In 2020 Spring, Associate Professor Tao Chen’s ART 329 Graphic Design II class successfully designed a new logo for the town of Chaplin, CT. This new logo will be a critical component for the town’s bicentennial celebration. A substantial number of people across the town gave their unanimous votes during the month of April. The 3 finalists were Patrick Hawkins, Russell Lowell and Victoria Puapuaga, with Patrick Hawkins’ was chosen as the final design. For appreciating the work done by the faculty and Graphic Design II class on this important project, the Chaplin Bicentennial Committee voted to make a donation to the Arnold Prince Scholarship, one of the Art & Art History Department’s scholarship funds. During the project, the Bicentennial Committee Chair Dr. Leslie Ricklin and one of the committee members Warren Church made their visits to the class. They also joined the students' presentations and provided every student valuable feedback for their designs. As a class project, the students conducted their research on the town’s history and environment, came up with specific visual solutions aiming for the targeted audiences, and continued refining their designs based on the feedback gathered through individual and class critiques. This community-based project effectively motivated the students. Also, this design experience facilitated them to develop a deeper understanding of conceptualizing their ideas by using design elements and aesthetics appropriately and effectively.
Service learning is blended into my teaching. I strive to find ways to incorporate community-based projects in different levels of my design courses and independent studies.
Projects such as Chaplin Public Library logo design, Pin design for Willimantic 3rd Thursday Street Fest, Windham Senior Center logo design, brochure and poster design for the Windham Region No Freeze Project and etc. were created to provide students the opportunities to connect what they learn in the classroom to real-world challenges.