Parkland College Graphic Design Student Juried Exhibition 2014 - Opening Reception

Opening Reception 

Wednesday, May 14  

6-8pm

The Parkland College Graphic Design Student Juried Exhibition will be on display at the Parkland Art Gallery Monday, May 12 through Thursday, June 7. A reception honoring the students will be held on Wednesday, May 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the gallery lounge with an awards ceremony scheduled for 7 p.m.

As with all events in the handicapped-accessible gallery, the exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

The juried exhibit highlights work completed by students in the current academic year, beginning with summer 2013. Jury members include the Graphic Design faculty and local industry professionals who generously volunteer their time. This year’s judges are Teresa Ellis, Senior Design Director at Surface 51, and Jan Troutt, Vice President of Publishing Services at Precision Graphics.

Works in the exhibit showcase the creative solutions to design problems that students are presented with throughout the year. Traditional print media, website design, animation and motion will be featured in the Gallery. These projects are all portfolio samples created in the graphic design studio classes, which might include logos, branding, packaging, menus, books, publications, posters, brochures, websites, video, film title graphics and TV commercials, to name a few examples.

During the May 14 reception, an awards ceremony honoring 2014 Graphic Design student achievements will take place at 7 p.m.  A number of monetary awards will be given at that time; Graphic Design Program Director Paul Young will present the awards.

Local clients often contribute funds for these awards; in this way, the exhibit highlights the service learning that is an important element of Parkland's Graphic Design curriculum. Monetary awards include the Dr. David M. and Shirley A. Jones Student Art Award for a work of outstanding artistic achievement; the Graphic Design Best of Show Award; the Fine and Applied Arts Department Chair Award; Parkland College Marketing and Public Relations Department Award of Excellence; and the President's Award for Excellence. Other awards are given by clients and supporters of the Design program and include the Electric Pictures Award of Excellence, Surface 51 Award of Excellence, Studio 2D Design Strategy Award, Six Demon Studio Award for Excellence in Web Design, Viktoria Ford Award of Excellence, Larry Ecker Award for Typographic Excellence, Public Art League Award of Excellence, and the Presence Covenant Medical Center Award for Excellence in Design, among others.

“This year's exhibition will be a nice mix of traditional print projects and new digital media experiments. Expect to see creative work in branding, advertising, illustration and packaging as well as unique web sites, kinetic motion graphics and dynamic interactive design” Young said.

“Our faculty jury seeks out the most imaginative, inspiring, distinctive, innovative, unusual and memorable pieces for display in the gallery. Considering that the work comes from a two-year program, we're constantly impressed by the energy, dedication and drive of our students.”

To coincide with the exhibition, a gallery talk has been scheduled for Thursday, May 15 at 1pm. Gretchen Wieshuber, who teaches Typography at Parkland College and also owns her own design studio called Studio 2D, will present a talk “Designers and the Creative Process” and will expand upon the idea of harnessing the power of the creative process. “Designers are paid to be creative day in and day out. We can't wait around for inspiration to hit when deadlines loom, so we have a process that leads us dependably to creative solutions to problems. Anyone can use this process for any problem.”

Parkland Art Gallery spring hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday from 10a.m. to 3p.m., and Saturday from 12p.m. to 2p.m. The gallery will be closed May 26 in observance of Memorial Day. To find the Gallery when classes are in session, use the M parking lots, enter through any door, and follow the ramps uphill to the highest point, where the gallery is located. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. For more information, call Parkland Art Gallery Office at 217/351-2485 or visit our website at www.parkland.edu/gallery.