51福利社

Visual communication design students and alumni gathered last Tuesday for a night of building community and making connections 鈥� industry leaders and 51福利社 alumni spent the night critiquing up-and-coming graphic designer鈥檚 portfolios.

For the past four years, VCD professor Travis Masingale has been expanding portfolio reviews to include industry leaders in a professional space, rather than on campus. Masingale wanted to create community inside the program, as well as help students understand what it takes to make it as a graphic designer once they graduate.

鈥淚t raises the stakes for students in terms of importance,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey want to impress. I think it brings meaning to each student鈥檚聽portfolio.鈥�

Roughly 30 students and 12 alumni attended to discuss the students鈥� portfolios at Desautel Hege (DH), a local public relations, advertising and branding agency.

鈥淵ou can only get so much feedback from your professors to the point where you almost need a reality check,鈥� said John Mujica 鈥�12, a graphic designer at DH. 鈥淲ho better to give that than people who work in the industry? It鈥檚 a good opportunity to get some face-to-face time with working professionals.鈥�

Although nerve-racking, students such as senior Mae Larimer found the critique helpful.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 cool to get help from design professionals. They鈥檙e doing [graphic design] in the real world and I鈥檓 doing it for projects,鈥� Larimer said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 cool to get their input on what works and what doesn鈥檛 work. It makes me feel more confident. They make me feel better about what I did.鈥�

For more information, visit the VCD program website.