Eight WWU Designers win acclaim in international competitions

An award winning design by Bradlee Thielen

Eight current and former Western Washington University Design students won international recognition in competitions sponsored by CMYK Magazine and Adobe.

CMYK Magazine holds a quarterly graphic design competition for students open to US and International design students and recent graduates in the categories of advertising, digital design, graphic design, illustration, and photography.

The magazine recognized current Bachelor of Fine Art (“BFA”) in Design students Hunter Simpson and Joyia Squires in its quarterly competition this spring. Simpson was lauded for his redesign of a food truck logo – “Waffle Love.” Squires piqued judges’ interest with her cactus-inspired branding for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

The Adobe Awards is the world’s premier digital media competition for students and emerging creators. Over 8,000 entries from schools all over the world are submitted and 5–10% of all entrants become members of Adobe’s “Top Talent” roster for the year. This year’s “Top Talent” recipients included five 2019 Design BFA grads and one current Design student pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Design.

Jude Dacula’s Dollar Tree redesign emphasizes essential items at a good price. Andy Lai’s winning project proposed “Altum Aqua” – an aquascaping fish store brand for advanced hobbyists. Naia Shedd got two nods – one for her tidy and hygienic “stick and poke” DIY tattoo kit; the other for her meditative and moving animation “The Story of 1000 Paper Cranes.”

Presidential Scholar and Pride Foundation Scholarship recipient Bradlee Theilen earned laurels for his nostalgic-yet-fresh take on a breezy teriyaki restaurant, while current BA Design student Theo Whitney mesmerized the jurists with his rhythmically eerie title sequence for Stephen King’s “The Outsider.”

Animation at top: from Bradlee Thielen's The Teriyaki Bar

Below: from Naia Shedd's "Poke a Dots"

Authored on

Oct 16, 2019 4:37am