This content was published: February 26, 2008. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Graphic design students create scheme for candy wrapper, DVD cover
Photos and story by James Hill
Graphic design students at the Sylvania Campus are in the midst of two exciting projects during the winter term. The students are designing a DVD cover after teaming up with Janelle Hanson from the Portland Climate Project. Hanson, who has experience with global warming issues, presented on the issue in class so that students could build a knowledge base for a DVD cover.
“We’ve always felt it was just too easy to have students design a DVD cover for a favorite rock band or movie,” said graphic design instructor Cece Cutsforth. “Her presentation was engaging and students were filled with questions about the subject. From this presentation students were to become informed enough about the subject to proceed to re-design a DVD cover for the documentary, ‘An Inconvenient Truth.’”
Cutsforth says this project reflects how her program incorporates the PCC Core Values/Outcomes into the Graphic Design classroom projects.
Another project (see photo) that students just finished in the same class is called, “Cultural Candy Bar.” Students in instructor Angie Martorana’s class are assigned a random culture to study. They studied colors, research indigenous ingredients that might be used in a candy bar and explore typefaces that would communicate the image of the culture. They designed a candy bar wrapper using Adobe InDesign software.
“The cultural awareness outcome is huge as each student must share their chosen culture with the rest of the class and justify each design decision based on how it supports communication of the culture,” Cutsforth said.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »