KSU School of VCD

Advising for Undergraduate VCD Students is now being handled by Mr. Vince Giles. Schedule an appointment online on the Online Advisor Appointment Scheduling site.

The School of VCD was fortunate to add two members to our teaching and support staff team this fall semester. Welcome to Gretchen Rinnert, Assistant Professor, who specializes in web design and multimedia. Gretchen is teaching Kinetics and Sequential Graphics I (fall) and II (spring) as well as Intermediate Computer.

Vince Giles is our new Undergraduate Academic Advisor. Vince joins us mid-semester, but has been involved in advising on the KSU campus for several years before joining VCD.

Gayle Basinger is our new Administrative Secretary in the School of Visual Communication Design. Gayle brings a wealth of skills and talents to this position. Previously, she served as a compliance director for White Hat Management and as a marketing coordinator for Lord, Sullivan & Yoder, an advertising firm.

Glyphix, the award-winning student design studio in the School of VCD, provides the opportunity to work with clients in a real-world setting. Clients come from the University community as well as Ohio businesses and non-profit organizations. Some examples of work from the studio can be seen at www.kentglyphix.org The studio is located in room 213A of the Art Building near the main lobby.

Glyphix is now accepting applications for the 2009–2010 academic year. Students must be graduate or senior level students (pass Junior Review April 2009), VCD majors, and have approval of the VCD Faculty (A list of applicants will be submitted to the faculty. No need to obtain individual approval.) Download the application and get more information from the Glyphix page.

In the spring of 2008, Glyphix was awarded Outstanding Achievement for excellence in the design, development and implementation of the School of Visual Communication Design Site.

The importance of this award cannot be understated, as it is an international competition judged by leading web-related professionals. "This award," states Valora Renicker, Creative Director of Glyphix, "gives us recognition that all clients can appreciate and understand, without the need to try to explain the value of our design work in unfamiliar technical terms."

"Our students devoted a great deal of time to the site. They researched the competition, surveyed current students and almuni, applied their creative energies to the design and Flash animation, and programmed it for maximum compatibility. Our web instructors helped with consulting, our Interim Director and new Director assisted with approvals and content. This was really a group effort by all levels of the School of VCD. Many thanks go to Lee Zelenak, who devoted several semesters to it, in order to see it through. We even tested the site at the KSU Usability Lab with the assistance of Professor David Robins in the IAKM program."

Information about the award process can be found on the IMA web site, from which the following information is gathered:

"The honor, granted by the Interactive Media Awards, recognizes that the project met and surpassed the standards of excellence that comprise the web's most professional work. The judging consisted of various criteria, including design, usability, innovation in technical features, standards compliance and content. In order to win this award level, the site had to meet strict guidelines in each area - an achievement only a fraction of sites in the IMA competition earn each year.

To view the online award(s) for this site, please visit:
http://www.interactivemediaawards.com/winners/certificate.asp?param=5252...

To view the Glyphix award gallery page:
http://www.interactivemediaawards.com/winners/gallery.asp?id=36069

About the Interactive Media Awards

The Interactive Media Awards recognize the highest standards of excellence in website design and development and honor individuals and organizations for their outstanding achievement. Sponsored by the Interactive Media Council, Inc., a nonprofit organization of leading web designers, developers, programmers, advertisers and other web-related professionals, the competition seeks to elevate the standards of excellence on the Internet."

For more information visit http://www.interactivemediaawards.com.

The KSU Alumni Relations Membership Campaign won a Gold Award at the District ADDY level in the Student Category for Mixed Media Campaigns. Congratulations to the designers, all recent graduates of the School of VCD: Chris Haas, Mike Fofrich and Kristi Underwood. The American Advertising Federation, a not-for-profit industry association conducts the ADDY® Awards through its 200 member advertising clubs and 15 districts. The KSU VCD entry now proceeds to the National level.

The Campaign was created to appeal to KSU graduating seniors to inform them of the benefits of joining the Alumni Association. The concept was created around the theme of transitioning between college life and work life. Using the international symbols for man and woman, activities of both lifestyles are depicted. Some of the components of the campaign included door hangers as take-aways from the Grad Fair, a unique mailer that is sent in diplomas, and short animated graphic files that are sent via email.

David Middleton has been elected to the National Board of Directors of the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers (SEGD).

David is serving as Chair of the Academic Education Committee.

Environmental Graphic Design embraces many design disciplines including graphic, architectural, interior, landscape, and industrial design, all concerned with the visual aspects of wayfinding, communicating identity and information, and shaping the idea of place.

Current and former Glyphix students were honored to receive numerous ADDY Awards from the Advertising Federation of Greater Akron at the award ceremony held March 12, 2008. Projects which won in the Professional category competed against those submitted by professional design and advertising firms in the greater Akron Area. In the Student category, designs were awarded both Gold and Silver ADDYS. The award-winning designs have been advanced to the District Level for judging. Congratulations to the following students and alumni!

Lee Zelenak and Mike Fofrich received a Silver ADDY in the Professional category for their work on the Hudson Montessori School playground appeal brochure.

The VCD website also won a Silver ADDY in the Professional category. Lee Zelenak, Chris Haas, and Mike Fofrich played a large part in the design of the final site, which took several semesters to complete. Assisting in research and development of the website were Mike Watson, Chris Surak and Kelly Dorsey. Programming was done by David Roll.

Mike Fofrich, Kristie Underwood, and Chris Haas received a Gold award for their work on the Kent State University Alumni Relations Membership Campaign.

David Roll and Niki Katz received a Silver award for their work on the Green Energy Ohio Solar Tour Guide article layout: “Waste To Energy Reinvented.”

Kaitlyn Ord, Jess Mellen, and Dusty Steinbrink received a Silver award for their work on The Intergenerational School Annual Report.

For further questions or information, please contact Valora Renicker, Assistant Professor in the School of Visual Communication Design and the Creative Director of the student-staffed Glyphix, at vrenicke@kent.edu or 330–672–2854.

Two VCD combined degree students, Kelly Dorsey and Mike Burton entered the AIGA Design competition and were among only seven contestants accepted to compete in a live "reality show" style design-off. The event was held during the AIGA NEXT conference October 11–14, 2007 in Denver, Colorado to identify “the next great designer.” Prior to the conference, potential contestants were required to submit samples of their design work and a statement about why they should participate.

Once accepted, contestants had to submit a re-design of the Denver Broncos logo. Upon reaching the first day of the conference, two competitors were eliminated, one of whom was Mike. [Editor's note: many conference attendees felt that his design should have made it to the second round. See what you think of the competition on the AIGA site.]

Designing took place in the Design Fair at the Command X station, where attendees could walk up and see what the designers were working on. The judging took place on the main stage in front of a crowd of more than 2,000 attendees. Judges included Noreen Morioka of Adams Morioka, Bonnie Siegler and Emily Oberman of Number 17, Brian Collins of Ogilvy & Mather, and guest judge for a day Michael Vanderbyl of Vanderbyl Design. It was hosted by Michael Beirut of Pentagram.

On day two, the remaining five competitors were assigned the task of redesigning the packaging for Jimmy Dean Pancakes & Sausage on a Stick. Following the elimination of two more designers, Kelly remained in the running! Day three found the remaining three contestants on stage being judged by not only the jury of designers, but the audience as well. The assignment was to design a campaign to get people aged 18 to 24 to vote. Kelly had this to say about her experience, "We had less than a day to do each assignment given at the conference. A lot of people said that it was their favorite part of the conference because it was so silly at times, but also just because they could really empathize with us for having to present our solutions in front of such a large audience of fellow designers. Personally, it was the most terrifying and exhilarating experience of my life. I made so many great contacts and friends. There was a ton of pressure, but we were like celebrities. It was just completely absurd and hilarious."

Kelly was declared First Runner up and received $500, Mike received an iPod Nano. All contestants will be mentioned in an upcoming STEP Inside Design magazine. Throughout the past several years, Kelly and Mike have superbly represented themselves and the School of VCD with their great design skills and enthusiasm for their work. We are fortunate to have had them in our program and know that they are well on their way to becoming the next great designers of their generation!

Visit the AIGA Command X web page for a list of winners and a description of the competition, complete with pdfs of the designs.

A photograph by student Lindsay Satzger was chosen as a finalist in a national competition for college photographers. The image was produced while taking one of the new digital Photography courses, taught by Christopher Ransom. Her work was selected from 28,000 entries, (only 116 photographers were picked as finalists).The photo (below) appears in the book: Photographers Forum, 2007 Best of College Photography Annual by Serbin Communications. Congratulations Lindsay!

A recent issue of one of the industry’s premier design periodicals has recognized submissions for excellent design by Kent State VCD students and alumni. Print’s Regional Design Annual, features the best design in the country. The annual issue, published annually, contained work by student Mike Burton, of Little Jacket, Andy Taray, alumnus and Principle of Ohio Boy Design, and alumna Amy Tisi. If you’re looking for the work in the issued, Mike and Andy’s design appears in the “Midwest” section, and Amy’s is in the “Rest of the West” section. Congratulations to all three!