It was a marathon day for Graphic Design students on December 13 as they participated in Niagara College’s first Design-a-thon competition/
Held at the Marilyn I. Walker Centre of Excellence in Visual Art & Technology at the Welland Campus, the 12-hour competition – which ran from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. – and challenged students to create a new design for a real-world client: 70 Below Treats.
The client
70 Below Treats provides fresh farm to table food for its customers. It works with local farms to include fresh, wholesome ingredients in their products of freeze-dried snacks such as yogurt bark, ice cream sandwich bites and banana chips. They also have a line of pet treats.
70 Below Treats product package for ice cream sandwich bites.
70 Below Treats was founded by Courtney Stanley, who graduated from the Cook Apprenticeship program at Niagara College in 2012. The company is based out of Acton, Ontario (15 minutes from Milton).
70 Below Treats logo
The challenge
Participants were tasked with completing a re-brand, including a logo and packaging, for 70 Below Treats. They didn’t know who the client was or what the task would be prior to arriving on the morning of the event. Jessie Demone, professor and event organizer, provided an overview of the client, the industry and key tips to keep in mind during their design process. Students then formed their own teams and had 12 hours to create a logo and package design for 70 Below Treats, which they presented at the end of the event.
As part of their accreditation, the Graphic Design program is part of the Registered Graphic Designers Association of Canada (RGD). RGD runs a Design-a-thon event every year in Toronto that students can participate in; however, students would need to pay for a student membership to RGD, pay to participate in the event and make their way to Toronto, which would cost students close to $100. Demone and School of Media associate dean Linda Roote, wanted to create a similar event that would be more affordable and accessible for all students.
Demone noted that another motivation for implementing this event was to help inspire students and ignite some creativity after a long and busy semester, while also providing them with a hands-on learning experience. Since meeting Stanley a year ago, Demone has been working on implementing an opportunity that would provide 70 Below Treats with the design work it needed, which could also serve as a portfolio piece for students.
“I really wanted to create a community where they would have a chance to meet and collaborate with other students, rather than fall into a pattern of working on your own and becoming isolated, which can often happen,” said Demone.
Third-year student Alaina Eldridge was eager to participate in the event to broaden her creativity and time management skills. She commented that the Graphic Design program is built in a way that prepares students to be able to take on a client project such as this one.
“The program does a great job at building fundamental skills for students in the first couple of years, and now we’re being introduced to more client projects and presentations which is really cool,” said Eldridge. “We’re learning the professional side of the industry to compliment the design skills we’ve gained since first year.”
The event included students from all three years of the Graphic Design program. Each team’s design was sent to the client after the event for assessment. The winning design is expected to be announced in January.
