By Matthew Boubel
Staff Reporter

Nine graphic design majors had their work on display in the Clausen Art Gallery to show off the design aspect of their senior thesis. The exhibits were put together to form a showing called “A New Decade of Design.”

The exhibits were part of the graphic design senior thesis that went along with their mass communications research paper. In these exhibits, the students were asked to select some of the top work they have done while being at Briar Cliff.

These seniors consisted of John Gregory, Bethany Guntren, Elen O’Brien, Harper Phillips, Michaela Phillips, Krista Roscovius, Emilee Straka, Alice Traufler and Megan Uhl. These seniors had spent countless hours not only creating pieces for their exhibit, but also getting them ready to be displayed in a gallery setting. They could only choose four of the five pieces to be displayed in the gallery.

Some students wanted to use more for their exhibits, but were not allowed due to space.
“I don’t think that I can show my work and style in just five pieces,” Traufler said.
This was a challenge for the students to go through their portfolio and spend time deciding on what they felt was their best work, and would look best for the gallery.

Traufler decided to use not only the work she did while on the campus of Briar Cliff, but also on some of the projects she did while on the Chicago Semester.

“I know that the free lance projects I did while on the Chicago Semester were much more credible than the ones that I have done here for class,” she said. “I figured why not use the work that I know is credible.”

The exhibits have been on display since the first of March. When they finally posted the exhibits, they showed them off by having an open reception. This reception was a chance for the students to invite their friends and family, along with the faculty to come and see the products of their hard work.
The reception also gave the students a chance to explain their project, which Traufler was happy about since she felt that her style was not easily understood by the untrained eye.

“It was good to have an open house in order to help those who don’t really know what graphic design is to get a better idea,” Traufler explained. “My family of all people didn’t even know the kind of work I was doing on the computer. They thought I was working more on the mechanical aspect of taking it apart. So it was nice for me to show them exactly what I do.”