Two current FMU students won awards at the 18th annual AIGA InShow competition on Saturday, Nov. 3 in Columbia, SC.
Junior and visual communication major Tyler Pate, and senior visual communication major Darby Sauls, both entered to enhance their professional development.
Associate Professor of Visual Arts Charles Jeffcoat explained why the AIGA InShow competition is widely recognized among designers for outstanding achievement and commendable work.
“This is a great achievement for Tyler and Darby,” Jeffcoat said. “AIGA, the professional association for design, is an advocate for design as The American Institute of Architects is to architecture, or the American Bar Association is to law.”
“I do it to get my name out there,” Pate said. “I try to get acknowledgment for some of the work that I have done and to see what my competition is like.”
Pate won two awards for his two packaging designs, and Sauls won three awards for his packaging design and his portfolio, including Student Best in Show.
The packaging designs included all around branding. They each made a business strategy, and a logo, as well as a product. Sauls, who branded a steak rub, created the product himself and took time outside of school to create his projects.
“It took me four years to develop the rub itself,” Sauls said. “It took me about a month to create the logo and packaging. My portfolio, on the other hand, took about a week to design but it takes about four hours to build one from start to finish.”
Sauls expressed his enthusiasm about receiving three awards from InShow.
“Receiving an award, as a student or a professional, is of high regard and will earn the respect of others in the field of design,” Sauls said. “It’s been a long-term goal of mine to win since freshman year.”
Originally started in 1995, InShow is held at the state and the national level. It serves as an opportunity for aspiring designers to showcase their work. Once the designers submit their work, three judges, who reside outside of the state, judge the works and declare them “in” or “out.”