You’ve got 24 hours to concept and create pro bono works for non-profits. Now, GO! Designathon is a 24-hour event where teams of volunteer Kutztown University Communication Design students along with professors and alumni, design and produce pro bono creative works for non-profit organizations. The 7th annual Designathon was held this weekend (March 30 — March 31) boasting 90 student volunteers and 30 non-profit organizations. The largest event in the KUCD Designathon’s history!
KUCD faculty invited me back to take part in this year’s event. I'm lucky enough to have been involved in the Designathon since its inception seven years ago. This weekend design marathon has become a part of my creative spirit and I’m honored and proud to be a part of this “use our powers for good” event. I’m impressed with the determination and drive of my KUCD Designathon brethren and must give kudos to my team members Heather Johnson, Justin Herb, Alyssa Kays, Kelsea Ashworth, Chloe Kunsman and Darren Krause.
Below is my attempt at documenting a whirlwind night of design, fun and laugher, design, scavenger hunts, hero/villain jeopardy, prizes, design, insomnia, COFFEE, games, movies, music, design...
March 30, 2012
6:06PM
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Designathon's Opening Reception
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6:19PM
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| Opening the Designathon 2012 event! This year's theme: Do you need a design hero? |
6:24PM
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| Yes, that's right: 90 volunteer student designers working for 24 hours equates to 2,472 hours of non-stop design time. That's $98,880 worth of donated design services! |
6:35PM
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| Designers Heather Johnson, Justin Herb and Chloe Kunsman meeting with their client, Let's Go Outdoors (a weekly program offering urban families, individuals and/or organizations fun ways to participate in outdoor recreation activities and take part in once-a-month outdoor themed excursions.) |
6:35PM
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| Designers Alyssa Kays, Kelsea Ashworth and Darren Krause meeting with Egypt Memorial Park. |
8:13PM
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| The beginning of our concept, mood board wall. It's all about getting inspired! |
8:45PM
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| Research, research, research! Research = exploring options and getting inspired at this early point in the process. |
9:32PM
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| We need some goof off time too. Chair races down the Communication Design hallway. |
10:52PM
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| This year's theme was "Do you need a hero?" I'd like you to meet the mascots: heros and villains! |
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| Winner of best costume: Poison Ivy. Strike a pose Ivy! |
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| Batman's pose just cracked me up! |
11:16PM
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| My initiation into the headband crew. While I thought I looked like a Roman statue, I was asked on numerous occasions if I was going to play racquetball! |
March 31, 2012
1:41AM
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| Professor Vicki Meloney and designer Ashley look fresh as a spring rose at this hour, no?! |
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| We've decided on a concept for Let's Go Outdoors's poster series! |
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| Yeah baby, we have two! ;) |
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| Here's an idea, why not include some sort of dimensionality to really bring the outdoors to life?! |
2:10AM
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| Sketches: getting quick ideas down on paper. Cast a wide net when formulating ideas. Remember, the more ideas the better. |
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We've narrowed the concept down: mother nature is just around the corner. The left is a city block. Look to the right and you find the great outdoors. It's so close!
The posters are expected to run in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We've added additional messaging to connect to Philly: Mamma Nature's giving some brotherly love! |
3:19AM
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| Marker comps cut out out and assembled old school diorama style. Do you remember making those in elementary school?! |
4:35AM
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| Caught you sleeping. Isn't this against the rules? I have to read the fine print of the contract. |
4:38AM
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| Digital illustration of the city. |
6:40AM
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| You always need a little fine art added into the mix. Nature is represented through watercolor illustration. |
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| Chloe, looking like a woodland nymph! As the night continued on, this mystical creature seemed to become scarier and scarier! The watercolor smudging, her tired eyes... hysterical! |
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| Watercolor nature detail. |
12:00PM
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| We're building the diorama! |
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| Detail of construction in process. |
2:00PM
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| Winter. |
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| Spring. |
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| Summer. |
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| Fall. |
2:30PM
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| Digital manipulation of the images. |
3:30PM
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| Go light or dark... Decisions. Decisions. We're trying to convince "urbanites" to go outdoors, right? The black background might be too scary. The white feels light, happy and fresh. The vector character used in their logo is camping in the outdoors in the fall poster. In summer he's fishing. Winter, snow tubing. |
5:30PM
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| Printing the files! |
5:47PM
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| Ugh, it's 5:47 and we're still mounting the printouts. The final presentation begins at 6PM! |
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| Mounting madness ensues! |
6:04PM
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| Did you read that image? It's over! OVER! |
In conclusion
Designers have chosen to meld their artistic gifts into the highly developed art of graphic communication. There is power in our visual voice and with this power comes great responsibility. One visual and one word can affect the lives of many. The Designathon is an opportunity to continue to teach this vital lesson to the next generation of visual communicators. I am proud of what you have accomplished this weekend. Maybe it’s the lack of sleep or perhaps it’s the overload of coffee and food, but my heart is swelling with pride as I write this. Together we created beautiful work and helped a lot of organizations that don’t always have the chance to get their important message out. Now, let’s get some sleep!
