Being a student at Central Connecticut means being involved. While students hold a crucial commitment to their academic career, they are encouraged to dip their extra-scholastic schedule into the abundant variety of organized activities offered across the campus. Every club or department present at CCSU appeals to the interest of at least a fraction of the student population.

It is safe to say this undertaking requires some way of advertising themselves to the students, and if you’ve ever seen a flyer, poster, an informative item of clothing or any other object of promotional value around campus, it seems like they are adept at doing so.

But have you ever wondered about how each of these organizations sufficiently advertises themselves to the student population?

In walks the dedicated few within the Graphic Design Department under Student Activities and Leadership Development. The student workers in this department are the silent craftsmen behind a great majority of the promotional material you see around campus.

Apply is a must; this requires sensible dedication to their general focus, which is “for clubs and organizations, on top of the Central community, to send in special requests for fliers, posters, and other promotional items to be made for them,” Senior Graphics Designer Aaron Sanchez explained.

There are three full-time graphic design students in the department that work on each of these projects. Along with Sanchez, there is Matt Carew and Imani James.

“We make the specific logo or design that the organization, or department, is asking us to create and then we turn it into a product,” Sanchez continued.

This department is the only department whose specific task is to ensure the design and creation of these specifically requested promotional products. And given the multitude of products requested from the many organizations across the campus, they make sure they do an excellent job with them.

“Every project that comes through our graphics department is important. The reason why I say that is because each assigned task that we are given is from a different club, organization, or department, and each one of those individuals considers what they are asking for important,” Sanchez points out when asked about major projects currently in development.

What is essential to the graphic designers is that every organization is suitably represented. “There is equality in each flier and [a] promotional piece we create here,” he continued.

A club or organization submits a graphics request through The Link, and it is forwarded to the SALD Graduate supervisor, Matt Landrigan.

“We tend to keep [an] open conversation with each department, club or organization so we make sure that we are on the right path to fulfilling whatever goal or need that they want,” Sanchez says. This ensures that each specific requirement is sustained and a good relationship is maintained.

Usually, work begins right away and is designated to individuals based on deadlines and their current workload. In the office, the overall work environment is described as an effort towards maintaining a positive emotional state and cooperative aura. Each graphic designer has their likes and dislikes and their own distinct creative input — serving as great mentors to one another — and offers constructive critiques to each other’s art to help improve it.

When deadlines and difficulty weigh too much on any of the graphic designers, the others help them finish their projects in a structured manner while making sure to stay organized with excel spreadsheets and cloud drives. Often, they facilitate the use of templates from recurring promotional material from events or ideas that some clubs have introduced in the past, or they start from scratch if a newer idea is introduced.

Given the good amount of responsibility sustained by each designer, it is easy to overlook the skill and dedication they each have to their craft.

“All of the graphics designers that are there now are also currently graphics design students,” Sanchez said. There is a respectable attachment to the craft that ensures the satisfactory results from this department.

As Sanchez describes his experience: “Over the summer I was granted an internship with the school as a graphic designer, and from that experience, I learned so much that I wouldn’t normally learn during an academic school year. I also learned more about the professional side of my field. So, when I came into this semester, I had a better understanding of the back end of things, and I was able to complete a lot of my worker faster and more efficiently.”

Sanchez, double majoring in Graphic Design and Marketing, described his attraction to the department as stemming from the provided experience, networking opportunities, and the opportunity for him to work on his craft.

“And given this semester of continued graphic design work, I learned to find new shortcuts, new ways of doing it, because the way graphic design works is kind of neat; there is more than one way to get to the same finish line,” Sanchez continued.

Working in the department has allowed Sanchez and his fellow employees to expand their creativity and keep their minds flowing with new ideas provided by the networking opportunities.

“A current example of a project I’m working on is a South Asian club event flier. I did some research on their culture, which introduced me to a new set of artistic ideas and historic influence. This gives me a different view when applying it to my marketing double major,” Sanchez said.

Versatility in design is important to appeal to a mass audience. Some examples given were the very popular brands McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, which have universal appeal due to the adaptable nature of their logos to many different cultures.

“Using certain shapes, using certain colors means something to certain cultures and individuals, so applying that into on design or project makes it more versatile,” Sanchez stated.

Although being a student of graphic design is not a working requirement in this department, being familiar with the plethora of software applications and services under the template of the Adobe Creative Cloud does come in handy. Another key facet of obtaining a position in this department is a portfolio showcasing the students’ prior graphic design work, which is important even outside of CCSU.

The best way to get more informed about this department is to visit the SALD on the second floor of the Student Center.

Until then, keep an eye out for fliers, clothing accessories, posters, graphics, or any other pieces of promotional material throughout campus and remember the group of dedicated individuals whose craft has ascertained your attention.