By David Seaman | Echo
The circus is coming to town. Cotton candy, popcorn . . . and six senior graphic design portfolios. Yes, the carnival is not coming to Indianapolis or Muncie but to Taylor's very own Metcalf Gallery.
The Art Department hopes to repeat the success of the studio art show a few weeks back with the senior graphic design show. "SIX," which opens tonight at 6 p.m., features hard work from senior artists, including designs from internships, freelance positions and classes.
"We had the hope of creating a theme that resembled a modern carnival-something that would be upbeat, colorful and a fun event to be at," said senior designer Abby Sells.
Each student has a particular piece that ties into the theme of the show. "The general idea of our show is the theme of 'SIX' because we have a uniquely small graphic design class (which is normally 20 students)," said Sells, whose focus is on branding. "We wanted to feature that we are all doing truly six unique paths of design."
The artists-Sells, Kelly Raver, Claudia Viscarra, Jay Kaufman, Laura Hapner and Lydia Markovich-have created works that play to their strengths as designers. Layout, photography, branding, typography, illustration and even confectionary design will be showcased Friday evening.
Raver has been using her graphic design education to create the brand identity, packaging and design for her home-based bakery. KJ Confections, which Raver founded in Blackford County in 2014, specializes in professional cake decorating. The principles of design she learned at Taylor have been crucial to developing brand identity, as well as creating visually appealing confections.
Raver hopes the show will give local exposure to her company so she can expand her business into neighboring areas such as Grant County.
"My portion of the senior show will display my packaging and several key elements of my marketing campaigns, including my catalog, website, business cards and some of my food photography," Raver said.
Delicious branding isn't the only special niche on display; all the students are taking full advantage of this opportunity to show off their particular talents. Viscarra creates an open atmosphere through branding and stationery where her ink drawings and designing skills can spring to life.
Kaufman's work plays around with designing rules, creating edgy and elegant Adobe Illustrator and InDesign work. Hapner's uses her conceptual and fine art photography to create atmospheric images and show the complex makeup of objects through her name brand SUNWOOD Photo & Design. Markovich hopes her work will have viewers identify with what she has made.
"I think the design show is so much fun . . . because you walk around the gallery and see so many of the posters and design campaigns from the last four years in students' portfolios and recognize that someone actually created those," Sells explained. "It's so easy to glaze over the posters in the Union, and when you go to the show you get a better idea of what the purpose behind those posters was and the skill set it takes to make it happen."
These skill sets will be on full display, surrounded by the fun and glamour of a carnival, tonight in the gallery. "SIX" runs until April 25.
The upcoming All Student Art Exhibit is accepting entries from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on April 23-24. Like the title implies, all students can apply. The exhibit will showcase photography, design, 3D and 2D work.
