KPU graphic design students receive recognition for class projects
The DesCan Vancouver Jim Rimmer Scholarship Awards recognize design work that supports community causes
Rowena Huang's “Innovate to Educate” (left) and Georgia Stone's “SeaSafe" (right) website projects were both recognized by the Design Professionals of Canada. (Submitted/Suneet Gill)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University graphic design for marketing students received recognition from the Design Professionals of Canada for developing websites and researching issues.
Rowena Huang received a $1,000 scholarship and Georgia Stone, Veronika Kansaka, and KPU alumna Bella Sanchez got honourable mentions at the 2024 DesCan Vancouver Jim Rimmer Scholarship Awards.
The annual scholarship is awarded to students who produce design work that supports a community program, non-profit, social, or environmental cause.
Students developed their projects in a user interface and experience design (UI/UX) class, where one of the assignments required students to create a website aligned with one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) established by the United Nations.
Huang, who won the scholarship for her “Innovate to Educate” website, focused on gender inequality for her project and researched the inequalities in accessing education for girls around the world.
“I [am] a girl, I grew up in Canada, and I’ve been able to have access to free education in elementary, secondary school, and now in post-secondary school, which not a lot of people get to do,” Huang says.
“I knew that there was inequality of girls not receiving the same opportunities for education as boys …. But when you really look into the reality, it is pretty terrifying to know that just because a child is a girl, they have such a different path.”
Huang says the goal of her project was to educate people on this issue and show the reality girls face around the world.
The process for creating the website included researching the topic, creating personas, which refers to a target audience for the site, and making a mood board to visualize how the page would look, Huang says.
She also created supporting print materials such as a poster campaign and book to promote the website, which was created within a semester.
Stone, who earned an honourable mention, created “SeaSafe,” a website dedicated to the relief and mitigation of oil spills.
The website is a fictional non-profit sister organization of the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit environmental organization, and gathers educational resources and tools to speed up the process of cleaning oil that has washed ashore on beaches.
“The inspiration came from my deep-rooted connection to the marine environment,” Stone says. “So with a family history of sailing, my background in swimming and lifeguarding, and my hobby of surfing, I’ve developed an immense appreciation for our oceans.”
She adds the project allowed her to combine her passions and environmental stewardship together to address the issues marine life faces.
Both Huang and Stone feel honoured to have their work recognized and selected, and are thankful for their instructors’ support and encouragement.
“It’s an incredible recognition because it’s judged by people who are in the industry … and to know that they think that my project is worth the scholarship means a lot to me,” Huang says. “I think it’s important that we use our skills and whatever passion we have to put out there the change that we want to see.”
Stone adds she hopes the recognition inspires other people to take action, such as through their own creative projects or by participating in similar initiatives.
“SeaSafe has really shown me how much potential there is for design to make a tangible difference. I would love to explore more opportunities to collaborate on projects that promote environmental stewardship, whether through non-profits or educational campaigns.”
