College of Fine Arts and Design

August 9, 2010

Real-world experience in the classroom resulted in national recognition for three recent University of Central Oklahoma design graduates, with each receiving national Brand New Awards for their logo design work.           

The winning Central graduates are Brandon Land from Piedmont, Alicia Hugo from Edmond and Aide Gonzales from Edmond, each a May 2011 graduate.  All won awards in the logo category of the student level.  In order to compete in the student level the work submitted must have been completed in a school, college or university as a class assignment during the 2010 calendar year.           

Land, Hugo and Gonzales submitted logos that they developed for real-world clients they were given the opportunity to work with during their senior year at Central.  Land developed a logo for Guthrie Inns, while Hugo developed a logo for Laughing Rabbit Soap Company and Gonzales developed a logo for In the Woods Ridgebacks.           

"The fact that our students get to work with real clients sets us apart from other universities.  This opportunity really prepares our students for their careers in design and gives them the confidence they need to succeed," said Ruki Ravikumar, MFA, chair of Central's Department of Design.           

The Brand New Awards is a judged competition that celebrates the best identity work produced around the world during 2010.  The awards are a direct extension of the popular design blog, Brand New, focused specifically on branding, which is organized by UnderConsideration, a growing online network and enterprise dedicated to the progress of the graphic design profession.          

The Brand New Awards had 547 entries and 101 were selected as winners.  Each of the winning entries will be published in a book and featured on the UnderConsideration website.  

Over the course of the 2010-2011 academic year the Central Department of Design won 97 awards for students' design work including local, regional and national Addy Awards, the advertising industry's largest awards competition.           

"The awards that our students have received over the past year are a testament to the quality education our faculty works hard to provide our students with.  I am thrilled with the success we've had over this past year," Ravikumar said.

For more information about Central's Department of Design, visit www.uco.edu/cfad/academics/design.