Eleven students, associate professor Dannell MacIlwraith and associate professor Summer Doll-Myers attended the American Advertising Awards Thursday, March 13, at Cedar Crest College in Allentown. Communication Design students received 20 awards, including Best in Show, five Gold and 14 Silver Awards. All gold Addy winners will automatically be entered into the national Addy Awards.
Our 34th Annual Communication Design Senior Portfolio review was another smashing success last night. From 6–9pm, 27 design agencies, with 51 designer and creative director attendees, reviewed 46 students’ portfolios. The attendees were highly impressed with the students’ work, with some noting it was the most outstanding they had seen among art and design programs in the region. The clients provided valuable feedback and encouraged the students to approach graduation and entry into the professional workforce with confidence. Several also expressed interest in following up with students for potential interviews.
As a bonus, 32 of the 51 attendees are KUCD alumni, ranging from 1999–2024. WOW! We are very grateful to have a supportive alumni network. Several of our emeritus faculty attended as well.
I would like to thank our KUCD faculty, Margaret Noel, Kathy Traylor, and Dean Brad Shope for their continued support of this event. I couldn’t do it without all of you!
You can view our graduating students’ portfolios here: https://kucd.kutztown.edu/alumni-showcase/. Notably, Ian McDonald was awarded the prestigious Young Ones Portfolio Award by The One Club for Creativity, an internationally recognized competition. He distinguished himself among graduating students through multiple competitive rounds to earn the top honor—an exceptional achievement.
On Friday, February 21st, the Communication Design program (Art & Design Department) hosted its 17th annual Designathon from 8 AM to 10 PM, our largest event of the year. We had 107 students registered, ranging from freshmen eager to become part of the CD family to seniors who will act as team leaders, as well as 8 alumni to create designs for 23 local nonprofits. In addition, 8 faculty members oversaw the design teams.
The event began with breakfast and sign-in at 8 AM, followed by the client kickoff at 9 AM. Students then brainstormed, sketched, and created final designs with production ready files for the clients, culminating in a presentation for the clients at 9 PM.
This year, the design projects ranged from logos for a cat rescue organization to a social media campaign aiming to reach the Guinness World Record for the largest soda tab collection by an organization. As always, our goal is to foster a sense of creating for the greater good. It’s crucial for our designers to engage with the community, and this event offers them the invaluable opportunity to work with real clients, gaining hands-on experience that enhances their learning — all while having a bit of fun!
Designathon Team:
Professor Vicki Meloney
Professor Summer Doll-Myers
Office Manager Kathy Traylor
Senior CD student organizer Lein Nguyen
15200 Kutztown Rd.
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