Graphic design students rack up Graphis New Talent Awards

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State graphic design students in the College of Arts and Architecture's Stuckeman School earned 10 silver awards in the 2023 Graphis New Talent Annual Awards competition, an international event that recognizes the best student work from around the world, with another eight projects earning honorable mention nods. A jury of design industry experts selects the best entries at the platinum, gold and silver levels, in addition to honorable mentions, in categories including advertising, book design, branding, editorial design, exhibits, film/video, illustration, infographics, interaction design, logos, motion graphics, packaging, photography, product design, website design and more. A total of 20 graphic design students and recent alumni were recognized by Graphis for their submissions, either individually or as part of a group. Taylor Kuszyk, a fourth-year student, earned three awards at the silver level, two individually and the other as part of a group. The “Dear, Mr. President” high fashion magazine that she designed with Taylor Shipton, assistant teaching professor of graphic design, earned silver in the editorial category, while the “Man Repellant” kit she designed with Shipton took silver in the packaging category. Kuszyk and her classmate Kimi Mate won a silver award for their “Now or Never” surrealism poster series in the exhibit category under the guidance of Shipton and Ryan Russell, associate professor of graphic design. Fourth-year students Rachel Smith, Erin Nguyen and William Ren each earned individual silver awards for their work: Smith for “Scoob Magazine” in the editorial category with Shipton; Nguyen for “'Perfetti Sconosciuti' Title Sequence” in the film category with Russell; and Ren for “'Interstellar' Title Sequence” with Russell in the film category. Clare Connell and Emma Swayze, both fourth-year students, won a silver award in the book category with Russell for their “Monarch's Journey” submission. Becca Baker and Alex Rupp, 2022 graphic design alumni, earned silver awards for the capstone projects they created under the guidance of Emily Burns, assistant professor of graphic design: Baker for her “Eco Ego” publication design in the editorial category, and Rupp for “New Shapes” in the branding category. Fellow 2022 alumni Jacob Lawall, Annie Princivalle, Valerija Prohorenkoa and Jordan Wolf, who is currently pursuing a master's degree in art with a concentration in graphic design at Penn State, won a silver award in the branding category for the “Break the Binary” campaign they designed for Penn State Opulence with guidance from Russell and Shipton. Those projects receiving honorable mentions were:

• “Adult Wellness Coloring Journal” by Lawall with Huiwon Lim, assistant professor, in the packaging category.
• “ASPETTA” by Kristen Campion, 2022 alumna, with Burns in the branding category.
• “Buggin” by Cameron Soravilla, 2022 alumna, with Lim in the branding category.
• “In-House” by Prohorenkoa with Lim in the branding category.
• “Intrinsic” by Kuszyk, Shelby Stewart, Kiran Lorraine and Aeva Roth with Shipton in the branding category.
• “Pinky's” by Megan Skosnick, 2022 alumna, with Burns in the branding category.
• “Richard Mosse Exhibit" by Shatakshi Mehra, 2022 master of fine arts alumna with a concentration in graphic design, with Shipton in the exhibits category.
• “Soulmate” by Wolf with Lim in the branding category.

The Penn State projects that were recognized in the competition can be found on the Graphis website. For more news from the Stuckeman School, follow us on Twitter @StuckemanNews.