South Hills Healthcare Students Participate in UPMC Altoona Trauma Drill
October 22, 2019
South Hills Kicks Off “Taste of Success” Speaker Series
October 28, 2019
- Name: Carla-Ann F. Henry
- Program: Graphic Arts (GA)
- Campus: State College
- Class of: 2019
- Distinction: Winner of the 2019 People’s Choice Festival Poster Design Contest
Q: It is wonderful to see your graphic design work on the People's Choice Festival website and to see your poster used on the cover of the People's Choice Program Guide. It looks fantastic! How does it feel to know that your design was chosen as the winning entry from dozens of submissions?
Carla-Ann Henry: Thank you very much. I'm honestly still very shocked at the news! I'm very fortunate that my design was chosen as the winner, and I was excited to see my artwork in action on the 2019 People's Choice Program Guide (Centre County Gazette).
Q: Tell us a bit about the process of creating a winning design project.
Carla: Because I've only lived in Central PA for about two years, I was only vaguely familiar with Boalsburg, the site of the People’s Choice Festival, and the history of the town. Before starting the design, I did some research and talked to several local people about the town. I learned about the iconic mural on the outside of the Pennsylvania Military Museum. Since the festival is held each year on the museum grounds, I wanted to create a design that showcased the mural.
For some of my projects, I sketch out my initial design ideas on paper, but I didn't end up creating paper sketches for this one. I created the entire poster using Adobe® Illustrator. I kept an image of the museum and the mural nearby as a reference and for inspiration.
Q: Was this a project for a particular class, or something you sought out on your own?
Carla: Although the poster started as an assignment for one of my South Hills classes, I ended up having a lot of fun creating it. I really liked working with all of the different colors that the mural has to offer and being able to incorporate that into something special.
Q: Where did you complete your South Hills summer internship?
Carla: I did my South Hills internship at a wonderful design firm named Posture Interactive, located in downtown Scranton, PA. I was very excited to work with their company and found out what Graphic Arts looks like in the working world vs. the classroom.
Q: Where would you like to see yourself in five years?
Carla: I intend to live in Scranton for at least a few years. In five years, I hope to see myself working a job that I love with co-workers that make me happy and excited to see and work with every day.
Q: Any advice for the incoming class of Graphic Arts students?
Carla: The advice I would give to the incoming class is to experiment with things that they hadn't thought of before, whether that is different mediums for 3D projects or different design elements that they previously wouldn't even think about using. Experimenting and exploring is the only way to find out if you are really going to like GA, whether it be in school or the workforce. If you don't like it, don't be afraid to try out something else. But if you love it, then do it with your whole heart.
