A special thank you
to our juror,
Rachel Rothberg
Rachel Outlaw Rothberg is a design director at MWM Partners with extensive experience in brand systems and strategy. After earning her BA from University of Houston’s Graphic Communications BLOCK program, she began her career in-house for Transwestern. She then spent several years honing her skills at PH Design and Principle, where she became proficient in typography, identity design, brand systems, and environmental design. Rachel enjoys exploring the intersection of art, technology, and design in the digital and physical environment.
Best of show
Best overall portfolio
Eliot Castanon
"Eliot’s portfolio showcases a wide range of skills with an awareness of how to bring his various skill sets together to create cohesive and compelling works. Eliot’s projects have depth—starting with concept—that reflects a strong sense of self and design sensibility."
Best Corporate Identity
El Tephé
Eliot Castanon
"El Tephé has a story that Eliot conveys through a strong brand system. The El Tephé identity utilizes a well-balanced approach to illustration, language, typography and color. The various collateral pieces reinforce the brand aesthetic and help showcase how El Tephé could come to life."
Honorable Mention:
Arthur Mangum - Deluxe Tapioca
Best Packaging Design
Under the Tea
Kelsey Averill
"Kelsey’s Under the Tea packaging cleverly showcases the product by arranging the tea bags to bring dimensionality and texture to the sea turtle shell. Her attention to craft comes through in the execution of the packaging, however, I would consider an alternative to plastic packaging for the exterior in order to better support the concept of sustainability. Overall, nice job."
Honorable Mention:
Courtney Gruller - WinedUp
Best Publication Design
Best Typography
How to Stay Alive in the Woods
Regan Troung
"Regan’s reimagining of How to Stay Alive in the Woods shows a strong sense of layout and type hierarchy. He successfully combines typography, color, and illustration to evoke a vintage scouting feel that pays homage to the original publication. The pacing of the layout allows the reader to digest information easily and gives the eye a break through the use of pared back divider spreads and expressive typography on individual pages. Well done."
Honorable Mention:
Niko Langley - Baseball Instruction Guide
Best Poster Design
Walk in Our Shoes
Keely Lewis
"The clever reveal of individual narratives through the use of interaction via blacklight reinforces Keely’s concept in a powerful way. The idea that we carry our stories within us allows the viewer to recognize that human beings have an opportunity to provide empathy to each other with the understanding that everyone has their own unique story—and we can find commonality in that."
Honorable Mention:
Kaylee Dodds - Nature Takes Back
Arthur Mangum - Jump
Best Illustration
Nurture
Regan Truong
"The level of detail showcased in this set of digital illustrations is striking. The use of light, shadow, and 3D elements all came together to provide a cohesive visual accompaniment to Porter Robinson’s album. One can really feel immersed in this world and immediately read the emotion that translates through the created scenes. "
Honorable Mention:
Quan Chung - Diversity of Spiritual Animals
Best Interactive Design
Poly
Quan Chung
"The Poly project shows a strong understanding of user behavior and interactions. The effort Quan put into guiding the user through a seamless digital experience is apparent. In addition, the concept, mark, and the execution of animation and micro-interactions were all critical in creating a strong and cohesive brand presence in digital form."
Honorable Mention:
Michael Ippolito - Worm Hole
Best Logo Design
Studebaker
Niko Langley
"Niko’s restraint in reimagining the Studebaker logo proved to be very powerful. The simplified curved mark serves as an homage to the original logo, while bringing it up to speed with modern times. The logotype is clean, sophisticated, and has a slight tech feel, which successfully showcases how Studebaker could position themselves as a leader in the electric vehicle industry."
Best Motion Design
The Missing Link
Eliot Castanon
"The Missing Link motion project showcases how design can be elevated and convey deeper meaning through the effective use of animation. Eliot is successful in showing a strong understanding of pacing, transitions, and bringing 2D elements to life. Well done."
Honorable Mention:
Regan Truong - Idea Factory
Best Story Telling
Addiction
Courtney Gruller
"Courtney’s dedication to learn a new medium and navigate the numerous challenges live action video presents (such as staging shots, editing, sound, and animated typography) culminates in a story that is compelling and deeply personal. Hopefully Addiction provides a voice to those with similar experiences."
Best Personal Project
BGirl City
Jordan Carreon
"Jordan’s passion for BGirl City comes through in her work as she has an intimate knowledge of the organization and their needs. This knowledge helps give the brand a soul and shows what is possible when you combine heart and design."
Congratulations from your professors
Taehee Kim
Professor of Graphic Design
"Congratulations, Seniors!
With all your hard work and sheer determination, I applaud you. Your parents applaud you; as well as your family, friends, and all those who have seen the work you have wonderfully created applaud you. I am so proud of what each and every one of you have accomplished throughout the years. And with all that you have learned in this journey, I hope you continue to learn, try, grow, believe, and venture beyond. I will miss you all, and get some deserved sleep!"
W. Anthony Watkins
Associate Professor of Graphic Design
"A high level of focus and maturity in this class and it shows in the work. It's always satisfying to watch the growth of individual designers and 2023 was no exception. The illustration and branding work is wonderful and really sets a mark for upcoming students to aim. I'm excited to see where the class of '23 SHSU designers go from here. Thanks for all the hard work, and congratulations!"
Sherman Finch
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design
"Congratulations and well done on this momentous Senior Show exhibition. I know how much dedication and hard work brought you to this point. Good luck to you in this next chapter of your life and best wishes as you make your mark on the future Design Industry. Be Bold, be Brave and most of all be Creative!"