May 15 - June 1, 2017
- Reception: May 17, 5-7 p.m.
- Music by the Parkland Guitar Ensemble
- Awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m.
- Gallery Talk and guided tour by Liza Wynette, immediately following the awards ceremony
The juried exhibit highlights work completed by students in the current academic year, beginning with summer 2016. Parkland Graphic Design and Interactive Design faculty jury the show and select the most imaginative, inspiring, distinctive, innovative, unusual and memorable pieces for display in the gallery. Then local industry professionals are invited to judge the show and select the awards. This year’s judges are Maria Ludeke, design studio manager at Neutral Design Studio and Ralph Roether, graphic designer at Champaign Park District.
Works in the exhibit showcase creative solutions to design problems presented to students in Parkland’s Graphic Design, Interactive Design and Illustration studio classes. Gallery visitors can expect to see traditional print media, motion graphics, logos, branding, packaging, menus, books, publications, posters, brochures, websites, video and illustration, according to Professor Paul Young, Parkland's Graphic Design program director.
"As digital media takes over the world, designers have to respond to new trends," Young said. "To succeed in today's competitive world, students need to learn every trick in the book and be comfortable working in print as well as on screens, be able to communicate visually and verbally, be able to harness the power of motion and interactivity, and be able to solve marketing problems, too. That's a pretty tall order for a two-year program, but our students are rising to the challenge."
During the May 17 reception, an awards ceremony honoring 2017 Graphic Design program student achievements will take place at 6:30 p.m. Immediately after the awards ceremony, Liza Wynette, an instructor in the program, will give a gallery talk and guided tour of the exhibition. Wynette explained why the exhibit is important to students.
"Students feel a sense of accomplishment when they see their work professionally displayed in the gallery," she said. "It gives them the opportunity to show friends and family the results of their diligence during the past academic year."
In an informal Q&A with select award winners, Wynette will reveal how Parkland's Graphic Design and Interactive Design programs teach creative problem solving and design thinking. Parkland College is one of the few community colleges in the U.S. that offers a series of professional illustration courses, Young said. Students who take these hands-on studio art courses leave the class with functional commercial art samples for their portfolio.