Last year’s students from Point Loma Nazarene University’s Art 3003 class recently had their art displayed at Balboa Park’s Mingei International Museum. The event was part of a promotion for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s (LACMA) Digital Witness: Revolutions in Design, Photography and Film. Organized and led by PLNU professor of graphic design Courtney Mayer, this gave students the opportunity to present their work in a professional setting.
Last spring, Mayer’s typography class visited the LACMA to view its Digital Witness exhibit. The exhibit looked back on the last 40 years of how the evolution of digital technology has impacted graphic designers through things like laser printing, photoshop and other forms of image-editing software. Mayer saw this as the perfect opportunity for her students, she said.
After attending the exhibit, students began creating their own digital image library. They then combined these images, converting them into poster designs, according to Mayer.
“I asked the students to really play with images and play with the message in the same spirit as the digital designers over the last 40 years,” Mayer said. “They created really experimental posters, and they turned out beautifully.”
This fall, as the annual San Diego Design Week was approaching, Mayer sent in the
students’ designs and asked if the posters could be displayed on Industry Day at the Mingei International Museum. Her request was approved, and on Sept. 20, the students’ work was displayed.
Various speakers and design professionals from the design community in San Diego attended and viewed the students’ work.
“For the students, it’s really thrilling for the first time to really see how people engage with your
work,” Mayer said. “[The viewers] were all really taken by the creativity and the quality of the work. They were like, ‘What? This is student work?’”
Jess Rone, a fourth-year environmental studies major, was one of the students whose work was displayed.
“I combined my own photographs, some taken on film during trips, others from my daily life, and drew inspiration from older generations of design by incorporating film photography and pixelation,” Rone said. “This was my first time having work displayed in a museum setting, and I felt very proud.”
Although Rone is not a graphic design major, she said she feels grateful for the opportunities to progress in her artistry through the class. She said that the experience not only strengthened her confidence as an artist but also challenged her to expand her creative boundaries.
Kylie Rivera-Ka’Ahanui, a third-year graphic design and visual arts major, said there were two main takeaways from her experience — patience and discipline.
“I just felt like it was a huge accomplishment, because I had worked so hard over the last
semester,” she said. “I put in so much work and time, staying up and really getting it perfect, and how I wanted it. So all of that hard work was worth something.”
Rivera-Ka’Ahanui said she was excited when Mayer said their work was going to be presented in the museum.
“It doesn’t stop with getting a grade,” Mayer said. “You actually get to begin to imagine yourself as a professional and what it’s going to feel like when your work is out there.”
Mayer said it’s valuable to see her students take their work to the next level.
“They answer questions from people that are asking questions. They can defend their work. They can explain the work,” Mayer said. “I think the moment they realize that they can use their talent and gifts for a good purpose … it’s just so powerful.”
Adee Tulcan 
Tony Le Calvez