Jessi Jennings ’24, Garett Hozza ’24, Ryan Margaret Lee ’24 and Robert (Clay) Burns ’25 attended workshops, presentations and keynote speeches fostering education, professional development and insights into the field of graphic design.
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A quartet of communication design majors, accompanied by Assistant Professor Shannon Zenner, attended the 2023 AIGA Design Conference in mid-October in New York City. Billed as the “premier conference for the design community,” the annual gathering attracts working designers, educators and students seeking inspiration, networking and conversations about the industry’s most pressing topics.
“The experience was nothing short of enriching, both academically and culturally,” Zenner said.
Among the national conference’s attendees were Elon students Jessi Jennings ’24, Garett Hozza ’24, Ryan Margaret Lee ’24, and Robert (Clay) Burns ’25. In addition to majoring in communication design, all four students are members of Live Oak Communications, Elon’s student-run strategic communications agency.
According to Zenner, the New York City conference was a “whirlwind of panels, workshops and sessions that shed light on the latest advancements and challenges in the design realm.” One of the experience’s most notable highlights was meeting and interacting with several prominent designers, including Michael Beirut, Paula Scher, Tom Geismar and Debbie Millman.
“Such encounters are not only inspiring but also instrumental in broadening the students’ horizons,” Zenner said.
Students also enjoyed an insightful lunch conversation with Mingxuan Shen and Vidhi Patel, recent graduates from the esteemed School of Visual Arts. The two young designers candidly discussed their professional journeys, including Mingxuan’s experiences at Pentagram and Vidhi’s stint at Google. They also shared advice about graduate school and navigating the design landscape.
While in the Big Apple, the students toured the design studio of SYLVAIN, an internationally renowned design firm boasting an impressive clientele including Chanel, Amazon, Apple and the NBA, to name a few. The behind-the-scenes look provided a glimpse of how top-tier design practices operate. The students also participated in a workshop focused on securing employment in the competitive design industry.
In addition to leading the students’ trip, Zenner presented a paper titled “Beyond ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ in Design Education: Insights from an Experimental Study Evaluating Design Aesthetics.” She also participated in a panel discussion on “Expanding the Lens: Non-Traditional Grading Practices for Inclusive Design Education.” Zenner said she relished these sessions, which provided a platform for exchanging ideas and insights with fellow educators and practitioners.
Beyond the conference programming, the students and Zenner set out to soak up the city’s rich culture. The students attended Broadway musicals, visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and enjoyed design exhibitions at Poster House, the first museum in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to posters. They also visited iconic Times Square, an outing complete with photographs and souvenirs.
“The AIGA national conference was a memorable blend of academic rigor, professional insights, and cultural exploration,” Zenner said. “We returned invigorated and ready to apply our newfound knowledge and experiences.”
In a LinkedIn post following the event, Burns recalled how grateful he was to speak with Scher, a renown contemporary artist and graphic designer. As Scher detailed the successes and failures she experienced during her long career, the designer concluded with a powerful charge to Burns: “Make sure that every piece of work you put out – whether it’s pro bono, for your job, or for yourself – is the best you have ever made.”
This is the second consecutive year Zenner has led a group of students to AIGA’s national conference. In fall 2022, she shepherded five students to Seattle.
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