Graphic design seniors use capstone projects to call for action
Twenty-two Central Michigan University graphic design seniors displayed their “call to action” capstone projects in the North Art Studio Saturday.
The “Re:Action” exhibition, hosted by the Department of Art and Design, had the theme of provoking change by creatively presenting global issues.
The white studio was transformed by each project, presenting each senior’s call to change.
Larry Burditt, art and design chair, has been supervising the capstones exhibitions since 2008.
Burditt said he thought this year’s exhibition had quality projects, but one of many years of quality art.
“I think every year is a little bit different, so you can’t really compare year to year,” Burditt said. “If someone that were looking to employ graphic designers were to come in here, they would be impressed by the work.”
Burditt said the exhibition had great variety because every designer has different passions in addition to graphic design.
Projects included Ashley Jacobs' "Adventures in Cooking," Lindsey Patricia Miller's "Doors of Hope," John Ackerman's "Have Fun" and Dan Hlivka's "Death with Dignity."
Raechel Zahrn, Berrien Springs senior said her capstone topic, eating local in-season produce, has been a passion of hers.
“If you get (food) from a local source, it’s going to be more nutritionally dense than getting it shipped from Mexico and it helps the local economy," Zahrn said. "So, I really wanted to educate people about that.”
Zahrn said she thought about her capstone since her freshman year and her final product was pretty close to how she envisioned it.
“I remember walking through here as a freshman and thinking ‘Someday I’m going to make something that good,’ and I’m really proud of the way it turned out,” Zahrn said.
Kyle Funk, a senior from Ferndale, said he originally conceived his project idea “Beet It," which informs people about the benefits of adding beets into their diets, as a joke about his passion for living fit.
“It was an inside joke. I was the guy that ate beets,” Funk said. “I just thought it such a good idea that I ran with it. It was so crazy and wacky.”
