Washburn Students Work with Graphic Design Students to Fight Intolerance

scottz — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:58:28 +0000

Create! Don’t Hate, a youth mentoring initiative built around the theme of tolerance, was launched in late January at Washburn High School, a Minneapolispublic school. The program gives youth in underserved communities a real-world experience using design thinking to communicate their ideas, discover their potential, and take action in their communities.

For this initiative, AIGA Minnesota, the professional association for design, has teamed 20 Washburn art students with 20 graphic design students from Twin Cities colleges to create powerful public billboards that address the theme of tolerance in a variety of compelling and thought-provoking ways. This nine-week program is designed to give participating students the tools and guidance they need to create an impactful message which will have broad visibility in their community.

The Washburn students meet weekly with their mentors during Tuesday morning classes taught by art teacher Nancy Hinz. “It is an excellent opportunity for my students to collaborate with talented graphic design students while learning more about the design process and possible career options,” said Hinz. “They are so excited about their work being displayed for the general public to see!”

Lisa Musselman, Director of Volunteers for AIGA Minnesota and project coordinator for Create! Don’t Hate smiled when she commented that, “I don’t know who is more enthusiastic—the high school students or the college-aged mentors. This is definitely a win-win situation for everyone involved. There is lots of creative energy and inspiration going back and forth.”

One highlight will occur halfway through the project, when esteemed professional designers from the Twin Cities design community will join the mentor/mentee teams to offer constructive critiques. Then, during a celebration at the end of the project, several layouts will be selected for display on billboards throughout the metro area.

The Create! Don’t Hate project is an initiative of Design Ignites Change, a nationwide program that challenges students to use design thinking and innovation to explore and create solutions to pressing social problems, and is funded by Adobe Youth Voices and Worldstudio. AIGA Minnesota, one of the nation’s oldest and largest professional design organizations, has partnered with Adobe and Worldstudio to bring the project to the Twin Cities. To learn more, visitwww.designigniteschange.org

washburnconnections.org » Arts

Washburn Students Work with Graphic Design Students to Fight Intolerance