Graphic Technologies Students
PARTICIPATE IN SPECIAL COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP
THE GRAPHICS TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM at EFSC teaches students graphic design through classes in industry-prevalent software . As part of the curriculum , Program Manager Dr . Steven Hicks creates projects to ready his students for typical advertising agency design work . So , when the American Veterans Empowerment Team ( AVET ) reached out with a win-win partnership idea , he jumped at the chance .
The projects he includes in the syllabus often mimic work he has done in the community in his years working as a graphic designer . When an agency reaches out for design help , he sees it as a perfect opportunity for his students .
“ I still do a fair bit of work in the community , though most know I now teach full time ,” said
Hicks . “ When an agency with such an important mission as AVET reached out , I absolutely said , yes !”
A simple flyer was needed to promote an event , which turned out to be a great project for his advanced design students .
“ I assigned it to the class at our first meeting ,” said Hicks . “ We reviewed designs during the next class , and I forwarded about a dozen to Kim Cone at AVET . Her board of directors picked one design .”
That design was created by student Chelsi Balint . She was involved in the process directly , which provided her with great real-world experience that encouraged her to continue down this career path .
“ We sent the student designs out to the board and posted them on social media , asking which everyone liked the best and why ,” said Kim Cone , Executive Director of AVET . “ It helped hearing from others about their favorite . Chelsi ’ s piece was easy to read and had the right amount of color to grab a reader ’ s attention . It was simply a good design .
“ We will continue to work with Dr . Hicks and his students and are so happy the AVET Project was able to offer some projects for the students . We call that a win / win !”
IN GRATEFUL APPRECIATION TO
AN EFSC FOUNDATION SIGNATURE SPONSOR
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