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Art of LearningGallery Show Spotlights Design Student Talent
Photos by Cindy D. Meixel, photo editor. Text by Jennifer A. Cline, writer/editor-One College Avenue.
Twenty seniors in the graphic design major exhibited a variety of work during “Design: 2010,” a student portfolio exhibition in The Gallery at Penn College. The exhibit is a capstone experience for the students, who spent the spring semester refining their portfolios. Graphic design faculty pored over 400 pieces of student work, ultimately selecting 10 from each student for display at the gallery event.
Noah B. Hennig – “For four years, they’re very critical of your work,” said Hennig, who noted the critiques are an essential part of the learning process. “You're always striving for those positive comments. You know they (the work selected for the exhibit) are pieces that they absolutely love. This is the first time they say, ‘Here are 10 pieces we think are worth showing off.’ It’s very gratifying.”
Christine M. Yocum – “It's nice to be able to look back over all the work you've done” with the new perspective of a soon-to-be graphic design graduate, Yocum said. Using knowledge gained in courses, students in the final-semester portfolio course improve and create new work. “It’s definitely beneficial; this is what you would take to an interview.”
Simon J. Guglielmelli – “You don't start out with something that looks like what is printed here. It requires a lot of processing. It's very demanding,” said Guglielmelli, a Venezuela native, who learned to analyze what images and colors communicate. “It's very challenging, very painstaking, but once you get it done, it's really rewarding.”
Suzanne M. La Forge – “I really think that you achieve synthesis in Portfolio (Design) and in Senior Project (courses) when everything you’ve learned in school comes together in unity. The portfolio and senior project demonstrate our versatility as graphic designers,” La Forge said.
Media Arts
The graphic design major – students of which showed their work during the “Design: 2010” exhibit – is among several media arts related programs at Pennsylvania College of Technology. These majors have been revised and expanded in recent years:
Bachelor’s degrees
Graphic design: develops students’ skills in the visual arts for a career in graphic design
Industrial and human factors design: prepares students to design products and systems that are stylish, comfortable and intuitive for the user
Associate degrees
Advertising art: prepares students for employment in advertising art; the core coursework is nearly identical to the first two years of study in the graphic design major
Graphic communications technology: prepares students to work in production positions in the printing and publishing industry
Mass media communication: offers hands-on writing, production and programming in radio and video fields
Studio arts: develops skills in visual arts through a variety of foundation courses and studio-art electives; prepares students to transfer to institutions offering studio fine-art majors such as painting, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture and textiles
More Photos From "Design: 2010" Exhibit
Jennifer L. Reeder – Reeder plans to seek a career in the studio arts, and said Design: 2010 was a fun capstone to her graphic-arts education. “Everybody gets to display their work, and people ask you questions. My grandma gets to see my work, because she never has. It's good practice for exhibiting my work,” she said.
Matthew A. Miller – “(Taking the Portfolio Design course and preparing for the exhibit) helped us to get all our work together and put our portfolios together, so we can show employers what we can do,” Miller said.
A group of student exhibitors gathers during the opening reception for “Design: 2010.”
Designs by Jennifer L. Reeder
Designs by Noah B. Henning
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