Photo of Dori Nicolson and Amanda Edenfield.

Carrot tops
Valdosta students win
design contest

STUDENTS IN VALDOSTA Technical College’s Printing and Graphics program recently had a carrot dangled in front of them. This time, though, the proverbial motivational metaphor was for real.

Turns out that Marker 29 Produce, a broker in the produce business in Lake Park, Ga., needed fresh ideas for new carrot bags. So Valdosta Tech Printing and Graphics Instructor Marilu Wentworth arranged a design contest for her students, who scoured local grocery stores researching consumer preferences. Marker 29 Produce Sales Representative Harry Shaeffer picked the winners and awarded prizes.

Coggins Farms bag design

Student Dori Nicolson won first place — and $500 — for a bag design that incorporated a silhouette of the state of Georgia.

“I wanted to add something local,” she says. “That’s what really caught their eye.”

Coggins Farms bag design

Amanda Edenfield won second place — and $250 — for a design featuring a cartoon rabbit.

“It was a real-life situation with real rewards,” says Wentworth.

“This is a tribute to the instructors as
well as the students,” says Valdosta Tech President James Bridges. “The business connections we maintain in the technical college system provide windows of opportunity for students.” endbullet

Laying Out the Future

Click here for a PDF version of this article

Visual Communications programs
train designers to see and do

SARAH DAVIDSON IS a busy woman. She photographs weddings. She creates brochures for local companies. She works as a marketing manager at Timbervest LLC, where she created a company Web site and a printed newsletter.

And she hasn’t even graduated from college yet.

A student at North Metro Technical College, Davidson is the perfect example of the contemporary approach to media design. These days, the field of visual communications requires artists and designers to be familiar with a whole range of media, and programs at Georgia’s technical colleges are providing the right mix of skills.

“North Metro Tech offered hands-on classes right off the bat,” Davidson says. “I didn’t have to wait a year before I started to learn the programs that would be integral to getting jobs.”

Quote from Dr. Brenda Watts Jones

In today’s world, businesses of all sizes need promotional material incorporating multiple media: Web sites, brochures, photography, business cards and more.

“Because of this, more and more companies are hiring in-house graphic designers and Webmasters instead of contracting out those services,” says Steve Dougherty, president of North Metro Tech. “Our Visual Communications program trains students in both the printing and Web design programs, offering the opportunity for students to specialize in one or both areas.”

As the times have changed, Atlanta Technical College and North Metro Tech kept up by developing new Visual Communications programs, which combine traditional print and graphic design skills with digital photography and Web design.

“As technology keeps improving, the number of specialized jobs in graphic design keeps collapsing,” says North Metro Tech Visual Communications Instructor Adam Hart. “But the people doing the job have to know it all.”  

Atlanta Tech’s Visual Communications program also offers tracks in print or Web design, and is slated to begin offering classes in video production. “We’ve begun to build a collection of software to do digital video editing,” says Atlanta Tech Visual Communications program Lead Instructor Steve Schaffzin.

 [continued on next page]


Screen shot of YMCA web site

Weaving the Web

DESIGNING FOR THE Internet demands a mastery of both artistic and technical skills. At Columbus Technical College’s Internet Specialist Web Site Design diploma program, students learn the “art and science” of Web development with training in graphic design and digital photography, along with computer languages such as HTML, JavaScript and PERL.

Photography skills are particularly important, says Frank Futyma, Columbus Technical College program coordinator for e-commerce and Web design. “In Web design classes, we take pictures. In multimedia classes, we take pictures.”



Those skills get exercised in the real world through the Community Web Initiative, where students create Web sites for public service organizations such as Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Columbus, the Columbus First Tee and the Columbus YMCA.

“We do some good for the community and practice real-world skills,” says Futyma.

For each community project, a different student is elected “student Webmaster” to coordinate the effort. Student David McNabb served the post with the YMCA project. “I oversaw everything,” he says. “I made sure the site was completed on time, I edited the site information and the photographs. I really learned management skills.”

Says Columbus Technical College President Bob Jones, “It’s important to have a member of our faculty like Frank Futyma, who recognizes that partnerships go beyond just relationships with business and extend to partnerships with the community.” endbullet
Screenshots of United Way and First Tee web sites