About

D&DM / YES / 2020 Vision / Covid-19 Changes

The Design & Digital
Media Department

The Design & Digital Media Department (formerly known as Graphic Communication) partners with industry leaders to develop coursework that blends solid theoretical training with digital tools. Faculty members ensure student understanding of the principles of design, typography, color theory, layout, composition, visual message-making, user interface, animation, 3D modeling, and game design while preparing them for real-world employment or transfer to a four-year university or design school. Design & Digital Media has been inspiring creative emergence and developing professional marketability for over four decades.

The program consists of three distinct areas:

  • Graphic and Web Design
  • Animation and 3D Modeling
  • Video Game Design

The Year End Show

The culmination of the school year, and one of the highlights for the department, is the Year End Show (YES), a showcase and celebration of student work from the Fall and Spring semesters.

YES has traditionally been a one-night-only event; a curated show featuring all of the disciplines of the D&DM Department: Graphic and Web Design, Animation and 3D Modeling, and Video Game Design. With great pride, faculty select the work and determine “Best of Class” awards. Past activities have included a photo booth, live design challenge competitions, and a design jeopardy game. Music and refreshments complimented a uniquely designed space organized by the Flagship Design Studio Year End Show Team around a central theme. 

The celebratory event highlights the talent, skill and value cultivated by the D&DM Department, and offers an outreach opportunity to the SCC campus community, the Los Rios Community College District family, the greater Sacramento art and design community, industry professionals, high school art and design students, and prospective SCC D&DM students.

Teamwork and Collaboration: Flagship Design Studio,
Design Lab and Makerspace

Hallmarks in the planning of YES are teamwork and collaboration. SCC’s Flagship Design Studio offers career-driven students the guided client interaction, project management, design process, collaboration, presentation strategies, and deadlines that will contribute to their future success. Each year, a team of Flagship Design Studio students, in partnership with the D&DM Department Chair, collaborate to develop and present the Year End Show. The Flagship Design Studio YES Team identifies a theme for the show, creates all of the print and social media design graphics, plans the event, and sets up the physical space. 

Typically all of the design work and preparation has taken place during the Spring Semester, with a flurry of activity during the week of and day of the show. Students and professors join together to make the show a success. The resources and collaboration of the Design Lab and Makerspace are also essential and greatly appreciated. 

The 2020 Year End Show

2019 marked the transition to the Department’s new identity as Design & Digital Media, after more than 20 years as Graphic Communication. For the first time, a Flagship Design Studio YES Team was assembled during the Fall semester in 2019 to begin the process of preparing for the 2020 Year End Show. That team was charged with identifying a theme and preparing all of the design deliverables for print and social media. The Spring semester cohort of Flagship Design Studio students would then take over to produce the event.

The “2020 Vision” Theme

The Fall 2019 Flagship Design Studio YES Team began the process with research and a client meeting with D&DM Department Chair Don Button. After discussing the goals and expectations for the 2020 Year End Show, the Team got to work exploring themes for the event. 

The spirit was looking towards the future. 2020 is a special number in a graphic, visual sense, and marks the beginning of a new decade. At the forefront was a desire to celebrate all of the diverse and fresh perspectives of the various disciplines within the department.

Ultimately 2020 Vision was identified as the theme for YES. Taglines were added such as “See Clearly and Join the Celebration”, and “Future in Focus”.

The Flagship Design Studio Team worked hard to prepare numerous iterations of designs around the 2020 Vision theme. Ultimately a package of print materials and social media graphics were created to promote YES, including signage, stickers, photo booth glasses and refreshment packaging for the event itself. 

2020 Year End Show designs by Ellen Probst, Amy Solov, Sarah Argo, Marcus Martinez, Marian Walsh, Nikki Exerjian, and Anthony Knight of the Flagship Design Studio Team.

COVID-19 Changes Everything

It became clear that an in-person Year End Show could not take place in Spring 2020. However, the desire to present a showcase and celebration of student work from the Fall and Spring semesters remains.

No one could have seen this coming. With campus closures and the transition to online learning in March, the 2020 Spring semester became overshadowed with uncertainty, sadness, and the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic. Some of our D&DM classmates were not able to make the transition to continue online learning. Their absence is felt; we miss them and hope for their health and safety. 

What would happen next? It became clear that an in-person Year End Show could not take place in Spring 2020. However, the desire to present a showcase and celebration of student work from the Fall and Spring semesters remains. It’s not what we envisioned when we started the planning last August, but there is still an opportunity to celebrate in a virtual format. With the same spirit of teamwork and collaboration, this year the D&DM Department presents the first online Year End Show.

2020 Vision:
Hope and Perseverance

Things have changed and we are different now from just a few months ago. With creativity and innovation, uncertainty presents opportunities and possibilities. Particularly in the D&DM Department, technology along with flexibility provides designers with the tools to adapt and grow. 

2020 Vision now takes on new meaning. At this moment, there is no clarity or perfect vision, and the future is not in focus. Yet there is hope for a brighter future. In the D&DM curriculum, the concept of designing for good is explored. Designers are encouraged to recognize the power of the field to make a difference in the world by sharing ideas, shining a light on social problems, and encouraging people to use their voices. The D&DM Department brings together students from very diverse backgrounds, at different stages in life, with dedicated professors with professional industry experience. As you will see in the work presented in this unique 2020 Year End Show, the emerging designers of D&DM have the tools and skills needed to succeed. We hope you will enjoy exploring and celebrating the D&DM student work of the 2019/2020 school year. 

2020 VISION

Design with Hope

Design with Purpose

Design a Brighter Future

See the Possibilities

  • 2020 Vision Design & Digital Media Year End Student Show