Student Stories – Digital Design
Design is often described as “art in the service of commerce.” Design students in the College of Arts and Media create visual communication solutions for businesses in all sectors of the economy, including advertising campaigns, social media content, moving graphics and animations, website and app designs. They can also have opportunities to intern on campus and with local companies.
Read about our recent graduates below.
Kennedy (KJ) Adams will admit to being asked why she was interested in “a small school in the middle of the desert,” and thankfully describe it as “no regrets.” She studies advertising and graphic design where she learned to use solid design and typography principles in brand development, illustration, copywriting, advertising and social media campaigns. Being active in the local design community allowed her to get a design internship at Rapid Reboot, where she still works, a company owned by other GCU alumni. KJ was also a co-captain of the GCU Volleyball team, which made her a master at time management as she kept her GPA at the top of the scale.
After graduation, KJ is pursuing an MFA in printmaking at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX, and working as a graphic designer for Red Raider Outfitter where she is designing merchandise and apparel for the university.
“My time at GCU was honestly so wonderful. I feel like I got to experience the best opportunity of community and education when I was there and I will never forget the connections and friendships I have made. GCU is honestly one of the best things to have ever happened to me, I’m so happy I chose to go there.”
Nick Leligdon sought out internships from the beginning of his design education with a positive attitude that constant learning is the way to build a career. Enrolled in the advertising and graphic design degree, Nick worked part-time as a designer for three companies including a mid-sized design firm, a church and Make-A-Wish Foundation. He also worked in the design department on campus where he served as a tutor for other students and designed internal branded projects including websites, posters and brochures. He has a love of creating videos and has used that to push his knowledge and skill in the world of motion graphics. The week before graduation he accepted an offer as a junior designer at Highnoon, a strategy and brand development agency in Tempe, AZ.
Landrie Elstad has a love of joy and laughter that works well to fuel her work in social media design. She transferred to GCU to major in advertising and graphic design and minor in marketing. Landrie is always working – she had an internship at Axle Eight design firm and another at Kimley-Horn. She was also part of the design team at the GCU Marketing Department and worked as social media manager for NOVA Home Loans. Her playful style shows a love of patterns and color and a willingness to bring a sense of fun into designs of all kinds. After graduation she moved to Florida and has a job with CRU as a social media designer.
“During my time at GCU in their graphic design program I’ve had two amazing internship opportunities in the Phoenix area. I found that I was able to take a lot of knowledge from advertising campaigns done in class into (these) internships. At Axle Eight I gained my first experience working with an agency and coworkers from all different backgrounds! This taught me a lot about all the different types of companies and how they run. I also learned how graphics in social media are just as important as the copy.”
https://landrieelstad.com/
