Graphic Design Student Show 2018
Juried exhibit through May 31; reception/award ceremony May 16, Gallery Lounge
The Parkland College Graphic Design Student Show will be on display at the Giertz Gallery Monday, May 14 through Thursday, May 31. A reception honoring the students will be held Wednesday, May 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the gallery lounge, with an awards ceremony scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
As with all events in the handicapped-accessible gallery, the exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.
The juried exhibit highlights work completed by students in the current academic year, beginning with summer 2017. Parkland College 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. Local industry professionals, invited to judge the show, then select the awards.
This year’s judges are Natalie Fiol, graphic designer at the College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and David Michael Moore, freelance graphic designer, illustrator, and facilitator.
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.
"Graphic design, interactive design, web design, user-experience design, communication design, digital design—yes, we know 'graphic design' is hard to define," Young explained. "But it doesn't have to be this complicated. The bottom line: students who want to create art for commerce are creative people with visual communication training. This is what we teach at Parkland College and this is what you'll see at our annual student exhibition.
"It's true: Students who want to be a creative designer in 2018 will need to wear a lot of hats," he added. "This is especially true in Champaign-Urbana, where employers are asking for generalists who can do it all. And they're eager to hire people who are curious, eager to learn and enjoy solving problems. Curious to see what Parkland Graphic Design and Interactive Design majors are showing in their portfolio? Come check out this show."
During the May 16 reception, an awards ceremony honoring 2018 Graphic Design program student achievements will be announced starting at 6:30 p.m. Immediately after the awards ceremony, Young will give a gallery talk and an informal Q&A with select award winners. Young and his students will reveal how Parkland's Graphic Design and Interactive Design programs teach creative problem solving and design thinking.
Giertz Gallery summer hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. To find the gallery when classes are in session, use the M6 parking lot on the north corner of the campus. Enter through door X7, turn left, and follow the ramps uphill to the highest point of the first floor, where the gallery is located.
This exhibit is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. For more information, call Giertz Gallery Office at 217/351-2485 or visit parkland.edu/gallery.