Recent design projects at Pacific have included the following:

Illustration students continue successful client-based projects for book and magazine publishing and have completed a pilot course in scientific Illustration. Graphic Design students were awarded the prestigious Hoefer Prize for their extensive work producing the Pacific Lantern Wayfinding design proposal for Pacific’s campus. During the Fall semester 2012 a new collaborative project was initiated rebranding Oakwood Elementary School in an ongoing effort to reshape and revitalize the school’s visual identity. Pacific students continue a successful design relationship working with local wineries and vineyards. Noteable examples include the label design for the McDonald Estate Cor Sanaré 2009 vintage which won a bronze medal at the prestigious San Francisco International Wine Festival during the summer of 2010 and the Bora Vineyards Artist Series selected as one of the 10 most interesting Lodi wines from 2012.  Students in GD III collaborate with engineering majors in developing new product proposals designed by the engineers and promoted by the designers. Design Internship, Practicum and Independent Study experiences for Pacific students continue to expand in quantity and quality and currently have students working locally, regionally and in several areas around the world in addition to on-campus opportunities with ASuop design and the Pacific Office of Marketing. Examples of design projects completed on campus but outside the regular classroom or co-op program include annual cover design for the Pacific Summer Course catalog and book cover designs for the textbooks associated with the three core Pacific Seminar classes. Summer opportunities have included working with faculty on research-based design projects in China as well as individual internships in Australia, San Francisco and L.A. The annual DeltaFusion Pageant offers a multitude of opportunities for designers to work with other artists, musicians, story tellers, mask makers and costume designers in producing giant puppets to symbolize and connect the stories of the people of the Delta. The student literary arts magazine Calliope has won national acclaim for its outstanding design for the past five issues. Design students have gained national attention in the AIGA sponsored FLUX design competition in Maryland, from the San Francisco chapter of AIGA and also at the San Francisco regional level of the international design competition Cut & Paste. Fashion shows, “Paint on our Walls” gallery exhibitions, undergraduate research presentations on both national (NCUR) and campus (PURCC) levels, book illustration, catalog design, video production, are additional opportunities to name a few. As a result, graduating majors leave Pacific prepared to enter graduate programs or engage in professional level work within a multitude of specific design related areas.

Proficiency in any single design subject area is not enough. The experience of studying and applying design successfully is profoundly enhanced by studying within a liberal arts environment. Specific skills and knowledge in the design areas are informed with a thorough academic grounding in a curriculum of rigorous and provocative general education. Real success also demands that designers be professionally active and passionate about the subject of their individual disciplines.  Be sure to make use of the Department Facebook page to correspond with other students and share important contributions to each other’s creative design culture and education.