Students get 'Bolshoi' about graphic design awards

The call for entries, a brilliant spoof on early Soviet imagery and tough guy talk designed for think by the creative team at HKLM, along with copywriter, Des Brown, has gone out to 25 tertiary graphic design faculties in SA and will surely prove to be very popular with its student audience to say nothing of showing them 'how it's done'.

Representatives from programme sponsors Sappi, and major prize sponsors the Core Group and Adobe Systems joined think members as they visited institutions around the country to encourage final year students in graphic design to participate and to advise them on how best to fulfil the requirements.

Chairman of think and head of design at Herdbouys McCann Erickson, Veejay Archary says. "Because the entries are adjudicated on the basis of current industry norms, students are brought closer to the demands of the real world than previously and in this way we hope to narrow the gap between student and paid practitioner."

"This year there are more than 800 final year graphics students in the country and think anticipates participation in the 2004 Sappi thinkahead Awards to increase over last year's tally of over 300 pieces of work from 138 students," he says.

"The top prize in the thinkahead programme is the Platinum Award for the best portfolio and consists of a new Apple e-Mac sponsored by Core Group loaded with creative software from Adobe Systems. This first prize also includes a full Design Indaba 2005 delegate ticket sponsored by Design Indaba - the leading international design conference held annually in Cape Town. There are also great prizes, including branding and design books sponsored by Affinity Publishing, for the portfolio runners-up and for those who win each of the individual categories. Perhaps the most valuable result of winning a Sappi thinkahead award is knowing that in previous years recipients were snapped up by leading agencies even before they had received their diplomas."

Any final year student of graphic design at any tertiary education facility in the country is eligible to enter a portfolio for a chance to win in one or more of 13 categories. Students wanting to enter should contact their lecturer for an official entry form or download the form from the think website at www.think.org.za that explains all the requirements for entering a portfolio. Entries close on Thursday 7 October 2004.

A panel consisting of top professional designers will judge the entries and the Awards ceremony, which has become an annual must-do event in the industry, will be held on 16 November this year.