2019 Graphic Design Student Show Winners

Judges award nine students with $1,100 in prizes

Yesterday evening at the 2019 Parkland Graphic Design Juried Student Show opening reception, an enthusiastic crowd cheered on the nine students who split $1,100 in cash awards for submitting excellent work into our annual art gallery exhibit.

Every spring, the students in Parkland’s Graphic Design and Interactive Design Programs showcase their best work in the Giertz Gallery at Parkland College. This year, we received 179 entries, and a jury of Parkland’s design faculty selected 140 of those for inclusion in the show.

Most of the $1,100 in cash awards were donated by local businesses and supporters of Parkland’s Graphic Design and Interactive Design programs. These friends include Surface 51, The Robeson Family, Positivity Place, DSC, and the Champaign-Urbana Design Org (CUDO). CUDO was also the co-sponsor of the opening reception.

Two industry professionals were invited to come in to select the award winners. This year’s judges were Evelyn Shapiro, the promotions manager at the Champaign Public Library, and Robb Springfield, the creative director at Flex-N-Gate. Their job was to select the 11 best pieces in the show and then choose the one piece that would receive the coveted “Best of Show” award.

The reception began at 5:30 p.m. with music by Dorothy Martirano's jazz trio, Ms. M and the Jokers. At 6:30 p.m., I asked the crowd to gather in front of the podium in the Gallery Lounge. As I presented each student prize winner with a certificate and a check, the crowd acknowledged the deserving students with a round of applause. During the awards ceremony, I also announced this was my last year as professor and program director of the Graphic Design program. After 20 eventful years as Parkland, I will be retiring at the end of May.

During the last 20 years, my students and I have had a great time going on out-of-town field trips, hosting several local movie premieres, meeting important internationally renowned designers (Carlos Segura, Massimo Vignelli, Matthew Carter), and hosting influential designers here at Parkland (April Greiman, Art Chantry). We've had more than enough excitement for a lifetime, and I will remember these adventures for a very long time.

Here are the winning entries from the 2019 Graphic Design Student Show (clicking on an image below will open a larger image in a new window):

• Graphic Design Best of Show
Recipe Book by Marcus Flinn

• Illustration Best of Show (sponsored by The Robeson Family)
Illustration by Alex Lutz

• President’s Award of Excellence
Branding by Madelyn Witruk

• Surface 51 Award of Excellence
Website by Brooke Armstrong

• Surface 51 Excellence in Typography Award
Book Cover by Ju Hyun Kong

• Positive Energy Award (sponsored by Positivity Place)
Poster by Brooke Armstrong

• CUDO Award of Excellence
Menu by Michael Dalton

• Electric Pictures Award of Excellence
Catalog by Marco Vasquez

• DSC Foundation Award of Excellence
Logo by Megan Perry

• David M. and Shirley A. Jones Student Art Award
Editorial Layout by Adam Christians

• Fine & Applied Arts Department Chair Award
Wine Label by Brooke Armstrong

The 2019 Parkland Graphic Design Student Juried Exhibition will continue in Parkland’s Giertz Gallery through May 30. Summer gallery hours are Monday–Thursday, 10am–7pm (closed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).

To see more examples of student work from Parkland’s Graphic Design and Interactive Design programs, please visit our virtual galleries.

[Paul Young was the program director of Graphic Design at Parkland College.]