6
Features
05.21.2020
The Communicator
Graphic designers win multiple awards SFCC students and instructors took home lots of awards from the AAF Ollie Fisher The Communicator Despite being isolated in quarantine due to the coronavirus, art has still managed to flourish within the Spokane community. Recently, both graphic design students and instructors of SFCC participated and took home awards from the Spokane Advertising Awards. The Spokane Advertising Awards is “the first level of a three-tiered national competition conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation (AAF),” according to the Spokane Advertising Awards’ website. Overall, two instructors, John Mujica, under the pen name Johnny Xerox, and June Roys, both received awards for their artwork. In addition to this, SFCC graphic design students and club members took home seven gold, 16 silver, and one Best-in-Show award, totaling 23 out of the 27 available awards. Mujica has been at SFCC for two years now, and Roys is one of the advisors for the Graphic Design Club. Mujica’s gold-winning entry was a poster designed for the Spokane Print Fest, another annual, local competition that features art done via the process of printmaking, including methods such as screen printing, relief, and letterpress, as stated on Spokane Print Fest’s Facebook page. Mujica said that he drew Courtesy of John Mujica inspiration for his design through the festival’s acronym, SPF. Mujica said he “played off the acronym for Mujica’s poster design for the Spokane Print Fest, playing off of the acronym being the sunscreen.” As such, the art promi- same as sun protection factor (SPF). nently features the acronym over a bottle of sunscreen, with a brightly said aimed to stress “environmental sign program. shining sun behind the bottle. safety as well as interactivity and She said she “definitely plans Mujica said that he tries to stay functionality.” on entering (her) designs into future “as active as (he) can within (the Her simple, boxed packaging competitions” but noted that she Spokane graphic design and art) “aims to reduce environmental doesn’t know when that will be, community and industry,” espewaste,” she said, as a lot of tea bag due to the coronavirus. Bolin hopes cially “within the local AAF,” in packaging often can’t be recycled to pursue a career in graphic design order to set an example for aspiring very well, due to it containing plasafter graduating from SFCC with a designers. tic mixed with recyclable materials. degree in said field. Graphic design student Ashley Bolin is currently in her third Bolin also gave praise to the Bolin won gold for her loose leaf year of schooling at SFCC, but in graphic design instructors at SFCC tea packaging design, which she her second year of the graphic deas well, saying they provide lots of
sfcc.ollie.fisher@gmail.com
help to students to help them “get through it.” For those interested in supporting or showing interest in Bolin’s work, her Instagram is @allsmiles_overhere. Instructor Mujica offered some advice to aspiring graphic designers and artists, encouraging those striving for careers in those fields to stay humble, lest you be humbled by the world, but also reminding that your failures don’t define who you are and that perseverance is key to success.
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