Auburn Design Students Featured in Graphic Design USA Magazine

Apr 17, 2020 by Kelley Young

A leading industry magazine, Graphic Design USA (GDUSA), has named two Auburn students as “2020 Students to Watch.” Senior Rebecca Riemersma and alumna Megan Kesting, from Auburn’s School of Graphic + Industrial Design (SIGD), were featured in the magazine’s annual listing.

Rebecca Riemersma will graduate this May with a BFA in Graphic Design. One of her favorite things about her time at Auburn has been the ability to pursue her own creative interests, with SIGD professors supporting her every step of the way. “They’ve all really been so amazing and continually push and encourage me to challenge myself and become a better designer,” she stated. “I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better group of faculty.” She has also appreciated the ability to apply her artistic talents to work across various disciplines, like her book project that incorporated handwritten elements taken from the original manuscript of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. She specializes in publication and brand design and hopes to move to New York City soon after graduation. She was surprised to learn about her inclusion on GDUSA’s list. “I’m so grateful for the nomination and the opportunity to be representing Auburn,” she said, “especially with someone as talented as Megan.”

Megan Kesting was informed she had made GDUSA’s list just before graduating this past December. “I was originally told by my professors and couldn’t stop smiling!” Kesting exclaimed. “Auburn, in general, is on GDUSA’s radar. They constantly chose students and faculty to feature on their website.” Kesting currently works as a designer for a consumer electronics company called Skullcandy, conducting trend research, building color/material narratives for upcoming product launches and designing product packaging. One of her favorite projects at Auburn was developing branding for a type conference titled “Type In Streetwear,” which she created in Professor Ross Heck’s Design II class. Now that she’s a recent graduate, Kesting looks back fondly on her college years and sees that the faculty she worked with have heavily influenced her. “My professors impacted my life more than they know. I always knew they genuinely cared about me and wanted to see me flourish as a designer. I look up to them for their talent and the way they pushed me during my time at Auburn.”