Graphic design alumni take home Virginia Press Association Awards

Four alumni of the Radford University’s graphic design program won awards at the Virginia Press Association’s News/Editorial and Advertising Contest. Three graduated in 2006 and won for their work with the Roanoke Times. These were Mallory Dunn, Ken Oliver and Ben Smith. The fourth alumna is Sarah Barton, a 2012 graduate, whose awards are for her work with Richmond Magazine.

This annual contest honors Virginia Press Association members. It was held this year at the Hilton Richmond Hotel & Spa/Short Pump April 5 and celebrated work created during 2013.

Oliver received first place in the Fashion and Personal Care (color) division and also third place for his entry in the Food and Drug (color) grouping. His first place was for a Todd's Jewelry Mother's Day ad. His third place was for an ad about the reopening of the city market building in downtown Roanoke. To see his winning designs, visit kenoliverdesign.com.

He credits RU with providing him with the basic fundamentals of design, which have helped immensely in his current position, “Of course all the time I spent learning all of the techniques with Adobe software was very helpful as well. But being an expert at Photoshop and Illustrator does not a designer make. And the art and design classes at Radford create a basis for everything that I draw from much more often than some might think.”

Dunn won second place in the Single-Sheet Inserts, Wraps, Flexis, Adhesive Notes and Spadia category, while Smith received third place in Automotive.

Barton achieved both first and second place in the Home and Garden (color) group and first place in Member Self-promotion. She also received second place in Professional/Technology Services (color) for a piece she worked on with Kelly McCauley for Virginia Urology for Women. All the awards except for the self-promotion piece were created for advertising clients of Richmond Magazine: Born Again Furnishings and Orange, a Richmond-based home and garden boutique.

The self-promotional piece for which she won first place was for Richmond Magazine’s “The Keys to Richmond.” This is annual specialty provides clients with a high-end advertisement, including a photo shoot with a professional photographer and stylist. To see this winning piece, visit issuu.com/richmondmagazine/docs/thekeys2013.

“In a nutshell, I work on advertising for clients, branding and marketing for our in-house events, and assist with design and layout for the magazine and our other specialty publications,” Barton says, who like Oliver, credits the RU graphic design program for giving her a well-rounded design background. With its broad range of courses, it allowed her to explore several areas of design expertise, such as publication design.

But there were other aspects to her education at RU that she also credits for her success, such as New Student Programs and Greek Life, ”These experiences immensely helped to build my interpersonal skills. I learned how to listen and communicate effectively, which are just as important to the role of a graphic designer as being able to design.”

To learn more about graphic design at Radford University, please visit www.radford.edu/content/cvpa/home/art/programs/undergraduate/graphic-design.html.