VIU Graphic Design Grads To Display Final Projects At Year-End Event

Creative work from the portfolios of 22 Graphic Design students from Vancouver Island University (VIU) will be on display at a special event Wednesday, April 23 at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre (VICC) in downtown Nanaimo.

Graduating students will present their exhibit, titled “process”, and welcome guest speaker Emrys Damon Miller of Victoria-based boutique graphic design studio, Rocketday Arts. Tickets for Damon Miller’s presentation are free for students and Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC) members, $7 in advance at www.rocketday.com/uncompromised or $10 at the door.

“Emrys’ presentation will be really interesting and relevant for our students, for GDC members from the graphic design community, and anyone interested or involved in graphic design,” says VIU Graphic Design instructor Nancy Pagé. “This will be a wonderful networking opportunity for students.”

Damon Miller’s presentation, titled “Uncompromised”, will explore his firm’s journey “to support a healthy world through graphic design.” A collaborative team of consultants, artists, coders and designers working together since 1999, Rocketday Arts focuses exclusively on projects which aim to build a healthier planet, directly addressing several global issues: over-consumption, the threats to ecological health, war, poor education, and the need for spiritual and cultural health. The studio is profitable and widely respected for the quality of their work.

Graduating this June in VIU’s Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design program, the students have been focused this term on developing final projects and their individual portfolios, Pagé says.

“The involvement of members of the Graphic Designers of Canada Vancouver Island chapter, as well as members from the Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce has been very important to our students as they have grown their skills and developed portfolios of work,” she adds.

Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce members were involved last fall in a “Dragon’s Den-style” event where students presented their original work for critique and evaluation.

“We’ve had the Chamber involved now for two years, and students get some highly valuable feedback,” says Pagé. “The members are always blown away by our students’ capabilities, and students always leave feeling incredibly rewarded because people show excitement for their ideas. It’s a win-win.”

The Graphic Design Class of 2014 graduation class exhibition can be viewed – at no charge -- outside the VICC’s Shaw Auditorium, with Damon Miller’s talk beginning at 5 pm. A reception for graduates and other guests follows at 6 pm, with live music, light appetizers and a cash bar.

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