December 10, 2009 - 5:41am
Creative juices were flowing in a graphic design class at Vancouver Island University during a unique marketing project initiated by VIU's International Education department.
Graphic design instructor Nancy Pagé asked students in her Imagery class to come up with innovative design ideas for products that could be used as giveaways to prospective international students.
VIU's International Education department evaluated 25 projects and selected three of the best design ideas: a puzzle, podcast/envelope and dog-tag stickers. Selected designers Shannon Rennie, Paul Arnell and Briana Cunningham received $350 each. The three projects will be used in various forms to promote VIU internationally.
"This was a great learning experience and I'm so pleased my design was chosen," said Arnell. "I selected a podcast for my VIU marketing idea because a podcast can reach a huge audience, it costs nothing to transport and contains a lot of information. Pretty much everyone can use headphones."
Pagé said the project allowed her entire class to gain valuable insight into working with a client. "When a real-life client is introduced to the design process it adds a new and significant dimension to an already complex process," she said.
"Having the client participate in the weekly process of developing a concept from sketch to completion provides students with a new perspective on the design process and more closely reflects the dynamics of their profession."
In Pagé's class, students learned to use Adobe Photoshop as a tool for creative conceptualization. The criteria for this project included using Photoshop as the primary tool for producing their primary visual solutions. The requirement forced the students to push themselves using a program that was new to them.
In addition to the creative work, students were evaluated on innovativeness, ease of production and cost of producing the end product.
"There's a lot of talent on campus and we're always looking at ways of incorporating student projects in our international marketing and recruitment initiatives," said Marco Qaqish, an international student recruiter at VIU.
"Out of the 25 projects presented, all of them offered something unique. Because we were very impressed with the calibre of ideas, we not only awarded three students $350 each, but we gave honorable mention to several other students by recommending their marketing designs to VIU's Communication and Public Relations department."
“It’s a win-win-win situation,” said Qaqish. “In this case, current VIU students got their feet wet with a ‘real world’ project, International Education gets professional results without the professional price tag, and prospective international students get a souvenir that’s practical and esthetically pleasing.”
Tags: In the Community
