A day in the life of a Digital Media class in St. Louis

Published: May 01, 2023

Author: Zibo Dai

A day in the life of a Digital Media class - St. Louis for the American Institute of Graphic Arts annual student conference.

(Pictured left to right: Athena Hagerman, Zibo Dai, Prof. Morgan Gilmore, Emily Reinneck, Megan Chapman, Adam Fike, Christian Fuentes, Gianpero Tristano, Nina Torvisco, Yutong Nan, Yuenan Tong, Yanbo Yi, Olivia Peters)

Earlier this semester, in Specialized Studies attended the Annual Student Conference hosted by the St. Louis for the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). Experiential learning trips like these are important for students because they can:

• visit with experts and institutions in the field of design,
• broaden their horizons, accumulate relevant field experience, and
• get exposure and grasp new industry developments.

Networking and collaborating

Olivia Peters: “I really enjoyed the AIGA Student Conference. It was so great to meet real-life practicing artists and designers, and to see some of them in action at Central Print Studios. It was also cool to see other students from other universities and find out what they're interested in. I was inspired to keep making the things that I love! Keep creating and you'll find your people.”

(Pictured Olivia Peters)

Get out of your comfort zone as a designer

Zibo Dai：“As a novice in design, we are used to stay in our cliques, which leads to information shortage. I like to go to these conferences because they inspire connection and inspiration.”

Keynote Speaker Sydney Michuda, graphic designer and illustrator shared her career and design experiences in her speech. “I learned a lot from her speech.” She mentions an interesting formula: concept + style + execution = great work. More importantly, the level of design depends on the depth of your thinking. If we keep thinking deeply, we will find all kinds of art forms. When we put them together, we have a deeper understanding of design.

(Pictured left to right: Yuenan Tong and Zibo Dai)

Learning about prints and typography

Emily Reinneck: “I really enjoyed the workshop I attended called Design to ImPress with Kristen Lyle. We learned about the history of typography as well as different ways people used to print before programs like Illustrator and InDesign were available. It was really neat to see how a lot of the terms we know now came from the old machines people used to print with. Along with learning the history and different terms, we each got to make our own print using the tools Kristen brought in. I really enjoyed seeing how unique each design was, and the texture you can get with each press. I often try to mimic that texture on Illustrator, so seeing it raw was so cool.”

(Pictured Emily Reinneck)

How to Write a Great Resume

Yuenan Tong: “This event introduced me to other designers. I learned a lot of helpful things, like how to write a great resume. Sue Greenberg shares her own experience with us on how to avoid detours and roadblocks. She shared how to highlight our work and that was very cool. Communication makes our minds collide. The logical combination of knowledge and practice produces great value, which promotes our understanding of the design field.”