SIGD Faculty Recognized with 2024 GDUSA Award

The collaborative project received a 2024 American InHouse Design Award.

New York-based GDUSA covers news, people, project, trends, technology, products and services. In addition to a magazine, the brand encompasses a website and monthly e-newsletter. GDUSA also sponsors several national design competitions showcasing the best in Graphic, Package, Web, InHouse and Health/Wellness Design.

“This achievement holds great significance at several levels,” according to Wei Wang, Professor and Head of the Auburn SIGD. “First, winning a prestigious national design award highlights the excellence of Auburn’s design programs and showcases the creativity and talent of our faculty. Moreover, the teamwork of faculty members from both graphic and industrial design illustrates the collaborative culture we foster within our school, which is crucial for cultivating a vibrant design community.”

Mario Bocanegra, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, was one of the faculty designers who collaborated on the project.

“I teamed with three other graphic design faculty members and two from industrial design to organize and design the identity for the first SIGD-wide student design show,” he said. “The Greek origins of the word kaleidoscope allowed us to experiment and inspire a dynamic visual language for the inaugural show.”

Associate Professor of Graphic Design Courtney Windham was another member of the award-winning faculty design team, which also included Assistant Professor of Graphic Design Devon Ward, Ulm Associate Professor of Industrial Design Jerrod Windham and Industrial Design Lecturer Zack Kohrman.

“After Mario developed the full branding assets, he passed the details along to each of us,” Windham explained of the collaborative process involved in the project. “I developed the design for the tri-fold brochure. The map and website were designed by our colleague Devon Ward.

“Another colleague in Industrial Design, Jerrod Windham, was responsible for the wayfinding system for the show,” Windham continued. “He adapted Mario’s brand assets to develop a series of signs that labeled the studios and directed visitors through Wallace Hall. As a part of the system, he also printed custom wall attachments for the signage.”

Wang said the GDUSA award was a tribute not only to the ability of the faculty to work together, but also an inspiration to their students.

“Our students are inspired by their instructors, who are not only talented professionals but also exemplify the importance of creative teamwork—an essential trait for any successful designer,” he noted. “And this kind of recognition both enhances our design school’s visibility and helps establish its reputation on a national scale.”