KSU School of VCD

Professor Emeritus, Eric May, was recognized for his long service and dedication to the field. Eric is an expert calligrapher, woodcut illustrator, fine art book artist, and letterpress authority. Beloved by former students, many of whom call him their mentor, it was well-deserved award. The evening held a special moment when President Jenn Visock-O'Grady asked for a show of hands of those who had had Eric as an instructor. In an amazing display of raised arms followed by hearty applause, those present looked about to witness a truly touching moment. It served as a strong visual representation of the tremendous effect Eric has had on so many.

Kent State University's School of Visual Communication Design alumni and students were recognized for their outstanding quality of work as well. Of particular note, Alumni Mike Burton took home several Judges Choice Awards for his work with Little Jacket, and the Best of Student Work Award was given to Kevin Wight for his BFA Senior Project.

KSU VCD students garnered several awards in the student competition: Carolyn Kelly won a Merit award for her poster series, Kayne Toukonen won a Merit Award for a packaging program, and the entire VCD Environmental Graphic Design class won a Merit Award for their senior living proposal. Students in David Middleton’s class included Cathy Sosey, Krystle Klink, Lindsay Satzger, Evan Richards, Kelly Dorsey, Lee Zelenak, Kayne Toukonen, Zak Kruszynski, David Roll, Sharon McMullen, Rick Salsberry, Josh Levan, Katie Talbott, Kaitlyn Ord and Deanna D’Alesio.

For his summer internship, Tom Madrilejos worked at Metropolis magazine as their first ever design intern. Tom was entrusted to create designs for several pages which were listed in the publication with a short biography about him.

About his intership, Tom had the following comments: “The internship provided me the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of putting together a magazine. (Fortunately, the magazine was one I already admired and periodically stole from my parents’ mailbox.) I mainly worked with the design and photo departments, though I was graciously primed with some lessons in production, marketing, and editorial. I was given a nice range of tasks, from spot illustrations to calling in artwork, to the more menial tasks of photo retouching/diagram retracing and issue archiving, then laying out stickers and ads and invites, eventually earning the slightly more involved tasks of conceptualizing and designing pages in the magazine.”

I could probably go on – at great length – about this wonderful experience,... it was truly a positive experience and I am perfectly content coming home with a few new skills, a new friend or two, and an overwhelming appreciation for design.

VCD students have had internships at well-known places throughout the country. Read more of Tom’s personal account and others on the Internship page

KSU VCD alumni continue to maintain a presence in the design world, with Andy Taray's terrific cover illustration for the October 2007 issue of Metropolis magazine (pictured above). By coincidence, this is the same issue that senior Tom Madrilejos helped to design. Andy is an adjunct professor for the School of VCD, as well as principle of Ohio Boy Design.

Regarding Andy's design, the creative director said in his report ‘Behind the cover,’ “...We went with the less conventional choice because of its visual and conceptual strength”.

In the spring of 2007, then-junior VCD student Gina Moraco was awarded the Rob Spademan Scholarship and an AAF-Cleveland Scholarship in the amount of $1,500. The American Advertising Federation, Cleveland Chapter reviews applications and awards scholarships to deserving Ohio residents attending Ohio schools and majoring in advertising or other aspects of business communications.

Now a senior, and preparing to graduate in May 2008, Gina serves as co-President of the KSU Student chapter of AIGA and is a member of the Glyphix design studio. “Gina is always responsible and a pleasure to work with,” says Valora Renicker, Creative Director of Glyphix. “Her positive attitude and excellent design skills have been a tremendous asset to the team this year. Her future employer will be extremely fortunate to have her on board!”

The 2007 VCD Portfolio show was a huge success! The well-attended opening was held the evening of Friday, April 6 in the Main Gallery of the School of Art. Under the direction of Assistant Professor John Powell, the students worked very diligently on their graduating portfolios all semester and put together a fine show. In addition to the “books” of their work which graduates will show to potential employers, the gallery space held posters, illustrations, 3D, and multimedia design displays. Parents, friends, faculty and administrators from the College of CCI were on hand to congratulate the students on completing one of the milestones in the VCD program.

Of all the BFA and Master’s degree candidates represented in the show, several outstanding students received awards with cash values which are sponsored by the American Greetings Corporation. The awards were designed and printed in the VCD letterpress lab by Emeritus Professor, Eric May.

Recipients of the awards:

Top Portfolio
Kelly Dorsey

Leadership Award
Lindsay Satzger

Excellence in Illustration
Carolyn Kelly

Rising Star Award (For a Junior)
Brittany Spano

Graduate Excellence Award
Anne Berry
Amir Khosravi

L to R the students are Kelly Dorsey, Anne Berry, Carolyn Kelly, Lindsay Satzger, Amir Khosravi. (Not pictured: Britt Spano.)

Britt Spano, a VCD junior, has been selected by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) for the Helena Rubinstein Summer Internship Program. We are all very proud of her! “I found out about the internship from a poster by the Art History offices (because I am a minor) so I checked online to see if they took on designers,” said Britt. ‘Eureka! To apply I had to send five work samples, write three essays, have two letters of recommendation, transcripts, and a resume. I have had in in my head for a while now that I wanted to participate in the modern/fine arts community doing design work in museums and galleries. I will be working closely under two supervisors and that's the team. I'll be working on posters, brochures, signage, publications, etc. with the supervisors. I was warned that it will be very busy and very hands on... I said that I'm OK with that.. "Busy" is my middle name. Not only is this surreal, but its paid!”

The Museum's internship program provides the selected individual with practical work experience and in-depth training in the museum profession. Working under the supervision of the Museum's professional staff, interns contribute to timely projects, gain insight into the functions of individual departments, and learn about the Museum's various collections, exhibitions, and programs for visitors. During the summer term, weekly lectures with the Museum's professional staff are supplemented by field trips to other museums, galleries, foundations, corporate collections, private collections, alternative spaces, nonprofit organizations, and artists' studios. These visits provide interns with opportunities to examine the roles, functions, and activities of a wide range of art professionals and institutions.

It certainly sounds like an intense and amazing opportunity – congratulations Britt!

On February 23, 2007, Kent State University students from the School of Visual Communication Design received a total of five Addy Awards from the Advertising Federation of Greater Akron. This competition honors creative excellence within the advertising industry. Local Addy awards are given in 15 categories and can advance to the district and national levels.

Graduate Student Kelly Dorsey won a Silver award in the Student category for her design of a summer workshop poster for the School of VCD. Glyphix, the student design studio in VCD, received two Silver level awards in the Student category, as well as garnering two of the three Judge's Choice Awards for the overall competition. Graduate student Lee Zelenak was honored with Kelly Dorsey (Silver and Judge's Choice) for the design of a poster promoting the School's graduate program. The other Judge's choice award and a Silver award was received by the team responsible for a printed brochure and a short multi-media piece for the School of Fashion Design and Merchandising 2006 Fashion Show. That team was comprised of Lee Zelenak, and undergraduate students Mike Fofrich, Kristi Underwood, and Rachel Adkins.

In his comment about the VCD Graduate Program Promotional Poster, Judge Jon Eslinger stated, "There is rarely a case of less is more that will be more evident than this poster. The simple use of two words to make a profound statement made this poster not only effective, but unique,'' said Eslinger, art director at Vision Creative in Lansing, Mich.

Click to play QuickTime video.

The Judges' Choice Award from Tom Hayes was awarded for the Fashion Show Brochure and Video. Mr. Hayes is president of the Treasure Coast Ad Fed and account executive at WPEC News 12 in West Palm Beach, Fla.

"The students work hard to produce top-level design solutions all the time. This competition gives the individual award winners, as well as other students in the our School, an important validation of their studies. To have their efforts recognized so highly at a professional level competition is a wonderful opportunity for us to share information about our excellent program with the Kent State community and beyond," said Valora Renicker, Creative Director of Glyphix.

Nick Caruso and Andy Taray, two VCD graduates, were featured in the October 2006 issue of Metropolis Magazine for their "City of" series of shirts promoting regional pride. The two graduates formed their company, Campfire, with School of Art Graduate Micah Kraus in August of 2005. www.wearecampfire.com

Fourteen students in the EGD course in VCD spent three days in Chicago in September. This course teams architecture students from IIT (Illinois Institute of Technology), Real Estate MBAs from the DePaul Real Estate Center and graphic design students from Kent to develop sustainable eldercare housing proposals. The focus of the trip an interdisciplinary workshop on the IIT Campus. Other highlights of the trip included visiting the exhibit “Massive Change” by Bruce Mau at the Museum of Contemporary Art, and catching a Cubs game at Wrigley Field (The Reds won 4-1). The trip was organized by VCD Professor David Middleton and assisted by GTA Anne Berry. Another trip is scheduled for mid November.