Elon seniors Rachel Hayes and Shelby Baitsholts were recognized by Triangle AdFed for their creative works produced as part of the communication design curriculum. Additionally, Baitsholts’ package design earned a silver medal in an Innovation Center for Design Excellence competition.
Three consecutive pages of the Triangle AdFed’s ADDY Awards program highlighted creative works produced by School of Communications students. For Associate Professor Ben Hannam, it’s an indicator that Elon University’s communication design program is heading in the right direction.
In the student awards category, Hayes captured a gold ADDY for a packaging design solution she created for a Schmitt Söhne Riesling wine bottle. Her goal was to rebrand the wine to “fit a more hip and younger legal audience by using a brighter and artistic aesthetic,” she said. She also earned a silver ADDY for a social media campaign developed for a DJ named HEYZ, who happens to be her brother.
“To have my work recognized by Triangle professionals makes me extremely gratified and proud of my work,” Hayes said. “Any form of recognition is nice but it is super rewarding when your work reaches a broader audience.”
Baitsholts also received a gold ADDY award for her apple cider vinegar package design, created as part of Hannam’s Design for Visual Images class. More recently, the cider design also captured a silver medal in an Innovation Center for Design Excellence competition in mid-April. ICDE is nonprofit organization dedicated to providing opportunities for design students, organizations and professional designers.
According to Baitsholts, her packaging redesign entry was part of an assignment challenging Hannam’s students to find a poorly designed package and increase the audience’s perception of value by using the principles of design.
Added Baitsholts, “Having my creative work recognized by Triangle professionals is a great confidence boost. Having such a great group of creatives see value in work I’ve created has given me a confidence in my abilities to design and in myself.”
For Hannam, the outside recognition reflects the strong in-class production he’s witnessed firsthand.
“The fact that we are increasing our awards is great, and it is an indicator that we are doing good work – the communication design major is producing good designers,” he said. “We are a growing program and our students are putting out materials that are peer-reviewed and valuable.”
Hannam added that both the projects and the ADDY awards will be attractive additions to the students’ respective portfolios.
“Putting an ADDY on a resume really legitimatizes your portfolio, your concept, and what you do,” he said. “It indicates your level of execution and control. And I’m thrilled for these two students.”
Hannam also thanked the School of Communications’ Awards Committee for its support, covering the students’ entry fees for the Triangle AdFed competition.
Moving forward, Hayes and Baitsholts’ gold ADDY-winning entries advance to a district level competition, with the possibility of moving on to the national level. The Triangle AdFed’s student competition was open to individuals from universities located from Raleigh to Winston-Salem.
American Advertising Federation and Triangle AdFed
The American Advertising Federation, the nation’s oldest national advertising trade association, and the only association representing all facets of the advertising industry, is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and acts as the “Unifying Voice for Advertising.” Regionally, Triangle AdFed, a part of the AAF, works to promote the wellbeing of the Raleigh-area advertising industry, which also includes Apex, Cary, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham and Morrisville. The organization offers unique programming and community involvement initiatives for the practitioners who work within those markets.