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Two School of Communications students, one recent graduate and one faculty member were honored this week for excellence in design at the 2021 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) virtual conference. Rising senior Catherine Nester ’22 led ���ϲ�����’s award-winning contingent in  with awards in six categories, including Best in Logo and Best in Packaging.

Additionally, Communication Design Department Chair Ben Hannam and collaborator Bizhan Khodabandeh were honored in faculty categories.

Assistant Professor Shannon Zenner, who chaired the Best of Design contest, commended the “outstanding and inspiring work” on display. “I couldn’t be prouder of the work that our faculty and students produce and love that they’re receiving the recognition they deserve,” she added.

Hannam thanked his ���ϲ����� colleague and the contest’s judges for organizing the national, peer-reviewed competition, and he applauded the work of Nester, Grayson Meadors ’22 and Rachel Cifarelli ’21.

“If you look through the body of work that was submitted to the competition you can see that the concepts are rooted in communication,” he said. “Of course, the work itself looks great, but the concepts are creative, whimsical, honest, irreverent, inspiring, and hopeful. This is indicative of the quality of our students and faculty at ���ϲ�����. 2020 was a difficult year for many of us, but our students’ ambitions to rise to the challenge was greater.”

Cifarelli, who has a history of creating award-winning designs, called it an honor to be recognized for her hard work.

“As corny as it sounds, it’s such a confidence boost to know others like my work,” she said. “Since I recently graduated and I’m now working on other things, experiences like this give me hope for my future endeavors and career. Everyone recognized in this competition should be so proud of themselves – there were some truly fantastic pieces in this competition. Even better, it’s so great to see ���ϲ����� represent! Being a creative is hard enough, but being a student and just starting out can be even more difficult. I hope to see more ���ϲ����� students submit their projects next year and gain that confidence boost they oh-so deserve.”

The AEJMC’s Best of Design contest was created by the Newspaper & Online News (NOND) and Visual Communication (VISC) divisions to showcase and recognize the design work of students and faculty/professionals at ACEJMC-accredited programs. The contest focused on the visual attributes associated with graphic design, advertising, branding, illustration, visual identity and photography.

Best of Design award winners

Bronze Award Judge’s Choice
Ben Hannam & Bizhan Khodabandeh
“Donald Trump Stamp”

Silver Award Judge’s Choice
Ben Hannam & Bizhan Khodabandeh
“Uncle Death”

Best in Logo
Visual Identity & Branding
Catherine Nester
“Personal Branding Business Cards”

Best in Packaging
Visual Identity & Branding
Catherine Nester
“Yum Yum Sauce”

Judge’s Choice: Ege
Visual Identity & Branding
Catherine Nester
“Top Bunk Bucha”

3rd Place
Visual Identity & Branding
Catherine Nester
“Top Bunk Bucha”

Judge’s Choice: Shamsa
Editorial, Interactive & Motion Design
Rachel Cifarelli
“Not Your Dad’s Protein”

2nd Place
Editorial, Interactive & Motion Design
Rachel Cifarelli
“Not Your Dad’s Protein”

Best in Poster Design
Advertising Design
Rachel Cifarelli
“Go Sustainable Posters”

Judge’s Choice: Cook
Advertising Design
Catherine Nester
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1st Place
Advertising Design
Catherine Nester
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Best in Commercial Still Photography
Grayson Meadors
“Food Photography-Ice Cream”

Judge’s Choice: Krantz
Photography
Grayson Meadors
“Food Photography-Ice Cream”