May 12 - June 7, 2014
- Reception: May 14, 6-8 p.m., gallery lounge,
- Live music by Ms. M & the Jokers
- Gallery Talk by Gretchen Wieshuber: May 15, 1 p.m.
- Awards ceremony at 7 p.m.
This juried exhibit highlights work completed by students in the current academic year, beginning with summer 2013. Jury members include Graphic Design faculty and local industry professionals who generously volunteer their time. This year’s judges are Teresa Ellis, senior design director at Surface 51, and Jan Troutt, vice president of publishing services at Precision Graphics.
Works in the exhibit showcase creative solutions to design assignments students encounter throughout the year, challenges requiring traditional print media, website design, animation and motion solutions. These portfolio samples of projects completed in Graphic Design studio classes may include logos, branding, packaging, menus, books, publications, posters, brochures, websites, video, film title graphics and TV commercials, among other designed materials.
"Our faculty jury seeks out the most imaginative, inspiring, distinctive, innovative, unusual and memorable pieces for display in the gallery," said Graphic Design Program Director Paul Young. "This year's exhibition will be a nice mix of traditional print projects and new digital media experiments. Expect to see creative work in branding, advertising, illustration and packaging as well as unique websites, kinetic motion graphics and dynamic interactive design.
"Considering that the work comes from a two-year program, we're constantly impressed by the energy, dedication and drive of our students."
During the May 14 reception, an awards ceremony honoring 2014 Graphic Design student achievements will take place at 7 p.m. A number of monetary awards will be given at that time, presented by Young. Because local clients often contribute funds for these awards and the students often design for real-world clients, this exhibit highlights service learning, an important element of Parkland's Graphic Design curriculum. Monetary awards include the Dr. David M. and Shirley A. Jones Student Art Award for a work of outstanding artistic achievement; the Graphic Design Best of Show Award; the Fine and Applied Arts Department Chair Award; the Parkland College Marketing and Public Relations Department Award of Excellence; and the President's Award for Excellence. Other awards given by clients and supporters of the Design program include the Electric Pictures Award of Excellence, Surface 51 Award of Excellence, Studio 2D Design Strategy Award, Six Demon Studio Award for Excellence in Web Design, Viktoria Ford Award of Excellence, Larry Ecker Award for Typographic Excellence, Public Art League Award of Excellence and the Presence Covenant Medical Center Award for Excellence in Design.
Gallery Talk:
To coincide with the exhibition, a gallery talk titled "Designers and the Creative Process" has been scheduled for Thursday, May 15 at 1 p.m. Gretchen Wieshuber, Parkland typography instructor and owner of Studio 2D, will discuss how to further harness the power of the creative process.
"Designers are paid to be creative day in and day out," Wieshuber said. "We can't wait around for inspiration to hit when deadlines loom, so we have a process that leads us dependably to creative solutions to problems. Anyone can use this process for any problem."