Winning awards means it’s no longer your instructors, friends, or parents saying your work is good. It’s the professionals saying that your work is good.
mel white • Instructor, Syracuse University, The Newhouse School
The Communication Design program at Texas State University has been historically known to be a market-driven design program positioning successful alums in thriving design and advertising agencies throughout the United States. The emphasis on critical thinking has been the backbone of the program ever since I can remember, and in my humble opinion, as a professional design practitioner, the success of the Communication Design program.
Consequently, the student work has been constantly recognized in regional, national, and international design competitions. Thus, in the fall of 2019, a proposed exhibition was pitched to the TXST Flex Galleries to highlight the adjudicated work of the Communication Design students in the years 2018 and 2019.
The exhibit aimed to enlighten the student body about the opportunities to get their work awarded and motivate them to participate in well-known and recognized design competitions. TOP COM DES was born. Here is the breakdown of the student adjudications and my post-evaluation after leading the TXST ComDes Program Competition Committee for a few years.
The TOP COM DES exhibition showcased 116 student projects adjudicated between 2018 and 2019, developed in various courses, and judged in different design competitions. The collection of work and the amounts of adjudications were a breaking record for the program.
- AAF—Austin • 1
- AAF—San Antonio • 13
- AAF—10th District • 1
- AIGA FLUX 18 • 13
- CMYK Magazine • 26
- Communiation Arts • 1
- GDUSA • 1
- Graphis New Talent 2019 • 44
- LogoLounge 11 • 5
- NSSC • 11
- Advertising • 5
- Editorial Design • 2
- Book Covers • 1
- Branding Systems • 23
- Illustrations • 2
- Interactive Design • 2
- Mobile Applications • 1
- Packaging • 6
- Photography • 1
- Poster • 2
- Stationery System • 1
- Environmental Graphic Design • 1
The evidence shows that the rapport between the students and the faculty increased. The students’ involvement not only increased in design competitions, but they were more engaged in extracurricular activities and workshops organized by the students and sometimes by faculty. For example, the Concept is King poster workshop which was organized by William Meek a couple of years later. TXST AIGA student organization also experienced an increment in interest in their activities and involvement within the design community.
Students increased their interest in each other’s work, and I witnessed how they began sharing their skills and discoveries. They also were more sensitive to competition deadlines and guidelines. Essentially, they helped each other and worked together more. Some faculty, including me, used the TOP COM DES exhibition as a learning tool to lecture about successful design solutions.
Furthermore, I remember getting stopped in the hallways by groups of students seeking quick feedback or asking about upcoming competitions. The students responded favorably to the whole idea—and being a TOP COM DES became a thing, a title, a challenge, a verb, more than a simple exhibit. TOP THIS!
Their interest in design competitions was such that several faculty and I began organizing workshops to get work ready for specific competition guidelines. Design competitions became the excuse to collaborate among faculty, share ideas with the students, and provide detailed feedback in a collaborative environment—the same as at a design studio or creative agency. Although the competition workshops were organized to prepare the student work for specific competitions, I began to witness work being developed from scratch during those six or eight hours we were working with the kids. This motivated the faculty to organize more of these events throughout the semester. I was very familiar with this format since it was the same model my professors used when I went through the BFA and MFA programs.
The increment in student participation in design competitions was off the charts. After the TOP COM DES exhibition in October 2019, student adjudications increased by more than 200%. The student testimonials were very motivational to continue working in this extra-curricular activity, not only to their peers but to the faculty organizing these workshops. These milestones have a profound weight in our industry; they do not just validate the quality of the work, but participating in design competitions reveals the students’ competitive and hard-working spirits. I always get excited and anticipate the results of these design and advertising annuals.
Having the opportunity to win awards and recognition for my work helped show that consistency and hard work does pay off in the end.
HANNAH MOREHEAD • TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY, CLASS OF SPRING 2022
DESIGNER WITH THE HOUSTON ROCKETS
Design and advertising competitions are a huge part of the industry. Consequently, it is or should be a big deal for design programs to promote and participate in these prestigious annuals. Designers look at these annuals for inspiration, and they are embedded in our culture. Furthermore, they also serve as scouting tools and self-promotional for designers, directors, and agencies. Like the agencies, the schools always compete to score big during these annuals; consequently, good results always translate into more exposure. Hopefully, this exposure translates into better design programs’ recruitment opportunities and student job placement after they graduate.
Moreover, in the case of Texas State, the constant overwhelming results of its students in the past four years caught the attention of two well-known and respected design publications: Graphis Journal and LogoLounge. Each of them showcased my teaching methodology and my students’ adjudications.
In summary, the TOP COM DES exhibition was a fantastic vehicle to promote the student body rapport and build a strong camaraderie between the students and faculty. It also helped to motivate participation and involvement in national and international design competitions. In addition, the student’s performance after witnessing their peers’ accomplishments improved tremendously. Finally, the university and the program got excellent media coverage, translating into more brand recognition and reputation.
TOP COM DES was a great experience. It allowed me to ideate, design, and implement the exhibition with my colleagues. Yes, the production of assets and promotions was quite a joyful experience!
Seeing the TOP COM DES exhibition was a great eye opener for the level of work I needed to aspire to. I walked away from the gallery thinking: “If they could do it, I can do it too.” A year later and I have been published, won awards and gained confidence in my skills that I didn’t have before competitions. It was a unique chance to see how I measured up not only against other students and schools, but against professionals in the industry.
NATHANAEL LODEN • TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY • Class of SPRING 2021
Designer with Landor & Fitch
