Category: Graphic Design News

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Graphic Design News

Graphic Design Teacher Honored at AIGA Awards

A graphic design association will honor four leading industry pioneers in April at an award ceremony in New York; among them a Swiss graphic design school educator.

The AIGA will present Armin Hofmann with the AIGA Medal, a huge honor in the graphic design profession, at the Bright Lights: The AIGA Awards ceremony on April 19th in New York. Hofmann is being awarded the prestigious AIGA Me
dal for his role as a visionary work both as an artist and as an educator of artists and for his “immeasurable influence on generations of designers, teaching the power and elegance of simplicity and clarity through a timeless aesthetic, always informed by context” according to the AIGA press release.

As a professional of graphic arts, Hofmann’s body of work is expansive. He designed posters in the middle of the century for brands, theaters, and ballets among many other graphic design projects. He is best known for thoughtful use of typography, simplicity, and classic presentation of complicated (often controversial) subjects. He is an accomplished writer and artist who new generations of graphic designers attempt to emulate in their own provoking and innovative works.

Armin Hofmann is well-known and recognized among graphic designers for producing generation after generation of passionate and informed graphic designers. Many of his former students have now become graphic designers and educators at graphic design schools and are considered to be at the top of the game in their industries. During his vast career as an educator at graphic design schools, Hofmann taught at the School of Arts and Crafts (Zurich), Basel School of Arts and Crafts (Basel), Philadelphia College of Art (United States), and Yale University (United Stated) until he resigned in 1991.

The AIGA Medal will be presented to all four award recipients at the Altman Building in New York City, New York. Tickets are available to the pubic starting at $200.

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Graphic Design News

CA Graphic Design School Student Wins Logo Contest

A student from a California school’s graphic design program designed a winning logo for an area water company this month.

Melissa Kuo, graphic design student at California Institute of Arts designed the logo that won first place in a competition held by the Santa Clarita Valley Family of Water Suppliers.

The water suppliers group asked graphic design schools and students to create a logo design that they felt would “make conservation cool”, while conveying the group’s mission and values. For her efforts, Kuo was awarded a $2,500 check by the group at the March 1st reception at the Castaic Lake Water Agency headquarters building.

There were over twenty logos entered into the contest, but Kuo’s logo design will be the new logo of the SCV Family of Water Suppliers. Her design features a teardrop shaped water droplet, with a group of three figures holding hands along the bottom rim and the brand “SCV Family of Water Suppliers above them inside the droplet. “The values of family, water and community — I broke those down into different words that I thought of, that related to those values,” she said in a press release.

In the press release about the new logo design, the Water Conservation Program Coordinator for the group said, ““We’re thrilled that Melissa submitted her logo. We were taken by how she managed to elegantly combine the idea of ‘family’ with water. We also want to emphasize the degree of local talent that was available to us at the college level. It was truly impressive.”

Kuo said that she used the skills she learned in her graphic design courses recently about using negative space and using symbolism in design aesthetics. Kuo said that she will use the prize money to help pay for her continued education at the graphic design school at California Arts Institute.

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Graphic Design News

Graphic Design Schools’ Gaming Programs Recognized in Review

An industry publication that reviews graphic design schools and other educational institution programs recently released its list of the best programs for video game designs in 2012.

The Princeton Review published its Top Schools to Study Video Game Design for 2012 and listed the University of Southern California as the top pick for graphic design schools with a game design program.

Notable at 5th place is The Art Institute of Vancouver, which has appeared on the Princeton Review’s list of best schools for game design programs three times already. The graphic design school placed with nine other schools on the list which shows the best of 150 graphic design and art design schools in the United States and Canada.

To make their determination on the best gaming programs in a school, The Princeton Review surveyed 150 colleges in North America and asked questions about their program’s academics and facilities, as well as their faculty’s experience and the career placement opportunities following graduation.

The other schools landing on the top ten list included MIT, University of Utah, DigiPen Institute of Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology, Shawnee State University, Savannah College of Art and Design, the University of New Mexico, and Becker College. Honorable mentions included Bradley University, Champlain College, Columbia College Chicago, DePaul University, Drexel University, Ferris State University, and Full Sail University among many others.

In a press release by the Princeton Review, Senior VP and Publisher for Princeton Review Robert Franek said “Academic and professional programs in video game design studies – from very specialized college majors to highly concentrated graduate degrees – have evolved tremendously over the past 10 years.” Graphic design schools, art institutes, and specialized college programs are preparing students for an industry that is $10.5 billion strong, according to Franek.

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Graphic Design News

Graphic Design Students Impress Judges

Students of graphic design at a Wyoming School took home some of the top honors in a recent competition targeted at showcasing up and coming graphic designers.

The annual Student Show and competition was hosted at the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design and sponsored by the Art Director’s Club of Denver out of Colorado.

The exhibition and competition portion of the event ended at 7, but culminated with an awards ceremony called The One Show at 7 PM. The One Show is way for area schools and the Art Director’s Club of Denver to recognize companies and brands that delve into all areas of the arts, including television, print productions, and interactive advertising. The graphic design awards included a Gold, Silver, or Bronze “one show” pencil presented by Kevin Swanepoel.

Students from the University of Wyoming’s graphic design program won praise in the categories of Best Logo Design and Best Publication Design for their exemplary graphic designs during the student show. The purpose of the Art Director’s Club of Denver Student Exhibition is to show off the work of graphic design and advertising students in the areas in and around Colorado.

The students at UW’s graphic design school worked on their graphic design presentations since they first started the program at the school. According to the school’s news report, they spent plenty of long nights in the studio preparing for this one event where they could showcase their skills to the public and the Art Director’s Club of Denver. All of that work paid off according to one of the competition judges, Ryan Bramwell.

The scope of work this year was stunning, specifically in packaging and poster design categories,” Bramwell said. He went on to say that all of the graphic design schools did well in the exhibit, making it hard for judges to come to a decision on the finalists.

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Graphic Design Teachers’ Work on Display at School

It is common for students at graphic design colleges to display their art work to other students and even to the public through exhibition events and gallery showcases; it is not common for faculty members to get the opportunity to do the same.

However, that is the opportunity afforded to three faculty members at the Alfred University School of Art and Design in New York. Their works of art will be on display through the end of this month and promises t be an exquisite gallery of high-quality work from those teaching the next generation of students.

According to Alfred University’s website, teachers from the schools programs in printmaking, graphic design, and sculpture have been on display at the school since the end of February; closing only for the college’s spring break period this week. One of the teachers is a graduate of the School of Art and Design at Alfred University while the others graduated from equally prestigious colleges in the country.

The graphic design teacher, Nick Kuder, is a graduate of Brown University and serves as the assistant professor of graphic design at Alfred. His qualifications include his studies in printmaking at Brown and he is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in graphic design arts. Kuder went on to earn his MFA at Cranbrook Academy of Art.

The graphic design teacher’s message about the work he has on display at the school is one of fusion between what humanity considers to be technology and what it considers to be biology and features printed works of art that take biological forms and morphs them into digital and technological influenced images.

The arts programs and graphic design school at Alfred is supported by state-of-the-art technology through computer labs, image output equipment, and various advanced tools in animation and others forms of artistic design. The school offers graduate and undergraduate programs, as well as MFA’s in integrated electronics and other unique art disciplines.

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Graphic Design Students Premier Artwork at School Gallery

Students in a school teaching vocational courses in the arts, including graphic design and general art, are hosting a showcase exhibit at their school this month.

Some of the students of Scotts Valley High School are also participating in an International Baccalaureate program at the school, where the dual enrolled students and others have the culmination of their years in the art program on display.

The graphic design work and other forms of art will be on display at the school through April, but on last Friday, the students hosted a meet and greet between the artists (themselves) and their admiring public.

The dual enrolled students in the graphic design program at the school had to opportunity to discuss their motivation for their artistic creations. The sessions served as a pre-test for the IB students who will soon take an hour-long exam as part of the dual enrollment program. (Students in dual enrollment are earning college and high school credits simultaneously.)

The event was coordinated by the art teachers at the school and exhibited the work of students in the school’s Art I and II classes in addition to the IB student submissions. Many of the presented works had been in process for several years and represent all of the skills students have learned throughout their time at the school.

While the non-IB students were given open ended projects to be build to a certain specification, the dual enrolled students were allow to be more creative with their designs.  College level courses in graphic design and art are more focused on project management and creativity, so there was plenty of room for artistic expression among those students. According to other reports of the event, teachers say that many of the students are enthusiastic about their studies and some intend to attend a graphic design college.

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School offer New Graphic Design Class Programs

Colleges offering graphic design classes typically offer a minimum certificate program and higher levels of degrees to students and one such college is taking the step to offer new graphic design programs to students in the area.

McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, IL recently announced that it will offer an Associate of Applied Science Degree as well as three certificates in graphic design.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, graphic design schools are preparing students for a growing industry. The average wage for a graphic design is $20.92 per hour or $43,500 annually.

The new programs at this school are expected to prepare students for careers in graphic design, art direction, art education, multimedia and animation, and all other careers relating to the arts. The degree program can be completed in 2-years by full time students and prepares students for all forms of graphic design and communication.

Ancillary classes are standard to the type of degree being offered and include subjects such as English Composition, Speech and Public Speaking, Creative Writing, Ethics, Interpersonal Communication, Computer Literacy and electives.

Graphic design classes will include a vast array of specialized courses to prepare students for a career in graphic design. Those include subjects such as internet technology, typography, color and art theory, portfolio design, the history of graphic design, digital drawing, and animation. Student will also need to purchase and take classes on graphic design software programs such as Adobe Design Suite.

Students in graphic design also take classes that focus on web design since the majority of graphic designers work on web based projects. The degree program at the school will also include training in web design and principles of advertising, to include web design aesthetics, scripting, logic, and programming languages.

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Graphic Design and Print Classes Save School Money

A school will begin offering graphic design and print classes next year in an effort to save money in the school district.

Hawkins High School in Longview, TX will offer the classes thanks to the Hawkins School Board who decided that the advantages of offering classes in printing will be beneficial to students and the school.

The school board met in February to look into the benefits and details of such a program, which includes banner production, t-shirt designs, illustrations, and graphic design class work. They decided that this in-house setup would ultimately reduce costs because school faculty and organizations could use the services instead of paying an outside vendor for printing and graphic design.

A new report by the Big Sandy-Hawkins Journal described some of the ways the school would benefit from graphic design and illustration print classes. Clubs on campus can buy graphic designs and printed items from the school’s Print Shop class while supporting the education points that the students in the classes will need to cover.

High schools around the country are beginning to see the benefits of offering vocational types of classes as part of the curriculum for students. Students of graphic design classes at vocational high schools, for example, help with many types of community projects and the benefits in those areas reach far beyond the confines of the school. The entire community can benefit in the short-term and in the future.

Student who study career skills are more likely to become constructive members of the community as they learn their trade and the significant impacts they can have on the conditions and services in their city. Vocational students in graphic design classes in high school are more likely to go into a college in the community, as well.

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Graphic Design College Gives Students Networking Opportunity

Graphic design colleges do more than teach students about the latest and greatest technologies and design concepts they will need in the real-world; they also teach them how to network with other professionals to set up a web of professional contacts for future success and relationships.

The Salford University’s graphic design classes were awarded a unique opportunity to do just that at an event hosted for not only the current graphic design students, but recent graduates from the school.

Students got the opportunity to spend time with each other and some of the local experts in the graphic design industry. Northern Digitals was also on hand to help add to the numbers in the crowd.

Companies at the event saw it as a way to meet and greet some of their potential future employees, too. They enjoy inspiring young designers as well as scouting out the talent at events such as this.

According to a report from Creative Broom, Joanne Greenhalgh, coordinator of the graphic design school at Salford’s School of Art & Design said that the events are always beneficial to both the students and the companies in attendance.

“The students get advice and guidance from key companies which informs their practice and helps to further develop their career aspirations, while businesses that get involved have the opportunity to scout for new talent,” she said.

The graphic design school at Salford takes three years to complete. At the end of the day, graphic designers are indeed graphic communicators who must be keen to the latest consumer trends and research related to how people respond to advertising.

Like most other schools, Salford gives a little on the term “graphic design” for the more appropriate title “graphic communication”. Networking events by graphic design schools very much focus on the communications aspect of the art.

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Student in Graphic Design Class help Restore Ship

It is the type of project in which even college-aged graphic design students rarely get the chance to participate, but students in one high school’s graphic design class made it happen.

Graphic design students at Union High School in New Jersey are helping the S.S. United States Conservancy save and restore one the country’s valuable relics; the S.S. United States.

The Conservancy is made up of members who own the ship or are considered stewards of the ship. They are attempting to create a partnership with public and private organization to refurbish the relic.

The S.S. United States was, at one time, an ocean liner that was designed mostly for civilian luxury cruises but built with the caveat that it could move troops across the Atlantic if it was ever needed. The dilapidated ship is now sitting in a South Philadelphia dock and in need of some serious help from a few willing participants in preserving the natural history of the ship.

Students in Union High School’s graphic design class decided that they wanted to help, so they created a big sign calling people to action in the important restoration project. Their creation has (almost) as many bells and whistles as the ship itself according to reports. The sign is 60 inches tall and has a smoking smoke stack and light-up portholes to draw attention to its message that it’s “Time for Action” in preserving the relic.

The graphic design class heard about the needs of the S.S. United States through the Conservancy, who appealed to the public for help. The S.S. United States Conservancy came to the school to give a presentation about the ship’s history and current predicament. It was after the presentation that the graphic design students presented the Conservancy members with their promotional sign, which will be put to good use in the effort to get help restoring the ship.