Several University of West Georgia students were featured in the 2014 Graphis New Talent Annual Competition including two who received the Gold Award. The students submitted their work to the international contest as a class requirement and subsequently netted several impressive wins. Their award-winning pieces will be featured in the Handbound Annual, along with other examples of the best student work worldwide in design, photography and advertising.
“I was ecstatic about finding out I took Gold,” says Mandy Douthit, who received the recognition for her poster advertising the lecture ‘Martin Venezky: Experimental Typography.’ “I will now be able to say I'm a published artist, which will be a huge boost to my resume and will hopefully help with my job search. All the studio professors in the Art Department are extremely helpful. Cassie Hester, one of our recent graphic design professors, pushes her students in a good way. I know my designs have improved a great deal since having her. She encourages us to push the limits as to what graphic design is.”
“I am really excited that I won and also a little surprised, because there were so many good designs out there,” adds Amanda Ramos Del Valle. “I do hope this gets future employers’ attention once I start applying for jobs. It also pushes me to keep working hard on everything I do. I really like how close we all are in the graphic design program; we all help each other in the things we work on.” Ramos Del Valle also won Gold for her poster advertising the lecture ‘Sane/Insane: The Rosenhan Study.’
In addition to the two Gold Awards, three UWG students won Merit Awards: Lauren Cook for her poster for the Gilroy Garlic Festival, William Ray Hilton for his book cover design for The Alchemist and Pontip Vongsengdeuane for her book cover design for The Giver. Other winners included students from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, the Academy of Fine Arts in Poland, the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, Temple University, California College of the Arts, California State University, Texas A&M and several other well-established institutions.
“Joey Hannaford and I are proud of all our students that submitted work to the Graphis New Talent competition,” says Cassie Hester, UWG professor of graphic design. “It takes a lot of courage to enter such a high-profile competition. Gold is quite an accomplishment, but so is Merit. The competition is so fierce that to receive anything is truly an honor. We are excited for our winners! It's wonderful to see student work from the University of West Georgia recognized along with student work from schools in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Poland and the Netherlands. This triumph brings international attention to the University of West Georgia and the department of art.”
To view these designs and more, please visit www.graphis.com.
