Affecting positive social change with graphic design

Graphic design students clarify the voting process of the presidential election

Under the slogan “Get out the Vote,” students in the College of Fine Arts at Illinois State University exercised their design skills by creating informative design pieces. These appeared in different formats ranging from print material, to videos and websites.

The question guiding the students during the project was why the youth has consistently voted at lower rates than all other age groups since the presidential election in 1964.  By engaging in effective information design, the class aimed at motivating the American public to register to vote and participate in the 2016 presidential election.

A reception held on November 15, 2016, at Milner Library gave students the opportunity to present their work and describe the underlying concepts. Introduced by librarian Kathleen Lonbom, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design Alice Lee reiterated the importance of integrating civic engagement into the curriculum. “I am very proud of what my students have accomplished. Based on thorough research, they applied their design skills to express the importance of active political citizenship among their peers,” she said.