NEWHOUSE

KICKS OFF FIRST EVER PIXELS VS. PRINT DESIGN WORKSHOP

By Shihua Xu

SYRACUSE, N.Y., November 16, 2014 Thirty graphic design students at S.I. Newhouse
School of Public Communications today presented their designing materials for the first
ever Pixels vs. Print Design Workshop at 141, Newhouse 3. Before the presentation, they
had been through a productive and intense weekend from November 13 to 16, producing a
series of design works for the Family.Life. project, a global collaborative student project
about family and its role in daily life. The workshop provided the student designers with an
opportunity to cooperate with peers and professional designers and to earn a real-world
design workshop experience.
- more -

Workshop, pg. 2
A real-world experience speaks louder than words from lectures. The Pixels vs. Print
Design Workshop consisted of various sessions, including talks from several talented
designers, seminars and group critique sessions. This was an opportunity for graphic
design students at Newhouse to jump out of individual designing work and to engage in
teamwork and cooperation with professionals. The intense schedule also helped stimulate
their potential and creativity.
There is no reason to peg yourself as only a designer, said Maxx Berkowitz, a
Brooklyn-based interactive designer and design coach at the workshop. You have to stay
creative. Anything creative is good. Before we came up with a brilliant idea, we drank a lot
of bourbon for design inspiration. Being creative is all about thinking out of the box. If a
project doesn't work out, try to learn from it. Before the presentation, Berkowitz shared
his professional perspectives about design industry and stressed the importance of being
creative and innovative.
Communications played an important role in the teamwork throughout the whole
process. The most impressive thing I witnessed in the whole process is getting everyone to
reach a consensus in a team, said Abby Legge, the art director of the workshop. We had
14 students in each team who had different ideas and worked on different parts. For
example, I worked in the Pixels team, and we had to figure out how to structure the
- more -

Workshop, pg. 3
website, but actually everyone held different ideas. Communication was the most
challenging and difficult part. I was glad to see we brought everyone together to create
cohesive and consistent designing works.
At the end of the presentation, students handed out paper plate awards to everyone
with special titles to wrap up the intense weekend. I havent imagined before that I could
work with a big team with 14 students and create wonderful designs, said Sofie Rosso, a
graphic design student. Reaching a consensus seemed difficult at first, but we did it.
Working in such an intense schedule sounded impossible, but we completed it with great
outcomes.

The Pixels vs. Print Design Workshop opened a door for these students to earn a

real-world experience to overcome pressure from an intense schedule and from the
collaboration with different kinds of talented people holding their own ideas. As Rosso said,
It was an unforgettable experience to work with my peers and talented designer coaches. I
think every student deserves an opportunity like this to challenge themselves.

###