lack the resources to hire a professional in the early stages of starting their business.
“Every year, I continue to be impressed with the talent, creativity and design acuity demonstrated by our graphic design students,” said Professor Andrea Marks. “Our students’ thesis projects not only demonstrate their research and design ability, but also provide proof that our students come up with truly creative and engaging solutions for practical, real-world business issues,” she said.
Check out some photos from the seniors’ design projects in the below gallery:
On June 9, junior year graphic design students taking Professor Christine Gallagher’s Collaborative Processes class presented their final game projects. Students in the class were divided into six teams and tasked with creating a board or card game from scratch. Not only did the students have to conceptualize a new game and establish all the rules and determine how actual game play would unfold, but they also had to design every aspect of their games from the game boards and cards to the game pieces and boxes that house them all. The results were very impressive as evidenced in the below slideshow, and the students had a great time playing each others’ games.
