by Katie Smith and Nora Hollinghead
The Department of Art and Design gave students a look into the visual arts at its first ever symposium. Three workshops showed students about motion graphics, new visual technologies, and what it is like to work at ESPN.
Travis Carlson, a Troy alumnus, kicked off the symposium. He currently works as a motion graphics artist at Brains of Fire in Greenville, South Carolina. There they do branding and marketing for multiple companies including Hello Bello and Dr. Seuss. Their work is displayed in online ads on social media and online business pages.
“When graphic design is paired with typography, it becomes more of a marketing tool,” said Chris Stagl, Assistant Chair of the Department of Art and Design. “Mixing those things together drives design into the world of advertising.”
It is with the example of his real-world experiences that Carlson presented how he monetizes motion graphics. He gave a tour of his portfolio which was full of designs and animations ranging from his time at Troy to present day.
“It was cool to see illustrations come to life,” said Sarah Kate Edmondson, a junior majoring in communications from Gadsden, Alabama.
Carlson expressed his interest in pushing himself to new creative heights. His latest adventure is in 3D animation, using programs like Blender and After Effects to create his designs.
“When he explained and showed us the way you can combine software to get a more complex picture was the most interesting part,” said Kat Anderson, a senior graphics design major from Birmingham, Alabama.
Nikhil Ghodke, a graphic design teacher from Auburn University at Montgomery, led a workshop and explained to the students that they should embrace artificial intelligence and learn to adapt to the technology.
Ghodke has won many awards in the past for his design work such as AVA, Apex, Summit, and Hermes awards.
Tommy Lee Washington lll is the current senior animator for the ESPN sports network. Washington gave helpful advice to the students and persuaded them to continue to grow as the industry grows. therefore you change with it or get pushed away from the industry,” Washington said.
After the Arts and Design workshops, there was also a student art showcase. It displayed the best of graphic design, photography, fine art, and film work from students from the Art and Design program.
In the film presentation the winners for first place were Nathan Hobbs and Reanna Thompsons for their Doctor Pepper commercial series, second place was Howard Purvee’s “Killer Queen” film, and third place went to Nathan Hobbs kinetic type “Batman” film.
“When choosing a major, graphic design is where I found myself, it’s my outlet to express myself creatively for others to see and enjoy” said Reanna Thompson, a junior graphic design major from Panama City, Florida. “This event was really important for me and my peers as the event was to learn from other artists older than us who have already been in the industry, and to showcase student work.”
