BY BECKY SHEASBY
Awesomeness has emerged from Conestoga College in the form of award-winning talent. Kevin Tome, a third-year graphic design student, is the winner of the Quarry Communications Award for western Ontario.
“Typically all the keeners from various graphic design schools around the province summit to it, so typically your work has to be pretty tight,” Franklin Flitton, a third-year Conestoga College graphic design student, said when asked if the competition is tough.
RGD, or the Association of Registered Graphic Designers, is the hub for hosting and distributing graphic design awards. RGD gathers a jury of 50 award-winning creative professionals to decide the 17 winners. There are a variety of graphic design categories, such as typography, web design and motion graphics, and the prize money is $1,000 per winner.
“I heard about it, and instantly I wanted to do it, because I had this one project that I thought could go the distance,” Tome said.
Conestoga College graphic design professors encourage second-year and third-year students to submit to the RGD competition. Not only is the competition free, but winning involves more than just a cash reward. The exposure is a huge advantage in the competitive industry of graphic design.
“It opened up a lot of opportunities, because I’m getting featured in a magazine, and actually got a job offer from one of the judges,” Tome said.
Tome won the Quarry Communications Award with his submission featuring a package design for Dead Elephant beer. He took his inspiration from the beer’s name and Matthieu Bessudo (professionally known as McBess), an illustrator who does cartoons with a classic Mickey Mouse feel but with a dark spin.
“I thought that could be really interesting for the branding of Dead Elephant. And, it’s this beer based off of Jumbo the Elephant, who was a circus elephant and then died in a train crash, I thought that was pretty interesting, so I wanted to use that style, because it really evoked that story.”
RGD has distributed over $215,000 in cash awards to bring professionals and developing designers together to encourage the upcoming generation to strive for success. If you are interested in getting involved or sponsoring the awards for 2014, contact Hilary Ashworth, RGD’s executive director, at hilary@grdontario.com.
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