A culmination of two years work will see Visual Communication (VISCOM) and Interior Design (ID) students showcase their skills in the June portfolio show, according to Kyle Fisk, professor.
The goal of the June 2 show–held in Building 12–is twofold, Fisk said. The first is to allow students to have their work critiqued by industry professionals, a high percentage of which have graduated from Sinclair’s design programs.
The second, according to professor Amanda Romero, is to allow the parents of the students to see what they’ve been working on for two years.
“They are amazed,” Romero said of the parents. “It’s like, oh, now I see!”
Fisk said the show will begin at 7:30 p.m. with two speakers; Alyssa Evans of MeadWestVaco and Tiffany Lecklider of Paoli Furniture. Fisk said later on those two along with Patrick Bewinter of MeadWestVaco and Sarah Smallwood of APG INC will take part in a panel discussion.
“Students ask how to get to the point where [those in the industry] are,” Romero said.
Fisk said he believes that the event–which he called a “big production”–is also special for the students because it is the end of their program. For VISCOM and ID students, preparing for the portfolio show is their capstone,. He said that all faculty involved assist the students to make the show a success.
Faatimah Abdusshakur, Shelly Allen, Adam Falldorf, JoAnn Garcia and Megan Richhart form the student design team for this year’s portfolio show. Fisk said the theme is ‘Embrace-Diversity through Design’ and that the students work on all kinds of things for the event, including a logo, the designs for things on table tops and other assorted tasks.
The amount of work and creative tasks required of the event are a good challenge for the students because it simulates the work environment, according to Fisk.
The design team creates posters, banners, name tags, 3-D standing artwork and a website, according to Romero.
“What it does is allows closure to their program,” Fisk said.
Having those in the industry come to the portfolio show helps the program grow, according to Romero. Seeing a number of them come from Sinclair is also gratifying, she said.
“It’s amazing,” Romero said. “We must be doing something right.”