UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Fourth-year Penn State graphic design students in the College of Arts and Architecture’s Stuckeman School are preparing to host “Momentum,” an exhibition of their capstone projects from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 19 in the Stuckeman Family Building Jury Space. The event is free and open to the public.
The exhibition will showcase the final projects from those students who will graduate in May and will feature “projects that push boundaries and capture design in motion,” according to the students. It is their opportunity, they said, to display all they have learned over the past four years while showcasing their individual strengths and passions and enhancing their portfolios.
“As a class, we have spent the entire year ideating, critiquing and editing our capstones to be presentation ready,” said Elizabeth Cohen. “Although the past three years helped us immensely to hone our skills and gain the confidence to present a yearlong design project, it is a bit daunting as this is our class’s last opportunity to leave a legacy on the graphic design department and Penn State as an institution.”
Jessica Gordimer is part of the installation team, which is focused on bringing the event to life. She said the team is creating visuals throughout the space that showcase the students’ designs while highlighting what’s next for them.
“Switzer’s Sports Bar,” Gordimer’s project for the show, derived from her own love of sports growing up and the desire to create a place where similarly minded women could gather to watch sports in an industry that tends to be geared toward male sports fans.
“Sports have played a big role in shaping who I am today [but] being a female sports fan can sometimes feel isolating as it’s not always easy to find a strong sense of community or a place to watch the sports you love,” she said. “I hope to change that by creating an inclusive environment where people can come together to watch, celebrate and learn about women’s sports.”
Grace Pilch, a member of the production team for the exhibition, said the team has created all the visual photo assets for the event promotions including students’ headshots, group photos and project photos.
Pilch’s project, titled “Blue Rehue,” is a non-profit brand focused on bringing awareness to coral bleaching and fish health. Her project includes numerous deliverables including educational publications, post cards and merchandise that are geared toward spreading awareness and raising money for reef saving efforts and coral regrowth science.
“I want viewers to imagine their world without color the way fish have to exist once the coral they inhabit has been bleached,” Pilch said.
As for what the class hopes the exhibition will convey, the students said they hope exposing people to their work will help communicate their readiness for whatever is ahead for them after they graduate.
“I hope people walk away feeling empowered by design and inspired by the unlimited possibilities of what it can achieve,” said Gordimer.
Students completed their individual capstone projects, as well as the concept and visual identity for the show collectively, under the guidance of Emily Burns, assistant professor of graphic design, and the instructor of GD 402: Senior Problems.
Burns said the showcase marks a pivotal moment for the student designers as they prepare to graduate and head into the design field.
“I am so proud of the work they’ve done for their individual capstone projects—creating each project’s concept, visual identity and deliverables from scratch. The work is a testament to the depth of their skills,” Burns said. “I’m so excited to see what they tackle next. It’s been such a pleasure and honor to work with such a talented and relentlessly driven group of designers.”
The students invite alumni, faculty, friends and family to the event, which they hope to be a professional yet intimate gathering to reflect on their growth as designers.
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