WSU Presidential Holiday Card
Client: Winona State University | President Scott and Kelley Olson
Date: October 2019
Production technique: RICOH 7110SX Digital Press, Illustrator, After Effects, Adobe Media Encoder
Description: This card was created for President Scott & Kelley Olson; annually, they come to the Design program and challenge the students in the Campaigns course to create a physical card and a companion digital card that they can send out to thousands of people across the country, either through the postal service or email. The card cannot have any religious connotations, needs to contain references to the WSU campus, have an insert where the two can write a personalized message, and have some sort of holiday saying. I wanted to have an over-arching theme of progress, more specifically progress the University has made over the past decade since it was the start of a new one. I wanted to highlight the important buildings that have been added to the University campus, and have the main, center graphic be the newest addition to campus. The insert, was where I wanted to highlight the future for WSU, the proposed building, named CICEL, shown in its blueprint form. Each building is drawn in Illustrator, modeled after an image taken of the actual building. I wanted to create a warm and inviting atmosphere in the center of the card, once it’s opened up for people to see the newest building.
I wanted to have my message really emphasize the idea of progress and I wanted it to have a tempo of a poem. It reads, “2020 is very near, a new decade to start the year. Another season of growth and change is almost here. But let us not forget all the advancements we’ve made and all of the strides we’ve taken. To not only encourage, but also to strengthen, a community of learners improving our world. We wish you a happy holiday and a joyous New Year!”
For my digital card, I wanted to use the same graphic elements as the physical card. I wanted to have it appear as though the viewer is walking through campus passing the buildings. I needed to include a labeling system, so I recreated the building identifiers seen throughout the WSU campus. I also selected an up-tempo holiday song to accompany the scene.
