Senior Visual Communication Design (VCD) students are once again offering design services to the Ohio Valley and beyond, serving nonprofit organizations that cannot afford paid graphic design services.
Associate Professor of Media and Visual Arts Sarah Davis will assist the group of talented students as they work through the Fall 2021 Visual Communication Design Studio course that simulates a professional design studio experience.
“The program that we are offering to nonprofits is free. However, nonprofit participants should expect to contribute to the design process, including three formal team meetings through in-person or virtual formats. In addition, nonprofit participants must be available to students via email or phone for design reviews, questions, and for prompt delivery of content.
Possible projects may include branding systems, logo design and application, social media graphics, information design, brochures, book covers, high-end presentations, app design, animation, video, signage, and websites. Students work directly with clients and team members to reach a viable, strategically based, cost-effective, and visually compelling solution.
“Students will learn how to take collective responsibility for their Design Team’s strategies, communication, and design solutions. They will also learn to problem-solve in real-time and pivot through their strategies and process as expected, and unexpected challenges arise,” said Davis, who teaches the upper-level class.
Students work in teams with the Agile (software) inspired methodology to collaborate and further develop their strengths. Each student’s roles may include a combination of the following: team leader, account executive, art director, creative director, production manager, conceptual designer, graphic designer, researcher, design strategist, production artist, photographer, illustrator, typographer, or logo designer, among many other roles.
“This process allows students to learn to excel in a team environment based on their natural strengths and learned skills. In addition, it introduces students to skills that they may need to improve on and practice,” Davis explained.
Design work for this class must be completed by the end of the semester in December 2021.
Interested nonprofits may become eligible to participate in the design service opportunity by completing an online form by July 16, 2021 (https://forms.gle/WbukV27BzaC8wHGs6). Those selected will be notified shortly after that if their project has been chosen for student work.
For more information or questions, please contact Davis at sarah.davis@westliberty.edu or call 412.215.3834.
