HOW A DESIGNER COMMUNICATES…..

Storyteller & Former Walt Disney Imagineer Defines Story Telling at Living Arts College














The moral of the story, “we as designers must make ourselves accountable for results. Elevate the expectation of what design can do and in the end satisfy the requirements we are asked to fulfill.”

Kenneth Penkowski, partner and executive brand director for local advertising agency, Ulanguzi visited the College and told stories to the students.

In addition, he showed the Ulanguzi’s 2009 demo reel which displayed projects for highly respected clients and current ongoing projects.

Kenneth told the students three stories about his life in the design arena…the titles were quite catchy.

1. “It All Started with a Mouse”
Kenneth told the story of how he became a Disney Imagineer and how he uses what he learned from that experience in his work daily.

2. “For Rent”
Ulanguzi was referred to a development company to market their apartment complex. This wasn’t your ordinary apartment complex. These apartments were part of the wave for the “Go Green” revolution. He shared his challenges and accomplishments with the project.

3. “Come Fly with Me”
A Las Vegas helicopter tour company came to Ulanguzi in need of a new marketing technique or strategy. They had no problem selling the helicopter tours, they just wanted an easier way for customers to purchase the tour tickets. He shared Ulanguzi’s unique answer to the marketing dilemma.

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Debra A Hooper
Vice President/Director
School of Communication Arts
@ Digital Circus

BDA/Promax Conference

…students got an eyeful of design ideas and a pocket full of business contacts!


BDA/Promax is the world’s largest broadcast design conference and for a group of Living Arts College students it bridged the gap between longevity and futuretainment.

From the honoring of Robert Redford for the Lifetime Achievement Award to the rapidly shifting world of broadcast design, this year’s conference hosted presenters that shared their insight and upcoming trends.

Living Arts College graduate, Matt Habit- “Robert Redford, WOW! Remembering his life and his involvement in film, was incredible!”

At the conference the buzz word was “Viral”. Viral is widespread popularity through the process of internet sharing. All eyes turned to the rapidly shifting world of broadcast design, motion graphics and the convergence of a new way of branding. In one of the sessions “Contagious” gave a profound presentation called “What is Advertising?” The session made the audience think about the “art” of getting people to forget they are watching an ad.

Students had many opportunities to mix with various professionals in the broadcast design community and to see samples of their great work.

Student – Kirsten Wiltjer- “It was fun; the work they showed was amazing!”

Student – Elisabeth Rauch- “I loved the Cartoon Network presentation! They demonstrated the logo process from start to finish!”

Through lively panels, exhibits, sessions, screenings and networking, the BDA/Promax conference provided three exciting days of dialog, discussion and displays of some incredible work.




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Debra A Hooper
Vice President/Director
School of Communication Arts
@ Digital Circus

Close up with Top Photographers

Students Travel to “Look 3”


















Living Arts College students from the School of Communication Arts recently got an upfront, close up look at creative photographer. Students and Professor Eversoll attended “Look 3 Festival of the Photograph” in Charlottesville, Virginia sponsored by National Geographic magazine, Apple and Canon. This festival of creative image making that displayed the progression of photography into different media applications.

The College photography students enjoyed three days of gallery viewing, presentations and involvement with skilled photographers from around the world. All were eager to discuss their backgrounds, experiences and love of photography.

The students’ journey through “Look 3” started off with the World Press Photo 2009 North American Debut. The exhibit showcased photojournalism containing 196 winning photographers. Photos ranged from natural disasters to the Olympics in Beijing to a single full-time working mom caring for her six small children.

Each evening, the students had a chance to listen to renowned photographers. Some of these photographers were Sylvia Plachy, Martin Parr and Gilles Peress. Each photographer had a distinctive artistic style in their photography. Sylvia Plachy’s photographs have appeared in over 50 major publications and exhibited internationally. Her photography is acclaimed as “diverse, surprising, and humorous, transforming the elusive into the poetic.” Martin Parr is a contemporary photographer with a unique style and is very popular in the worlds of art, fashion and journalism. Gilles Peress’ photography represents the complexity of war and peace. He has documented events in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Lebanon, Palestine, and Rwanda.

Under the nights’ stars, the students enjoyed viewing the work of the most exciting and innovative current photography from emerging photographers along with nationally and internationally recognized photographers. The projections in the pavilion presented a dynamic cross-section of work from photojournalism to art. The photographers showed many images and added voice and/or music to accompany their work.

The final night of the festival, students celebrated the closing moments by meeting and shaking hands with some of the world’s most famous and renowned photographers. They met photojournalists from “National Geographic”, “Sports Illustrated”, “The White House” and “Aperture Magazine”.

The photography program at the College embraces three essential aspects of professional photography--camera technique, digital manipulation and business practices.



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Debra A Hooper
Vice President/Director
School of Communication Arts
@ Digital Circus

WEIGHT OF THE RIBBON

A Perfect Evening with Curtis Brown

How do you describe Curtis Brown? Passionate, Artist, Designer, Independent, Actor, Photographer, Theatrical, Dancer, Loves a Challenge, Driven, Unique Style, Rooted in Human Emotion….. He combined all of these elements in “Weight of the Ribbon.”

The disease somber, the mood inspiring, when photographer Curtis Brown captures a moment the images transcend time. Curtis and dancers from the Carolina Ballet translated his concept into visual form through “the lens” with distinct expression and movement using a ribbon suspended from the studio ceiling.

Each inspiring image has an emotional journey of a breast cancer victim in their battles against the disease. The images depicted moments from strength and triumph to moments of defeat and collapse. Colette George said, “The exhibit was emotional and awe-inspiring.”

The “Weight of the Ribbon” gallery event brought in volunteers from all over the Raleigh area. The pictures were on display and available for sale with half of all proceeds donated to “Susan G. Komen For the Cure”, which funds breast cancer research, education, screening, and treatment programs.












Curtis is a graduate of the School of Communication Arts. He studied Advertising Design with a concentration in Photography. To view his work, visit his website at http://www.curtisbrownphotography.com.



















































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Debra A Hooper
Vice President/Director
School of Communication Arts
@ Digital Circus

THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO MARKETING SCHOOL

The excitement was high and there was a “buzz in the domes” when former professor, Greg Carter returned to campus. Students never forget a fantastic professor that leaves an impression on their life as well as their education.

Greg Carter, owner of Cyber Piggy, shared with students how you can use creativity to “bring home the bacon”. Greg was never satisfied with the status quo; he took his creativity to new heights when he developed Cyber Piggy. Greg believes that creativity is the most valuable problem solving tool we have and he’s discovered ways to take life’s unpredictable challenges and turn them into marketable and result driven opportunities.

Carter said having a job where you have the freedom to think outside the box is invigorating and helpful in conveying a message. He uses this belief to work with a social network of thinkers. “BestThinking.com” is social network that is topic driven and attracts common “thinkers” to discuss and brainstorm. Check out BestThinking.com to see how Greg uses his animations to tackle major problems with a light hearted approach.

Students were encouraged to utilize the web for marketing their talents and to join social networks to create ways of meeting other “thinkers.” Using the web and animation to promote, tell a story or convey an idea is a successful way to live “high on the hog!”



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Debra A Hooper
Vice President/Director
School of Communication Arts
@ Digital Circus

HOBBY TURNS INTO A GREAT CAREER

Raleigh’s Hottest DJ – Jason Wiggs

Jason Wiggs says, “DJing was a hobby until about a year ago. That changed when I started attending School of Communication Arts. I began acquiring the tools that I needed to create a great production and set out DJing professionally.”

Jason Wiggs is a sought-after disc jockey, best known as the resident disc jockey at The Oxford Gastropub in Downtown Raleigh. His experience, knowledge of music and mixing talents combine to display an unbreakable link between hip-hop, rock, pop, and top 40 to electronic dance music of house, breaks, drums and bass. His performance is a journey beyond the realms of music.

As a child his grandfather wanted him to learn true music appreciation. He gave him a symphony orchestra album and his love for music emerged. Growing up, he played the tuba in symphony orchestra and had a spot on the drumline in the marching band.

On his 18th birthday he received his first set of turntables. Using the self discipline acquired over many years of training in classical instruments he embarked on a more modern, newly acquired instrument and began the journey of musical exploration.

His most recent endeavor was his participation in Raleigh Fashion Week – Strut 09’. He provided music for the event’s producers with remixes, adding sound to video clips and performed all music selections live in conjunction with the emcees performances.

See Jason in person at The Oxford on Friday and Saturday nights in Downtown Raleigh.


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Debra A Hooper
Vice President/Director
School of Communication Arts
@ Digital Circus

CONGRATULATIONS ALEX CENTENO-RODRIQUEZ

ROBERT F. LAUTERBORN ADVERTISING SCHOLARSHIP WINNER

School of Communication Arts salutes Advertising Design student, Alex Centeno-Rodriquez for being the recipient of the prestigious Robert F. Lauterborn Scholarship. The scholarship is presented each spring at the American Advertisng Federation’s Silver Medal Awards ceremony.

Alex is bilingal and calls Costa Rica his home country. Success is a characteristic that Alex is very familiar with. He earned his MBA from the University of Science and Technology in San Jose, Costa Rica and opened his design company, Merkados Interactive Partners in Raleigh, NC several years ago. Merkados designs and maintains bilingual websites and provides consulting services in Internet marketing.

It was not a surprise to the faculty and staff at the School when Alex won the scholarship. He has won two Best of Category awards at Gallery competition since beginning his studies at SCA. Alex picked up his first award at Fall 2008 Gallery Show for Stamp Collection Design and most recently at Winter 2009 Gallery Show for Illustration Design.

Stay posted...I’m sure we will hear more from Alex in the future.


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Debra A Hooper
Vice President/Director
School of Communication Arts
@ Digital Circus