Visual Communication and Design students are among the most active students on the IPFW campus. In addition, all B.F.A. candidates are required to participate in a senior gallery exhibition.

We never run out of exciting things to report on regarding our Visual Communication and Design students students. If you have student success information to share, contact Susan Domer at domers@ipfw.edu or call 260-481-6025.

Academics: Each year, approximately 24% of VPA students make the dean’s list (3.5 GPA or higher), and six attained a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA in 2005-06. 

Student Successes: VPA students prove their talent through their successes in academics, performance and research.

2012

The 2012 American Advertising Federation Student Addy Awards Competition, awarded John Ilang-Ilang with Best of Show.  The award recognized his work in the “Mixed Media Campaign” category with a radio station marketing campaign, and a Gold Addy in the “Stationery Package” category. Also winner Emma McCarron received a Silver Addy in the “Poster Campaign” category and an additional Silver Addy in the “Direct Marketing” category with a radio station marketing campaign.

IPFW’s Department of Visual Communication and Design presented its senior exhibit in the Spectator Lounge at the Fort Wayne Cinema Center, November 2012. The exhibit entitled Legacy was adjudicated by University of Notre Dame Assistant Professor of Art, History and Design Andre Murniek. The exhibit winners on opening night were:

• Best in Show: Kristen Householder
• First Place Modeling and Animation: Christopher Aschliman
• First Pace Imaging and Photography: Amanda Taylor
• First Place Graphic Design: Emma McCarron
• Second Place Graphic Design: Alysha Scheidt
• Third Place Graphic Design: Kezia D’Souza
• Excellence in Visual Communication and Design: Emma McCarron and Swikar Patel
• Second Place Imaging and Photography: Swikar Patel
• Third Place Imaging and Photography: Kat McKay

The New York Times (NYT) has published a photograph by VCD imaging and photography student Swikar Patel.  An employee of the The Journal Gazette, Patel was covering the recent win by Richard Mourdock in defeating incumbent Indiana Republican U.S. Senator Richard Lugar in the recent primary election. The photograph was accessed by NYT via the Associated Press (AP).  The photograph can be seen at online.

Photographer’s Forum magazine has selected six IPFW Visual Communication and Design photography majors as finalists for their 32nd Annual College and High School Photography Contest, sponsored by Nikon, USA. VCD photographers include Daniel Dyar, Katrina McKay, Randy Jackson, Rachel Stauss, Keven Oswalt, and Lucas Carter. Their photographs will be featured in the hardcover publication Best of College and High School Photography 2012. Over 17,700 photographs were received from students in the U.S., Canada and around the world. This year’s judges were Dr. Janet Bonsall, University of Central Missouri; Christopher Broughton, Brooks Institute of Photography; and Mark Takeuchi, Art Center College of Design. College and high school entries were judged separately, and finalists will be featured in two sections of the book.

VCD photography majors again are participating in Using Photography as Language, a gerontology practicum for the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD).  CSD students, through practical experience, learn to help geriatric clients with compromised communication to more effectively communicate using photographs that are meaningful to the client.  VCD students Brittany Wilcoxson and Sarah Slatton, along with continuing lecturer Jim Gabbard, will work directly with the CSD students to increase their skills in photography as an effective way to communicate. 

2011

Graduating B.F.A. candidates from the Department of Visual Communication and Design had the distinct privilege of having their work judged by award-winning photographer, designer and printmaker Katarzyna Gruda, associate professor at Parsons The New School for Design. Ten seniors, led by instructor Matt Georgi, vice-president of Asher Agency in Fort Wayne, displayed their senior projects in “Experience Shared” during November 2011. The seniors showcased their accomplishments in graphic design, photography, illustration and video production at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.

Lucas Carter, photography major, had a one-night-only exhibition on Nov. 25, 2011, featuring his images in the series entitled Beyond the Cage, showcasing images shot over a four-month period of time with Hollywood MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The series was done as a special project for the Portrait Photography class taught by VCD continuing lecturer Jim Gabbard. Images are viewable at Beyond the Cage.

Freshman photography major Ajna Wagenfeld captured first place in the annual Fall Student Art in the Library Competition with her photograph titled IPFW Reflections. Wagenfeld received a $125 award from Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs George S. McClellan. Judges for the competition were Christopher Ganz, Department of Fine Arts; Jim Gabbard, Department of Visual Communication and Design; and Denise Buhr, Helmke Library.

IPFW student winners in the Third Annual Roanoke Arts Council College Art Competition included Nicholas Klein, first place, and Ajna Lorae Wegenfeld, people's choice. Winners were announced during A Renaissance in Roanoke October 8. Photographs by 10 IPFW students were accepted into the competition. Wegenfeld also won first and third place in the recent Grabill Gallery Black and White Photography Exhibit.

2008

Alex DeVinney-Stoner won third place in the Northeast Indiana College Student Art Exhibition at Manchester College in March 2008. The exhibition featured selected works by students from area universities and colleges and was juried by Charles Shephard, the executive director of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. Other IPFW students featured in the exhibition included Rebecca Bailey, Willyum Baulkey, Holly Dowidat, Josh Hoering, Dan Schroeder, and Chase Wire.

The photographs of Meghan Hall, Libby Huffer, and Barbara Mendez will be published in a limited-edition book by Photographer’s Forum and is due in June 2009. The magazine’s annual “Best of College Photography” contest narrowed its group winners from a field of more than 3,000 entrants. Jim Gabbard, their instructor, was selected for this award in 1981.

Three Advanced Photography I students were award-winners at the IPFW Helmke Library Student Photography Exhibit. First place went to Erica Holcombe for “Student Parallels”; second place to Rebecca L. Horvath for “Mini Blinds”; and third place to Patricia Eykholt for “Flower.”

Willyum Baulkey garnered two honorable mentions in the color category at the Annual Juried Photography Exhibit at the Honeywell Center in Wabash, Ind., in October 2008.

Student Barbara Mendez’ works of “Daphne’s Flight” and “Virtuous” were accepted, along with Jim Gabbard’s “Flower #55.” One hundred and sixteen photographers submitted 309 pieces, of which only 87 were chosen to hang in the gallery.

Willyum Baulkey won an honorable mention in the Honeywell Center’s Rotating Art Competition for 2008. He also had three digital photographs accepted in the Artlink “Poppin’ Pills” exhibition. VCD student Debra Crouch was also accepted in this juried exhibit.

Cynthia Arnett won “Overall Winner” in the Family Team T-shirt Design Competition for the local chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Her T-shirt design was titled, “Jael’s Pumpkin Patch: A PUMP is NOT a Pancreas.”

Two VCD photography students have been hired at local studios. Libby Huffer has been hired by Portrait Innovations for photography, and Stacy Cook hired at Picture People Portrait Studio.

Dawn Hiester designed the covers of Whatz Up and Fort Wayne Reader, with artwork promoting The Taming of the Shrew and Macbeth in February. Hiester is completing her internship in the College of Visual and Performing Arts dean’s office.