Student

thingsithought.today Website by Lauren Holden

Instructor: James March

Judge’s Pick: Lauren Wickware
Use of simple techniques, such as layering and pacing, are employed effectively to create a unique and nuanced experience. The contrast between analogue and digital techniques creates an engaging narrative, and core design principles, such as contrast, space and alignment, are effectively used to lead the viewer through the content carefully.

Project Description:
thingsithought.today is both poetry and an informational resource that aims to help those struggling with mental health to feel less alone while identifying the supports they need. Lists of symptoms are often not enough to capture the isolation and anxiety many experience in any meaningful way. Lauren identified visual poetry as a way to record mental health that rings true and makes one feel less alone. Experimenting with poetry and graphics, she distilled her experiences to help others who are struggling to feel less alone. This website anthology consists of fully immersive poems that incorporate collage, bizarre gifs, hover interactions and animated typography. The result is a consuming poetic experience which uses interaction and motion as visual rhetorical devices.

Give Your Food a Second Life: Composting Awareness Campaign by Paul Twa Student RGD

Instructor: Gillian Harvey

Judge’s Pick: Valerie Casey
"This campaign refreshes the well-worn topic of composting and manages to elevate it through a well-executed and beautiful visual language. The design effectively anthropomorphizes food waste to create a persuasive social motivator."

Project Description:
Chestermere Utilities Incorporated (CUI)’s garbage collection service is a weekly part of the Chestermere community’s structure. Unfortunately, due to a lack of clear communication during a period of rapid change in the company’s collection system, CUI had garnered a negative association in the minds of Chestermere residents. For this project, each student was tasked with repairing that relationship and communicating upcoming changes in garbage collection that would lead to more sustainable living in the community. The concept for Paul’s campaign is that food scraps are not useless when we are done with them, but rather, have a second use through composting.

Strong. by Parisa Yazdani

Instructor: Borzu Talaie

Judge’s Pick: Valerie Casey
"Timely, effective and deeply personal. This micro-documentary weaves three unique narratives together cleanly and creatively to build an irrefutable statement about empowerment that is emotionally tender and visually compelling."

Project Description:
As the final project, a “Time-Based Communication” class was assigned to make a short video that reflected what the students had learned. Parisa created a film that communicates the highlights, struggles and misconceptions of what it means to be a female athlete in what tends to be a male-dominated domain. The goal was to remind female viewers that gender does not define what they can and cannot achieve. For male viewers, the goal was to provoke them to reevaluate how they perceive female ability and strength. The documentary-style video interviews three female athletes, all of whom compete in male-dominated sports.

What is a Life Worth? Poster by Sarah Butt

Instructor: Nova Hopkins

Project Description:
The assignment was to design a poster to raise awareness of the fast fashion industry and sweatshops in Bangladesh. Using various articles of clothing, Sarah sewed together a heart to represent the heart of those whose lives depend on working in the sweatshops. A sewing needle through the centre of the heart indicates that the industry is killing them, and a blood-stained tag that says “Made in Bangladesh” depicts the workers as a product with a price.

FreshAid Branding by Cooper Symonds

Instructor: Karin Jager

Project Description:
FreshAid is a non-profit charitable organization that focuses on the problem of food security within communities by getting fresh and nutritious food out of landfills and into the hands of people who need it. With a monochromatic yet vibrant colour scheme and a friendly, simple sans-serif typeface, the branding is approachable, trustworthy and welcoming. The minimalist design of the mobile app provides a user experience that is simplified, efficient and easily navigated. The application of the branding to all other collateral creates a consistent feel across media.

Beausoleil Packaging by Angela Ip

Instructor: Albert Ng RGD Emeritus

Project Description:
Beausoleil is an environmentally-conscious company that sells energy-saving LED light bulbs. It donates a portion of its profits to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. The containers are thoughtfully designed with purpose, knowledge and branding in mind.