BYU–Hawaii graphic design professor Brandon Truscott's poster for his class's ART 333 Type Face Cards exhibit was one of 25 winners of Print Celebrates Design, a national design competition hosted by PRINT magazine. Truscott, chair of the Visual Arts department at BYU–Hawaii, said he hopes beginners in the graphic design field will see his win as an example of opportunities available in the graphic design community.
See all of the 2014 winning designs at www.printmag.com.
Print Celebrates Design is "a design competition for your cards, gifts & invitations," according to Amanda Aszman, who posted the winners on PRINT magazine's website. The judge for the competition was the creative director at Etsy, Randy J. Hunt. Etsy is a peer-to-peer online market for hand-made goods. "Hunt founded design studio Citizen Scholar and wrote Product Design for the Web. Prior to becoming creative director at Etsy, he was recognized as Print New Visual Artist in 2009," wrote Aszman.
Truscott said he hopes this recognition will help his students, in addition to those earning certificates or those who are interested in design, realize that they can be competitive at a national level even if they feel they are from a small place. “Even though things we do in class start as small, simple projects, they can be a gateway, if you approach it correctly, to national recognition,” he said. “Anyone can use something like this as an opportunity to open doors."
Every semester that Truscott teaches his Typography class, one of the topics is about script and hand letterings. His class designed typography chalk signs with a playing card theme and exhibited them in late October 2014. He designed the advertising poster for the exhibit as the ace of spades, which ultimately won in Print Celebrates Design. "I was looking at the backs of cards, and the fronts, through several different decks. I based the letter forms on two typefaces: Rand Holub's Gillot 291 became the basis of Intertype's Monterey. I modified every little thing as I drew it out," said Truscott.
"I encourage my students to be active online,” said Truscott. “Opportunities are rapidly increasing in design [because of digitization and the internet]. You can get more exposure and connect with a greater audience."
There are three million visitors annually to the public gallery on printmag.com. For a student that is just starting their career, an award like this can be very advantageous. "It is something you can put on your resume or be a talking point in an interview,” commented Truscott. “Someone might see some of your work they like, click on it, and contact you. It's all about gaining exposure, which can lead to other opportunities.”
