The 2024 Student Design Show “By-the-Numbers”
from Peter Pham
A few facts about this year’s show:
Every year I process the work for each Student Design Show, I make note of the trends that appear among the submissions each year. Certain work is consistently submitted, while other categories seem to ‘ebb and flow.’
- Around 190 pieces were submitted this year. [We’ve had in excess of 300 in a very active year with high enrollments]
- Qualifying student work was to have been created between Spring of 2023 (not previously submitted) through April , 2024.
It may be selected from student coursework, or from parallel individual practice to coursework. - Categories needed to be made up of minimally 5 submissions to remain “competitive.” Where 5 submissions were not received, that category was merged with another similar or like category. (Since the Districtwide Student Design Show began in 1999, we have had anywhere between 7 and 14 categories in a given annual show).
- This year’s categorical submissions (from MOST submissions in a category to the least) were:
- DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION (~17%)
- POSTERS (~15%)
- LAYOUT (~14%)
- LOGOS and IDENTITY (~11%)
- UNEDITED PHOTOGRAPHY (~11%)
- TRADITIONAL MEDIA ILLUSTRATION (~7%)
- EDITED PHOTOGRAPHY (~7%)
- COMPREHENSIVE CAMPAIGNS (~7%)
- PACKAGING / 3D combined (~7%)
- MULTIMEDIA /WEB combined (~4%)
- Digital Illustration, Layout, and Posters have frequently occupied the top slots, and that trend continued this year. This seems to be what most folks commonly associate with “graphic design” as a practical discipline.
- Photography “Straight Out Of the Camera”(SOOC) rose a good amount this year. While far from the 2010’s where it held the top slot, it almost doubled last year’s submissions. If we look at all forms of Photography combined, it would be one of the top categories.
- Logos and Identity had a slight increase.
- Traditional Illustration media had a slight decrease. This is interesting since it is also associated with what most people would consider a major part of graphic design.
- We had enough of the COMPREHENSIVE CAMPAIGNS this year to once again offer it as a competitive category.
- Despite increasing “gig work” available in video and multimedia (and some decent work), many students are still not choosing to enter their multimedia pieces.
Welcome to the 2024 Gateway Technical College Districtwide Student Design Show!
The Website for the 2024 Student Design Show is now live, and student work has been hung in the NORTH BUILDING COMMONS on the Elkhorn Campus for the show launch 4/16/24.
An OPENING RECEPTION and AWARDS CEREMONY is slated for THURSDAY, APRIL 18th , from approximately 5 until 8 pm.
Hors d’oeuvres will be served and the event will feature a LIVE performance by the GEBEL GIRLS.
The event is open to the general public, and the greater business community. Invitations have been extended to area high schools through our outreach employees, and our collegiate and business parters in the region.
To view the 2024 Student work, please look undertake main menu for the STUDENT DESIGN SHOW WORK CATEGORIES.
This year’s show will feature work in ten categories.
You can access the show work by going under THE 2024 STUDENT DESIGN SHOW menu and selecting the area you would like to view.
The 2024 STUDENT DESIGN SHOW area features information about this year’s show identity, and additional student winners for competition work undertaken by the class sections. We also have some information about the entertainment and our faculty.
The GRADUATING SECOND YEAR STUDENT area features the banners and Behance portfolio links for ours Applied Exit Strategy students.
For our 2024 STUDENT WORK (entered into the judging):
COMPREHENSIVE CAMPAIGNS is an area that features multi-component/multi-phased student projects
DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION features illustration work using a variety of digital media.
LAYOUT is an area featuring published items (mostly multiple-pages or panels) with layout as the major skill set
LOGOS & IDENTITY is a combined area featuring Identity Projects, Logo and Mark Development projects, and Stationery-style projects.
MULTIMEDIA / WEB is a combined area featuring timeline-based projects (audio/video/presentations) and any web mockup.
PACKAGING & 3D is a combined area featuring 3-D software related items, 3-D printing, and dimensional packaging projects
PHOTOGRAPHY SOOC (SOC) features photography “straight out of the camera,” with only cropping allowed
PHOTOGRAPHY with POST (PHE) and PHOTO MANIPULATION/COMPOSITES (PHM) is a combined category this year for images with multiple levels of post-processing or manipulation and composites.
POSTERS contains poster-based designs.
TRADITIONAL MEDIA contains illustrations using traditional illustration media (charcoal, pastel, colored pencil, paints, etc.)
We hope you enjoy viewing the work of this year’s students both virtually as well as on campus.
CONGRATS to GTC ALUM JASON HEDMAN!
Works by local artist (and GTC Alum) Jason Hedman were on display through March 30 at Kenosha Creative Space, 624 57th St.
Jason Hedman, a lifelong Kenoshan, has been a creator in many different avenues through life. With past dabbling in writing and music, visual art has always been the medium Hedman has embraced time and time again.
In the past few years, Hedman has become well-known throughout the community as an up-and-coming artist. Hedman’s style is always evolving, but tends to reflect his interest in history, society, and pop culture.
Some of his well-known pieces have incorporated other popular icons in new and different ways. Much of his art represents his own anti-authoritarian nature which he has finally found a safe (and legal) path to cast his interests.
This past winter, Hedman has experimented with collage art – mixed media with acrylics on canvas. This style shift is partly in response to the growing trend of artificial intelligence. With an interest in history, Hedman dove into collecting a large supply of newspapers and magazines dating back almost 100 years.
Check out Jason’s FACEBOOK PAGE , INSTAGRAM, and LINKED-IN Profile.
GTC Graphic Design ranks with the nation’s TOP DESIGN PROGRAMS
Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning has announced the top 50 Best Graphic Design Degree Programs for 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
In 2021 Gateway Technical College moved up to a ranking of #2 (99.15/100) for students with prior credits, and to #1 in online Technical College Graphics!
Intelligent.com stated that any student that taking one of the ranked programs will give the students much quicker access to employment. With the job market growing in the Graphics field and the accessibility and cost for students is why intelligent.com did this research.
The 2024 Student Design Show Identity!
Students in the fall sections of the ADVANCED CLASSES submitted their 2024 GATEWAY TECHNICAL COLLEGE DISTRICT-WIDE STUDENT DESIGN SHOW design submissions back in October and November of 2023.
The event has been scheduled this year on April 16th – 22nd, in the North Commons of Gateway’s Elkhorn Campus, with anAWARDS RECEPTION PARTY scheduled for April 18th.
Members of GTC’s Administration team have helped us each year in the selection of the Show Identity and Direction.
The DESIGN SELECTED for this year’s design show (the item that received the most ordinal vote points) is:
Voting was a bit tighter this year, and Alexander Barthuly’s Design won by two points among our Administrative Team. A faded and scratched retro-poster feel, colorful design, and “entry ticket” concept make a loose allusion to Gateway being an entry-ticket of sorts,
as well as being an invitation to people to attend.
The SECOND PLACE SELECTION:
Aaron Zachar’s design has a “traditional media” feel of chalk and pastels against a sketch-like typographical treatment emphasizing the traditional artistic underpinnings
sometimes utilized in the graphic design field.
The THIRD PLACE SELECTION:
Erika Menzel’s sketch-style butterfly makes a fine art-style allusion to a metamorphosis, with a sketchbook-style “doodled” typographical treatment in the fore.
The Graphic Design Department would like to thank all of the Administrators who helped us select this year’s identity, and congratulate all of the students who participated in this year’s competition.
We look forward to seeing everyone at the show in April!
COMING SOON: 2024 Student Design Show in ELKHORN!
SHARE YOUR IMAGES WITH US!
We’re sharing images from the SDS 2023 Awards Reception on this site.
If you have any images that you would like to share with us, Please contact one of the instructors and share any photos or videos from the show that we can in turn share with everyone!
Susan LaCanne lacannes@gtc.edu
Laura Laznicka laznickal@gtc.edu
Peter Pham phampete@gtc.edu
John Zehren of teh Fab Lab, Bob Kaebish, and Dr. John Thibodeau 
The BEST OF SHOW AWARDS 
The exhibit space 
hors d’oeuvres 
Laura Laznicka and Dr. Thibodeau 
Welcoming guests 
perusing the work 
perusing the work 
Attendees enjoy the food and discussion 
Multimedia and Web display 
conversation 
The exhibit space 
friends and classmates 
Dr. Isensee enjoys the work 
A student discusses his work with a guest 
An Alumni catches up with Laura 
Students visit and admire work 
Faculty member discusses the eSports team
Many Thanks…
In addition to the folks who have contributed their work and talent to the show (and their families and supporters), we’d like to extend thanks to others who helped us make this years “comeback” show a success.
REMINDER to PROGRAM STUDENTS…
The 204 GRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM is going to be changing to the 201 GRAPHIC DESIGN PROGRAM.
Please keep this in mind as you select your classes and do your planning with Advisors.
Mrs. Sue LaCanne has made a Panopto video on this topic .
