Fall 2021 Alumni Magazine

COV E R TO COV E R Fashion Design alumni go on to work for top designers. Those who design together, stay together, and CCS Communication Design alums design across the world together An Advertising Design alum reveals the social value of a social media strategy. Bike-designing Transportation and Product Design alumni break away from the ordinary. A Crafts alumnus shows us the handcrafted ethos behind his company’s award-winning commercial spaces. And all of our alumni show us just how design can leave an impact on the world.

THESE ARE CCS ALUMNI. ONE DAY, YOU WILL BE ONE OF THEM.

COLLEGE FOR CREATIVE STUDIES offers 11 undergraduate majors and a Visual Arts Teacher Certification program, but as you’ll see, the possibilities are limitless.

Kyle Gracey (’11, Advertising Design), Group Creative Director at VMLY&R in Seattle, Washington, assisted in the creation of a Gatorade campaign that targeted teen athletes. After learning that teens spend a majority of the Big Game on their phones — giving updates to friends on what’s happening — the team tapped into the natural behavior of teens creating, “GIForade.” These meme-inspired GIFs were recreated using some of the most popular NFL players, like Le’Veon Andrew Bell Sr. and T.J. Watt. The campaign was such a success that it achieved more views than the Big Game itself — 118 million, to be exact.

A whole lotta likes

ccs_detroit • Follow

Know your audience. Figure out what connects people to brands, how it fits into their lifestyles and concerns, and do it in a way that feels authentic and fun.

Bruna Camargo • Follow

Bruna Camargo Demonstrates

the Social Value of Social Media BRUNA CAMARGO (’11, Advertising Design) is a boss.

While still a student at CCS, she interned for three national ad agencies — BBDO, Campbell Ewald and Leo Burnett — where she learned the inner workings of campaigns for big brands

The thing is, you have to integrate product into social

like OnStar, Chevrolet, GMC and the former Chrysler Group.

media content in a way that isn’t jarring for the audience.

By graduation, Camargo had scored her first professional gig

Ads need to feel like the rest of your feed. For Go Red

with Doner Advertising. But it was at Ignite Social Media, one

for Women, we worked hard on building the “why” and

of the first agencies of its kind, where she learned the nitty-

the “how.” In the case of heart health, we know why, but

gritty of advertising via online platforms. “I was thrown into

we need to convince the client (AHA) of these things.

the deep end of social media strategy: how to write and manage

We did research on the colors people respond to, for

social media channels, the backside, the analytics and, of

example. And we built everything from the ground up,

course, the creative content,” said Camargo.

from strategy to creative. Because of that, more than

Eventually a Senior Content Producer and Social Strategist

80% of the content people see is created far in advance.

at Ignite, Camargo worked on campaigns for Fortune 500 beauty brands and Go Red for Women ® , a social initiative of the American Heart Association (AHA) that raises awareness about the number-one threat to women’s lives and health in the United States: cardiovascular disease.

Now at Organic, Inc., Camargo, who has a triple-threat skill set (writing, shooting and designing content), leads social creative for the brands U by Kotex® , Poise and Depend. Here’s a glimpse of Go Red for Women’s #RedDressCollection as well as what it really takes to tweet, snap and pin for a living.

2

Bruna Camargo • Follow

ccs_detroit • Follow

Social media strategy doesn’t have to be connected to traditional advertising campaigns. It can thrive all by itself, even though a social media strategist can’t. Live events like the #RedDressCollection fashion show have a lot of moving parts. You need a plan, spontaneous content creation, and all hands on deck. #teamworkmakesthedreamwork

Bruna Camargo • Follow

Bruna Camargo • Follow

At live events, you run into situations in which, if you’re not prepared for them, things can go really wrong. You have to be prepared enough to handle things but also be on your toes enough to catch spontaneous things when they happen. For the #RedDressCollection fashion show, we built so much excitement. We scoured the Internet and found a vendor who could broadcast the entire thing on Facebook Live with a complete professional setup. Because “live” sounds as if everything can be spontaneous, but how do you maintain the momentum you’ve built?

We took a team of people to New York. I was doing “agile” content — photographing and interviewing celebrities who were walking the show — and posting to Instagram and IG Stories. Then we had another team that was stationed at the desk monitoring and responding to everything I was doing as well as posting live. That’s a classic example of how to divide roles and play up people’s strengths. #werk

A LU M N A S H A R E S H E R

was given Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo. The Transportation

E X P E R I E N C E AT CC S,

Design student designed and created a vehicle, the Interior Design

A N D H OW T H E S K I L L S I N

of fashion accessories for the consumer.

T H E ST U D I O FO L LOW E D

skills while receiving feedback from company executives,” she said.

H E R TO T H E I N D U ST RY.

working for design students that mimics the industry itself.”

student created the interior, and Ahmad El-Sayed created a collection “This was a significant way for design students to learn team-building “I think these sponsored projects demonstrate a realistic way of Besides the hands-on real-world experience that sponsored projects provide, personal growth was also stimulated by a thesis project

Normally, a new college program takes some time to

she created.

get off the ground and achieve steady and exceptional

Consumers often think that fashion has no social impact on our lives

success. However, in its infancy, CCS’s Fashion Design

and is just about looking good or staying up to date on trends, and while

program has already hosted multiple corporate-

that matters — it can have a political and social impact, too.

sponsored projects and has sent graduates on to

The importance of showcasing her personal identity within her work

work for brands like Ralph Lauren, Carhartt, Nike

led to her senior thesis project — “Arabesque” — which is a collection that

and Coach. While receiving experience before entering

spoke to the suppressed identities of some Muslim women.

the industry is important, fashion also has a philo-

“This collection felt personal to me because I grew up in an environ-

sophical side that students have the opportunity

ment where most of my life decisions were predetermined, from what

to explore.

I was allowed to wear to what I studied in school,” Ahmad El-Sayed said.

Alumna AMINEH AHMAD EL-SAYED (‘19,

She explored different shape studies and combined them with color

Fashion Design) has worked as a Footwear Designer

and materials to create a new identity for this woman that balances

at Ralph Lauren since graduating. She attributes her

both religion and culture in society.

skills developed at CCS to the success in her career

She is just one of many graduates who have found success after

thus far.

leaving CCS. Others include: Bradley Cannon (‘21, Fashion Design),

“Some of the most important things that I learned

Design Apprentice at Coach; Kayla Donaldson (‘19, Fashion Design),

at CCS are the significance of design critiques, dead-

Global Footwear Color Designer at Nike; Lauren Zampaglione

lines and project presentations,” Ahmad El-Sayed said.

(‘21, Fashion Design), Technical Design Apprentice at Kate Spade;

“It was definitely an environment that allowed for

Ava Kaloustian (‘21, Fashion Design), Footwear Design Apprentice at

personal growth and self-motivation — all of which

Coach; Alore Niemi (‘21, Fashion Design) Junior Designer at Daylight

are necessary for my career.”

Factory; Mariana Sachez (‘20, Fashion Design), Assistant Footwear

Ahmad El-Sayed had the opportunity to work on

Designer at Tory Burch; Hannah Whitefoot (‘19, Fashion Design),

a sponsored project with FCA (now Stellantis) where

Assistant Outerwear Designer at Carhartt; and Evan Sparrow

there was collaboration between Fashion Design,

(‘20, Fashion Design), Designer at Genussee Eyewear.

Transportation Design and Interior Design students.

The vitality of a program can only be proven by the success of its

In this project, students were split into teams and

alumni — and in that case, there is no question that CCS Fashion Design

given a specific car brand to work with, and her team

has established itself to be one of the world’s premier programs.

5

LUNAR NORTH Scott Warniak ’10, Communication Design, Creative Director and Partner; Marcus Mullins ’09, Communication Design, Creative Director FORD MOTOR

and Partner; Alex Chopjian,

COMPANY

’16, Communication Design,

Lori Maday ’07,

Motion Graphics Designer;

Communication Design,

Emily Tinklenberg ‘19,

Global Brand Design Lead;

Communication Design,

Misho Milosevski ’16,

Motion Graphics Designer;

Communication Design,

Jake Matauch ’16,

Advanced UX/UI Designer;

Communication Design,

Devyn Ostrand ‘97,

Animator Designer;

Communication Design,

Marisa Cruz ’20,

Ford Performance

Communication Design

SOUTH JUTLAND,

Program Studio Lead

and Sam Pickett ’22,

DENMARK

Communication Design,

LEGO

Summer 2021 Interns

Andrew Sliwinski ’05,

LAFAYETTE AMERICAN

Communication Design,

Meg Jannott ‘12,

THE WORK

Global Head of Product

Communication Design,

DEPARTMENT

Experience; Megan

Head of Design; Asha

Libby Cole ‘04,

Schellenbarger ’09,

Cook ‘20, Communication

Communication Design,

Communication Design,

Design, Designer; Sam

Co-founder + Creative

Senior Creative Manager

Schoeder ‘22, Communi-

Director; Fatema Boxwala

cation Design, Summer

’14, Communication

GLASGOW,

2021 Intern

Design, Designer

SCOTLAND RECTANGLE Dan Powers ’06, Communication Design, Co-Founder + Partner; Josh Krauth-Harding ‘21, Communication Design,

RANGER & FOX

ADOBE DESIGN

CAPACIT Y STUDIOS

Stephen Panicara ’10,

Michael Cragg ’12,

Jennifer and Ellery Gave

Communication Design,

Communication Design,

’00, Communication

Creative Director + Partner

Senior Experience

Design, Partners +

Designer; Alex Poterek,

Co-Founders

IDEO

’12, Communication Design,

Samantha Peacock ‘13,

Senior Experience

GOOGLE

Communication Design,

Designer; Will Ruby ’11,

Chuck Carlson ’05,

Design Lead

Communication Design,

Communication Design,

Senior Experience Designer

Creative; John Moon ‘99,

APPLE

Communication Design,

Derek Benvenuti ‘06,

AMAZON

Communication Design,

Shane Herr ‘13,

Senior Art Director

Communication Design, UX Designer

Creative Director

Summer 2020 Intern

AREA 120

BY GOOGLE Chuck Gibson ’04, Communication Design, Senior UX Designer; John Cassidy ’07, Communication Design,

GRAND ARMY

Co-Founder, Designer

Raquel Scoggin ’17, Communication Design,

BLUE CADET

Graphic Designer

Brett Renfer ’08,

CO M M U N I C AT I O N D E S I G N A LU M N I A N D

Communication Design,

AND/OR

Creative Director

Kelli Miller ’00, Communication Design, Co-Founder and Creative

ST U D E N TS CO U L D N ’ T G E T E N O U G H O F

Director; Erica Heathcote

O N E A N OT H E R — A N D N OW T H EY D E S I G N

’21, Communication Design, Motion Designer

A L L OV E R T H E G LO B E TO G E T H E R

VSA PARTNERS Ashley Edwards ‘21, PIVOT

Communication Design,

Heather Kintner ‘01,

Designer

GOOGLE Eric Croskey ‘13,

AMAZON

Design Director;

OK AY T YPE

Communication Design,

Kai-Ling S. Law ‘02,

Chris Raimond ‘15,

FOUNDRY

Senior Designer,

Communication Design,

Communication Design,

Jackson Cavanaugh ‘05,

Design Lead

UX Design Lead; Ted Hoot

Associate Digital

Communication Design,

Design Director

Founder

Communication Design,

‘95, Communication MICROSOFT

Design, Senior UX

Christina Ergonis ‘05,

Designer; Ken Disbennett

SPAN

ONE DESIGN

Communication Design,

‘08, Communication

Leah Wendzinski ‘17,

COMPANY

Senior Product Designer

Design, Principal

Communication Design,

Stacey Donaldson ‘12,

Graphic Designer;

Communication Design,

Marie Patton ‘22,

Associate Creative

Communication Design,

Director

Summer Intern

UX Designer

JEREMY LEVITT OF PA RTS A N D L A B O R D E S I G N S H OWS H OW

HIDDEN WORKSPACE

H E C U STO M C R A F TS CO M M E R C I A L D E S I G N .

“If I’m designing a chair or a table or a restaurant, it needs to function, and it needs to function well,” said furniture and lighting designer JEREMY LEVITT (’03, Industrial Design/Craft & Material Studies), recalling his days as a student at CCS.

Opposite page (The Grey): Chandelier: Satin nickel frame, powder-coated low iron plate glass and milkwhite hand-blown shades by Axiom Glass, Andrew Madvin ‘00, Craft & Material Studies.

“As artistic as a lot of the furniture and lighting was that we were doing, in the end, it still had to stand and to light up and to not catch fire.” For the last decade, Levitt, Co-Founder of Parts and Labor Design in New York City, has pushed the boundaries of this ethic, creating highly customized commercial, hospitality and retail spaces that emphasize handcrafting and function. The firm has designed stunning, award-winning interiors across the country and internationally, including Savannah’s The Grey;

This page (Pacific Standard Time): Custom Light Fixture: Fabricated with solid natural walnut, burnished brass and slip-cast ceramic shades.

Nashville’s Thompson Hotel; Atera Restaurant in New York; and Chicago’s Pacific Standard Time, which won a 2019 James Beard Award for Best Restaurant Design.

Whether it’s a boutique hotel or an edgy new eatery, the firm’s work stands out for its many handcrafted details, and Levitt’s own designs for custom furniture and lighting can be found

Dining Tables: 3/8” creamcolored square tile and epoxy grout, and a walnut border with brass base.

in most of the interiors. Levitt started a custom furniture company while he was still a student at CCS, and this passion for interdisciplinary design led him to create his own major, a precursor to what is now Product Design.

Parts and Labor Design boasts a considerable

Seating Banquettes: Moore & Giles blue leather.

reputation in a crowded commercial interiors market, which Levitt credits to his partnership with Andrew Cohen (whose own background is in architecture) and the team they’ve built.

“Andrew and I are like yin and yang, and it works very nicely,” Levitt explained.

“But with the knowledge that we’ve gained, we understand very clearly how we can apply all of this to construction — things that can be utilized in a contact environment, that are easily repaired and that stand the test of time.”

Column Shelves and Lights: Shelves are made of solid walnut; lights are cast glass and brass with live plantings (cast glass is fabricated by Axiom Glass, Andrew Madvin ‘00, Craft & Material Studies).

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CEO and Creative Director

“All the creativity

FERNANDO DEL ROSARIO

and designs were given

(’96, Communication Design) of

away to help generate

Concept Zombie developed Creative Aid. Since March 2020, Creative Aid has provided original content, free of charge, for more than 32 businesses and organizations that were facing difficulties from the COVID-19 pandemic.

connections, momentum, conversations and revenue to get us all through this difficult time.”

C R E AT I V I T Y M A K ES A B E T T E R WO R L D A LU M N I M A K E T H E WO R L D A B E T T E R P L AC E T H R O U G H T H E A RT O F D E S I G N Join us in Fall 2022 and start making change.

Make great art and design. Here.

BRYAN THOMPSON

Executive Director, Global Industrial

(’00, Transportation Design)

Design at General Motors, CRYSTAL

created the “To Shine Through”

WINDHAM (’94, Transportation Design)

project to raise awareness about

led the creative interior team on the new

domestic violence within the

all-electric Cadillac LYRIQ. This vehicle

LGBTQ community. The project

will debut in 2022 playing a role in GM’s

features a series of portraits

efforts to go all electric by 2035 to reduce

shot to illuminate those who

the world’s carbon footprint.

have emerged from the darkness of an abusive relationship, who can now SHINE their light.

Alumna NOELIA JEREZ (’21, Photography) won a Silver Creative Conscience Award in Film and Photography for her contemporary installation that collected data from all over the world. Through individual portraits, Polaroids, a virtual exhibit and live map, she created a community of stories displaying how the year 2020 had impacted peoples’ lives.

Product Design alumni CONNOR RIEGLE, BAILEY BOYD, ANDREW LARK (‘17), and MATTHEW MCPHAIL (‘09) work as designers for the football, helmet, gear and apparel brand — Xenith.

This Detroit-based company debuted Xenith Shadow — a five-star-rated helmet featuring an

ASHLEY COMEAUX (’10, Product Design), Senior Director of Product

industry-first novel polymer shell and adaptive

Design and DENNICE QUIJANO (‘15, Product Design), Senior Product

fit technology, part of a patented shock matrix

Designer of Footwear at Allbirds, create products by replacing petroleum-based

that moves independently of the shell. Xenith

materials with natural ones, including wool, trees, sugar and Trino . Their designs,

puts the safety, performance and comfort of

like the Allbirds x Bráulio Amado Tree Dasher (shown above) help propel longer-

athletes first — from youth to pros — during

term climate goals for Allbirds to operate as a carbon-neutral business.

every step of the design and engineering

Photography courtesy of Allbirds.

process.

®.

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Office of Admissions 201 East Kirby Detroit, MI 48202 collegeforcreativestudies.edu 313.664.7425 | 800.952.2787 admissions@collegeforcreativestudies.edu

WANT IN? If CCS looks like the place for you, visit our website or drop us a line on social media, and let’s talk about the next four years.

COVER ARTWORK Greg Jackson (‘12, Product Design), designed the Tanker Hat. The hat was developed as a study in sun protection and takes cues from fishing and 1940s military helmets. It is fabricated using upcycled military-grade parachute and then dyed by hand. Photograph courtesy of Faisal Mohammed, ReviveTheCool.

The College for Creative Studies is a nonprofit, private college authorized by the Michigan Education Department to grant bachelor’s and master’s degrees. CCS is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Documents regarding accreditation are available in the Executive Office upon formal request.

The College for Creative Studies subscribes to the principle of equal opportunity in its employment, admissions, educational practices, scholarship and loan programs, and other schooladministered programs, and strives to provide an educational environment and workplace free from unlawful harassment or discrimination. Discrimination, including harassment, because of age, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, physical attributes, marital or familial status, disability or any other characteristic protected by law is strictly prohibited.