Mary beth Bjork
Equinox Staff
Fifty graphic design students who will be graduating this May gathered in the student center to showcase their portfolios on Friday May 13 in the student center.
Graphic design students showcased their versatility and style with inspiration from nature, music, and family.
The process of composing the portfolio was difficult, but Mike Diana said he found inspiration in “whatever I see walking around.”
[singlepic id=1014 w=320 h=240 float=right]
Diana pointed out a project he did designing his own wine bottle company. He also said that his family is from the crest region of Italy and his family makes their own wine.
Lauren Paradee said, “My inspiration comes differently, based on the project. With my Big Brothers, Big Sisters [project] I used bright colors because it’s about kids.”
John Simmonds created a beer company that had a local organic natural representation. He found inspiration for the project from his follow classmates.
Shannon Peabody made a Christmas board game using Illustrator, which she said, took a lot of work and the game is what she’s most proud of.
Ashley Boucher said she was inspired by dandelions, because it is a “simple flower taken for granted and they are pretty.”
Boucher created a business for a project “Fold Bloom Paper Flower Shop.”
Boucher said, “Recycled flowers make it more personal. The bouquet lasts longer than fresh flowers, and it is good for people with allergies and for hospitals because sometimes flowers are not allowed.”
Boucher also said, “I love color and pattern. I try to bring things to life that are seemingly simple.”
For some students in the class, the professor really deserves most of the credit, “Rebecca Davis-Kelly never let us slack. [Sometimes it meant] staying up late at night, but [I am] thankful,” Joseph Gardner said.
Gardner worked on a project designing an ad campaign for a tent, which pops up and folds up like a clothes hamper.
He took three different angles for advertising the tent, saying someone could use it if they felt “embarrassed or in fear” or for “simplicity, speed, or warmth in cold weather.”
There was a picture of a tent outside a house, which Gardner explained as the place a guy can go when he’s kicked out of the house.
The other was a picture in the middle of a restaurant and the other was more romantic with a rose.
Tanya Doran also said Davis-Kelly pushed her to succeed. “She really pushed me until I was ready to have a breakdown. It was worth it. It will be worth it to get a job hopefully. [I] can’t complain.”
Doran’s poster for the Portfolio Design Student Exhibit read, “I’ll show you mine, you show me yours” referring to the portfolios.
Catherine Eager said, “It’s trying to get messages through design, not just making it look pretty through the design.”
Kristen Girard said she was assigned a project for which she had to create an ad campaign for an insectarium museum. Girard said she used famous paintings.
Andrew Mueller said that his inspiration for his graphic design work is derived from a variety of mediums.
For Mueller, natural or organic colors are his go-to choices in regards to design. “Organic colors vamp up and bring to life concepts,” Mueller said.
The Dave Matthews Band also instills a sense of inspiration in Mueller through the band’s upbeat, mellow melodies. The designs that Mueller produces are also versatile he said. For his portfolio, Mueller also invented a company that produces “uncommon sense” smells. Through this company, Mueller said that hypothetically if someone wanted to smell like a company with “uncommon sense smells.” Mueller said if someone wanted to smell like a “birthday cake, hot dog, or rubber tires,” then they could have that.
Brittany Arita said she was “inspired by [her] aunt’s handwriting.”
Arita used her aunt’s handwriting for one of her design projects.
Arita also said she was inspired by her family traditions and studying abroad in Italy.
Stealing her inspiration from textures in the world around her, Devon Clough said her inspiration comes from “nature and textures in general…Flat fabric and textile patterns are very inspiring.”
Amanda Downie said her message is that “design should be clean, simple, and easily visible.”
Keeping an open mind is the key to success for Kathryn Levesque.
“I keep my mind open to anything with any project and am very broad and then narrow it down and execute it and see how it works,” she said.
Mary Beth Bjork can be contacted at
MBjork@keene-equinox.com