Smörgåsbord
At the end of each semester, Madison College hosts a portfolio show event to celebrate the graduating design students. Each student submits an idea for the show’s theme, and then there is a collective vote to decide whose concept will represent the graduating class. For the Fall 2021 Portfolio Show, I had the opportunity to co-design the chosen theme with a fellow graduate, Kate Ermolenko. When we thought about trying to showcase each designer’s unique skill sets, the word smörgåsbord seemed to sum it up.
Event Design | Show Branding | Copywriting | Art Direction | Illustrator | InDesign | XD
“The Fall 2021 graduating students of Graphic Design, Web & Digital Media, and Visual Communications have been hard at work cooking up some tasty designs to share with you. The variety will be vast- each dish perfectly seasoned and made with care.
On December 8, 2021 we’ll all bring our samples together for a communal smörgåsbord at matcportfolio.com. Come feast your eyes, and don’t forget to stick around for a virtual meet-and-greet with the graduating students. ”
Animation by Kate Ermolenko
Kate came to me with the idea of creating a brand identity that would focus on the word “smörgåsbord”. Together we brainstormed what that meant in the context of a portfolio show. We landed on togetherness, community, everyone bringing their own individual styles to a larger cohesive whole.
From there, I created the vector mandala that represents the three programs uniting. Together, we came up with the concept that each graduating student would create an avatar using components from the mandala to represent themselves and their program. Kate brought the mandala to life by creating the animation that appears on the header of the website.
