The Graphic Design Student Association (GDSA) hosted a day-long design-a-thon titled “Design/Shift,” on Saturday, attended by over 100 students.

The students were divided into groups and paired with one of 18 real-world non-profit organizations for whom they designed logos, websites, social media campaigns, apparel and various other promotional materials.

“The university… gave a charge to all the colleges to really take initiative on innovation and entrepreneurship,” Patrick Finley, graphic design professor and an organizer of the event, said. “This event… is a six-hour design-a-thon bringing undergraduate and graduate graphic design students, mentored by local design professionals to provide creative services to nonprofit organizations throughout central Iowa.”

Finley, whose research is focused on and driven by philanthropic design, expressed the importance of non-profit design work and how this event can imbue that same drive in students.

“You can work with a client for a paycheck and there’s a lot of value we need there,” Finley said. “There’s also a significant need for pro bono or working with nonprofits.”

Hannah Litterer, a senior in graphic design, worked with her group to design t-shirts for the Sons of the American Legion. The shirts are intended for a car show fundraiser, where they will be sold and worn by volunteers.

“Our team has just gelled really well,” Litterer said. “It’s really fun and exciting, being in that zone, trying to create something cool and fun for these people.”

The philanthropic focus of the event was also on the mind of Lamaur Benjamin, a senior in graphic design and president of the GDSA.

“That’s a value of mine, and a value that I think everyone who’s involved with this shares,” said Benjamin.

Litterer also noted the energy and shared feelings of making an impact as setting this event apart from typical coursework.

“As we’re designing, we know that every detail is important because it’s being [impactful] and brought into these nonprofits… it’s uplifting,” Litterer said.

Design/Shift also offers students experience beyond the classroom, as students work with real clients and get feedback in real time from mentors and nonprofit staff.

“We encountered some problems of not quite knowing some logistical things,” Litterer said. “We reached out to our contact, she emailed us back right away. Patrick Finley came over and gave us some advice… that was really helpful for communicating with a client, how to sell your design in a way that’s impactful.”

Finley highlighted his pedagogy of hands-on learning, which comes to fruition in real-world collaboration.

“Often in graphic design, we work on fictional campaigns… they choose their project, choose their company name,” Finley said. “They don’t understand the hurdles that come with working with clients. They don’t understand working from a project statement that a client’s giving them.”

In order to provide the most feedback and further provide real-world knowledge, Design/Shift hosted 18 local design professionals who served as mentors.

Shelby Walters, ISU graphic design alumnus and graphic designer by trade, served as the mentor for a group designing promotional assets for the Boys and Girls Club of Story County.

“I’ve always enjoyed being able to offer advice and mentorship,” Walters said. “There’s things that I definitely wish I had known–maybe done differently–when I was entering the workforce.”

Walters said that she wants students to walk away with not only real-world client experience but also design communication skills.

“They need to learn how to be able to communicate and deliver what they need,” Walters said. “At the heart of [graphic design] is visual communication, and we’re working to help spread important messaging.”

Walters said that her group was enthusiastic from the start, “diving right in.” They set up a conference call with their organization to ask questions, which Walters helped facilitate, in order to “deliver the best product.”

According to Benjamin, this event will also be impactful for the students’ portfolios and resumes.

“A really good talking point–-one of the main things asked in an interview–is “tell me about a time you worked under pressure,” Benjamin said. “This is the perfect example of that. You have a limited amount of time to do several deliverables for an actual client.”

Finley said that the idea for this event stemmed from a similar event he ran during his time at Virginia Tech. Saturday’s event saw nearly double the turnout as the events from Virginia Tech, according to Finley.

“Coming to Iowa State, I wanted to bring that same type of outreach activity,” Finley said. “We talked with the Dean’s Office, trying to really make this a thing.”

With the aid of a few grants and the help of Maegan Luckiesh, a graduate student in graphic design, Paige Panosh, a senior in graphic design and GDSA social media manager, and Benjamin, the event was brought to reality, said Finley.

The student team helped organize the event as well as design the logo and shirts, which participants had the opportunity to customize via spray painting the blank gridded field on the back.

Finley hopes to hold the event again next year, stating that this may be one of the largest outreach events done by the department.

“This is the pilot,” Finley said. “Iowa State is a land-grant institute, and one of the pillars it stands on is outreach–and so I hope this is something the College of Design can be like ‘This is one avenue we take for outreach.’”