This year’s Spring Show jurors for the School of Graphic Design had their work cut out for them evaluating more than 45 portfolios for the purpose of awarding scholarships to four students. Juror Armin Vit, Principal, UnderConsideration said of the process, “One of the hardest things when judging or critiquing is ‘grading on a curve’ as they say, where you adjust both your expectations and standards to either a high degree or a low degree. In the case of the (Academy of Art University’s) Spring Show that curve was very high, precipitously high even! So even for those who didn’t receive an award, their level of concept and execution was pretty amazing. I loved seeing all the work and impeccable presentations in the form of all those lovely books.”
The judges, Camilla Bravo, Laura Shore, Armin Vit, Patrick Coyne, Scott Hansen, and Mick Hodgson spent more than three hours reviewing portfolios before Graduate Director Phil Hamlett announced the names of four students chosen to each receive a $1,000 scholarship.
(Anitra Nottingham | Phil Hamlett | Patrick Coyne | Armin Vit)
The recipients were BFA students Jayde Cardinalli and Cristina Rotundo, and MFA students Crystal Chou, and Elizabeth Vereker. The scholarships were courtesy of Chipotle and American Greetings who have been long time supporters of the School of Graphic Design program and Spring Show.
(Jayde Cardinalli)
(Cristina Rotundo | Mary Scott)
(Crystal Chou | Mary Scott)
(Elizabeth Vereker | Phil Hamlett | Mary Scott)
Of the overall collection of student work presented at Spring Show, Patrick Coyne, Editor, Communication Arts and juror said, “I was particularly impressed with several students and their sophisticated use of information graphics to help explain concepts, as well as the depth of research on many of their Masters Thesis projects.”
(Patrick Coyne | Armin Vit | Scott Hansen)
First time Spring Show attendee and juror, and past 79DesignSpeak presenter, Scott Hansen of ISO50 says he was impressed by the work,”Having never participated in this event I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was really stricken with the overall quality of talent, skill, and execution on display in the student’s work. As a designer myself, it was truly inspiring to see the future of this art form taking such confident first steps into the outside world.”
(Mick Hodgson)
Mick Hodgson of Ph.D says of his history with Spring Show, “Having judged the Spring Show several times, it’s been wonderful to see the students bloom under Mary and Phil’s direction. Each visit gets better, and this year was no different. The range of work and the range of projects was so much wider than before. The thought behind the work, the concepts, the execution all seemed to have broken loose of previous years and leapt into now!”
Laura Shore, Senior Vice President Communications and Innovation Strategies, Mohawk Fine Papers was also a first time attendee and juror. Shore, who has judged numerous graphic design competitions said of her Spring Show experience, “I always approach the jury process with a mix of anxiety and anticipation. Will there be work that rises above? What happens if all the work is just “okay”? Will I have to be a “mean judge?” This is especially true of student work, where you often encounter interesting conceptual work that feels incomplete. Or work that bears the over-heavy stamp of instructors. I was thrilled to see a consistent level of solid work and a few portfolios that stood out in terms of concept and presentation. A couple of portfolios were so good that I wanted to take them home.”
(Camilla Bravo | Laura Shore)
A Spring Show veteran, Camilla Bravo, Marketing and Brand Strategy Consultant, is an expert on the subject, “It’s been my privilege to review student portfolios at AAU for over 10 years. I have seen an amazing array of fabulous work and it just keeps getting better. Congratulations to the graduating students! Under the inspired direction of Mary Scott, Phil Hamlett, Hunter Wimmer, and the talented teachers in the program, AAU School of Graphic Design has become the best design school in the country.”
To see more photos check out Alissa Walker’s live coverage of Spring Show on Gelatobaby.
Photos courtesy of Academy of Art University students Angela Wijaya and Chris Martin.
