BYU Arts Creative recently won three awards in the 45th Annual Design Competition of the University and College Designers Association.
Nick Mendoza, creative services manager for BYU Arts, also received a professional development scholarship. The award recognizes his work and funds his attendance this October at the UCDA Conference in Orlando, where the winning designs will be displayed. “I’m really proud of the students,” Mendoza said. “There is some recognition for me as the art director, but what makes my job fulfilling is mentoring them.” The competition attracted over one thousand entries but only gave out 165 awards: seven gold, 15 silver and 143 awards of excellence. BYU Arts Creative received three of those awards: one silver award and two awards of excellence. These awards aren’t just about putting BYU in the national spotlight, Mendoza explained. He submits the designs to competitions primarily to help the student designers gain recognition and get jobs. Many of his students have received internships or full-time design positions due to their experience working at BYU Arts Creative. BYU Arts Creative consists of a team of students that supports all of BYU Arts productions by preparing the marketing materials, including posters and programs. One of the students, Sam Reed, worked on the Contemporary Dance Theatre poster that won a silver award. “It was fun and challenging to try to convey the movement and energy of dance in a poster series,” Reed said. “I spent a lot of time manipulating the images until they felt right and were communicating that movement and energy.” Reed is a senior in the BFA Graphic Design program and is interning with Johnson & Johnson in New York. Andrew Galloway worked on the HFAC 50th season brochure that won an excellence award. He is also a senior in the BFA graphic design program and is interning in New York with a design studio called Thinkso. Alumna Nicolina Brown worked on the Jazz Ensemble poster that also won an excellence award. Brown graduated last April and has since worked as a design intern for Rapt Studio in San Francisco.
Other Awards and Designs
