2015 Design Contest

We started out small. When we were kids, computers were thousands of dollars and out of reach. The only way we were going to create the perfect layout for our trifold posters was by hand. If you wanted to pick the perfect complementary color spectrum, you would start by opening a 64-color pack of Crayola crayons and doing your very best to keep it between the lines. And if you were going to align the elements in your baseline grid, you had to meticulously draw out each line and hope that your ruler wouldn’t slip as you drew the pencil across.

And so, we return to our roots. We practice the fundamentals so we can work towards a greater understanding of the big picture. This year, we challenge you to take it back to where it all started. Pull out your old infographics and reimagine the possibilities. Revisit an old newspaper or magazine, and see how far you have come. With each project, our successes grow in both quantity and quality.

Start out small. Reimagine. Reinvent.

Back to Basics.

The Michigan State University Design Contest for College Students began in 2000 as a way for students to enter work done not only for a campus publication, but also projects done for a class, a job or an internship.

There are a number of beginning student designers who have demonstrated incredible talent, but they do so in the classroom or at a part-time job. In much the same way, some of the most talented visual journalists—for a variety of reasons—do not work at their campus newspaper. These students are usually ineligible for other college design competitions, where contest rules often limit entries to work done for a student newspaper or magazine. The MSU Design Contest was established to give those other students a voice in a national competition.

This will be the final design contest run at Michigan State University. However, this will not be the end of the MSUSND design contest for students as you know it. More details to come.

Congrats to the winners, and thank you to all who entered!

Criteria

First Place
This award should be granted for work that defines the best in its category. It should be perfect or near perfect.
Second Place
This award should be granted for work that is outstanding in its category. It should have few, if any, flaws.
Third Place
This award should be granted for work that is impressive in its category. Technical and design skills are evident.
Honorable Mention
This award should be granted for work that is not in the top three in its category but shows innovation and potential.

Winners

Front Page Newspaper

  • First Place
  • Lacey Hoopengardner
  • Indiana University

  • Second Place
  • Haley Kluge
  • Michigan State University

  • Third Place
  • Anna Boone
  • Indiana University

  • Honorable Mention
  • Mary Burke
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

  • Honorable Mention
  • Lindsay Dawson
  • Syracuse University

  • Honorable Mention
  • Becca Guajardo
  • Michigan State University

Feature Page Newspaper

  • First Place
  • Ainslie Perlmutt
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

  • Second Place
  • Anna Boone
  • Indiana University

  • Third Place
  • Jordan Martin
  • School of the Art Institute of Chicago

  • Third Place
  • Katie Schmitt
  • Ohio University

  • Honorable Mention
  • Mara Corbett
  • Syracuse University

  • Honorable Mention
  • Berke Yacicioglu
  • School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Sports Page Newspaper

  • First Place
  • Lisa Dzera
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

  • Second Place
  • Kristi Walker
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

  • Third Place
  • Lindsay Dawson
  • Syracuse University

  • Honorable Mention
  • Chloe Meister
  • Syracuse University

  • Honorable Mention
  • Jenna Wengler
  • Vanderbilt University

Art & Illustration

  • First Place
  • Alex Kostiw
  • School of the Art Institute of Chicago

  • Second Place
  • Sarah Delk
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

  • Third Place
  • Alexa Brackin
  • Baylor University

  • Third Place
  • Ainslie Perlmutt
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

  • Honorable Mention
  • Katherine Lee
  • University of Miami

  • Honorable Mention
  • Gentry Sanders
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

Infographics

  • First Place
  • Luis Melgar
  • University of Miami

  • Second Place
  • Louisa Clark
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

  • Third Place
  • Kristi Walker
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

  • Third Place
  • Mary Burke
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

  • Honorable Mention
  • Meaghan McFarland
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

  • Honorable Mention
  • Gina Ranalli
  • Ohio University

Promotions & Advertising

  • First Place
  • Shelby Bass
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

  • Second Place
  • Edgar Hernandez
  • University of Texas – El Paso

  • Third Place
  • Matthew Cornwall
  • SCAD Atlanta

  • Third Place
  • Kaanchee Gandhi
  • North Carolina State University

  • Honorable Mention
  • Damian Balderrama
  • University of Texas – El Paso

  • Honorable Mention
  • Edgar Hernandez
  • University of Texas – El Paso

Special Sections

  • First Place
  • Marissa Techmeier, Arianna Holder, Denni Hu, Alex Brusko, Traci Carver, Gabrielle Diepenbrock, RaShawnda Murphy, Andrea Rivers
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
  • Spark

  • Second Place
  • Lisa Dzera, Aleah Howell, Keely McKenzie, Ashley Webster, Charlotte Moore, Elizabeth Williams, Kandis Morgan, Kayla Goforth, Liz Johnson, Louisa Clark, Maegan Clawges, Mary Burke, Meaghan McFarland, Olivia Farley, Rachel Morris, Zach Walker
  • The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
  • Pretty in Plastic

  • Second Place
  • Joe Snodgrass
  • Eastern Washington University

  • Third Place
  • Mara Corbett, Chloe Meister, Matthew Hankin
  • Syracuse University

  • Third Place
  • Lariat Staff
  • Baylor University

  • Honorable Mention
  • Ainslie Perlmutt, Bridget Walsh, Sarah Delk, Anna Tang, Nan Copeland, Sarah Hoehn, Lorraine Besse, Jenna Stout, Caleb Wilkie, Cassie Schutzer, Amansa Hayes, Jessica Karsner, Justin Chang, Daniel Lockwood, Caroline Smith
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

Standalone Multimedia

  • First Place
  • Mary Stevens & Kelly Creedon
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
  • MRB For Life

  • Second Place
  • Kristi Walker, Robbie Harms, Audrey Larson, Josh Richardson, Gayatri Surendranathan, Chelsey Dulaney, Kevin Uhrmacher, Claire McNeill
  • The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
  • The Lingering Effects of Student Loan Debt

  • Third Place
  • Justin Chang, Jessica Karsner, Daniel Lockwood, Bridget Walsh, Anisah Jabar
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
  • Wrongly Convicted

  • Third Place
  • Alexis Balinski, Melissa Borden, Justin Chang, Kelly Creedon, Oliva Dorsey, Olivia Hall, Aleah Howell, Anisah Jabar, Morgan Johnson, Jessica Karsner, Daniel Lockwood, Grayson Mendenhall, Bailey Seitter, Bridget Walsh, Lauren Winn
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
  • Nexus

Digital Storytelling

  • First Place
  • Kelly Creedon, Jess Clark, Dree Deacon, Grayson Mendenhall, Bailey Seitter, Caitlin Kleiboer
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
  • Whole Hog NC

  • Second Place
  • Gabriela Arp, Emily Rhyne, Lexi Namer, Ray Whitehouse, Andrea Patiño Contreras, Indaia Whitcombe, Grace Farson, Morgan Johnson
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
  • After the Shooting

Magazine Cover

  • First Place
  • Jordan Martin
  • School of the Art Institute of Chicago

  • Second Place
  • Damian Balderrama
  • University of Texas – El Paso

  • Third Place
  • Ryan Smith
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

  • Third Place
  • Jordan Martin
  • School of the Art Institute of Chicago

  • Honorable Mention
  • Jordan Martin
  • School of the Art Institute of Chicago

  • Honorable Mention
  • Jo Arellanes
  • SCAD Atlanta

Magazine Spread

  • First Place
  • Katie Schmitt
  • Ohio University

  • Second Place
  • Katie Schmitt
  • Ohio University

  • Second Place
  • Louisa Clark
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

  • Third Place
  • Isabela Miranda
  • Michigan State University

  • Honorable Mention
  • Kathryn Harkins
  • University of Miami

  • Honorable Mention
  • Shelby Anderson
  • Michigan State University

  • Honorable Mention
  • Meaghan McFarland
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

iPad Magazine

  • First Place
  • Nan Copeland, Katie King, Devin Beauchamp, Sarah Lindner, Annie Maynard, Kylie Taylor, Martha Upton, Caleb Wilkie
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
  • Going the Distance

  • Third Place
  • Jackie Dumbleton, Florian Cherdron, Lilly Keyes, Marissa Russo, Kaitlynn Knopp, Dylan Sowle
  • Michigan State University
  • MSU J-School

Judges

From March 31 to April 21, 2015, 14 professional designers from around the world judged 310 entries. This was the fifth year the contest was held entirely online, and we received a strong number of entries as well as encouragement and advice from our amazing judges.

We would like to thank our judges:

Chris Courtney, Designer/Developer NewsApps at Chicago Tribune Media Group, designhawg.com

Jennifer Daniel, Visual Journalist at The New York Times, httpcolonforwardslashforwardslashwwwdotjenniferdanieldotcom.com/

Kyle Ellis, Product Manager at The Business Journals and Digital Director for the Society for News Design

Julie M. Elman, Associate Professor in the School of Visual Communication at Ohio University

Rick Epps, Presentation Editor at The Detroit News

Carrie Gee, Design Director at Adweek

Kris Kinkade, Designer and Graphic Artist at USA TODAY

Tara McCarty, Features Designer at Tampa Bay Times

Nick Mrozowski, Creative Director at Adweek

Samantha Puckett, Marketing Copywriter2015/Graphic Designer at Tampa Bay Times

Yuri Victor, Designer at Vox Media

Deborah Withey, Cheese and Pickles Design Studio

Randy Yeip, Graphics Editor at Wall Street Journal

Andrea Zagata, Designer at the Buffalo News