Courtesy Photos
Eight UTRGV School of Art and Design students competed virtually in two Adobe Jam International Competitions along with 315 other student teams from 95 universities, garnering a spot in the top 10 and honorable mentions.
The competitions were hosted by Amazon and The New York Times, respectively. Students in the Amazon contest landed in the top 10 and students in The New York Times contest won three honorable mentions.
Graphic design junior Emily Guerra and senior Kenia Salazar won an honorable mention for “No Debate”; graphic design seniors Eva Robles and Cazzandra Rojas won honorable mention for “Tidbit”; and graphic design junior Javier Gonzalez and senior Juan Alonzo won honorable mention for “The Ballot.”
“The project wouldn’t have been possible without the lessons I learned from my teachers,” she said. “It’s not only a win for us, but for the university as a whole.”
Projects were designed with the idea of creating something that increases trust and credibility in election content for readers.
In the Amazon contest, the project’s focus was to create a third-party mobile app for high school students looking for opportunities to fulfill community service hours or volunteer to help their local community, regardless of their background or ability.
The project that landed in the top 10 out of 116 universities that competed internationally was an app, titled Level Up, created by graphic design seniors Ariana Garza and Danna Zapata. The app was designed to engage students within their school’s voluntary hours by using gamelike elements, such as rewards.
Elizabeth Berger, an associate professor in the School of Art and Design and design program coordinator, said that competitions like these are one of the best ways to learn new skills and learn what needs to be improved.
“The best advantage of these contests [is] that the judges are professionals in their own particular disciplines and industries, so they give really valuable feedback on what they’re looking for [in the projects],” Berger said.
She said the competition wins are not the only new celebratory event that is happening at the School of Art and Design.
“The name of the school is now the School of Art and Design because design is one of the largest and fastest growing [majors],” Berger said. “This is pretty much true across the country because for designers and creative people, in general, I think this degree is an integral part of the next wave of the economy.”
Besides the name change, degrees have been added to the list that the School of Art and Design offers, such as art with a concentration in graphic design bachelor’s degree added this last year.
College of Fine Arts Dean Steven Block said the Bachelor of Fine Arts is long overdue.
“[The Adobe design competitions are] proof of the value that this program already possesses,” Block said. “Graphic design is a marketable skill, and the new degree program certifies the specialization in graphic design that is now happening in the UTRGV School of Art.”
