IMU design students win awards

Walking through the Indiana Memorial Union, students are bombarded with images. signs, posters and flyers cover the walls in some places. Many of these graphics are designed by the IMU's team of graphic designers, several of whom won awards in last month's Association of College Unions International "Steal This Idea" graphic design competition.\n2005 IU graduate Matt Marosz won first place in the two-color brochures (eight panels or less) category for a catalog he designed. Marosz was also an honorable mention in the cards, postcards, and invitations category for his Union Board biennial invitation.\nSenior Chris Sommerfeld won third place in the Signs category for the signs he designed for Sugar and Spice, which encourage customers to use credit cards as payment.\n"Having my work recognized and awarded is a wonderful feeling," Marosz said. "It validates the hard work, thought, and effort I put into each project, while showcasing my talents and skills as a graphic designer."\nIMU marketing and communications manager Kelly Carnahan, who oversees three to four student designers, said the students don't just use the job for the paycheck -- students usually work 20-hour weeks -- but that they also use it as a springboard to graphic design careers.\n"When students leave my department, they have a high level of proficiency using applicable software packages, doing press checks, brainstorming ad campaigns and analyzing marketing data," Carnahan said. "The projects they do at the Union contribute to their portfolios and their resumes. Having practical experience to support their academic studies puts them ahead of the game when they graduate."\nCarnahan entered the design competition in professional categories, and, working with a local design firm, won second place in the professional brochure (more than eight pages) category.\nCarnahan said the students design graphics for the Biddle Hotel and Conference Center, Activities & Events, IU Outdoor Adventures, Union Studios, the Back Alley, 900 Hair Design, Delights, Sycamore Corner and special events.\nShe added that one student specializes in marketing and design for IMU dining services and designs graphics for the Tudor Room, catering services, Sugar & Spice, Kiva and the Market at the Union.\nMorosz said that he enjoys the artistic side of design and likes the fact that his work can get messages out to people effectively.\n"It's truly a joy to create pieces which communicate to their intended audience, while reaching out and attracting new participants," he said.\nCarnahan called her office a "learning lab," and said that, beyond making the IMU a popular and well-marketed building, it helps students hone their design skills.\n"Customers see our product as a hotel, student programs, a place for entertainment or a place to eat," she said. "But behind all of those products is a great deal of work done by students"