Graphic Design Students and Faculty Honored in 2022 American Graphic Design Awards

Graphic Design USA (GDUSA), a leading source of news and trends for graphic design professionals, has named several faculty members, students and an alumnus from Auburn’s School of Industrial and Graphic Design (SIGD) as winners in its most recent design competition. The 2022 American Graphic Design Awards, GDUSA’s 59^th annual competition, features awards in over a dozen categories including books, motion graphics, online design and student work.

Out of over 14,000 entries, roughly 750 projects were chosen as winners. GDUSA honored six Auburn students in the student category of the competition. Not only are all six graphic design majors in SIGD, but they are all students of Assistant Professor Devon Ward. Students Ethan Shapiro and Anna Louise Lane were enrolled in Ward’s Advanced Interactive Media class, and Deborah Yeseul Choi, Kacee Bridgman, Katherine Torkkola and Erika Donley were all enrolled in Ward’s Introduction to Graphic Design.

Ward himself was also chosen as a winner of the competition. He was honored for his work on The Other Film Festival, an event in Australia that feature films by, for and about people with disabilities. He created branding and identity graphics for the festival’s third annual season in July of 2022.

Associate Professor and Graphic Design Program Chair Robert Finkel was also honored by GDUSA. He was selected based on his work for the Red Rock Trail System, a network of trails, parks, walkways and bike paths in Jefferson County, Alabama, created by the Freshwater Land Trust. Finkel’s contributions to the project included developing strategic messaging and brand identity for the trail system through the creation of a wayfinding signage program and brand identity guidelines.

Morgan Smith, a 2016 SIGD graduate, was recognized in the Advertising and Ad Campaigns category of the competition for her work designing billboards in New York City’s Times Square that promoted the Auburn Men’s Basketball Program. Smith, who is Director for Graphic Design and Branding for Auburn Athletics, served as creative director and graphic designer for the project, which featured images of Coach Bruce Pearl and student-athletes Jabari Smith Jr. and Walker Kessler.

All of the winning designs are available for viewing in online galleries and are also published in a print edition of GDUSA’s magazine.