For the graduation ceremony of each semester, the NC State College of Design selects a junior in graphic design to create the program for the college’s commencement ceremony and I was selected for the spring commencement for the class of 2011. Working closely with department head, Santiago Piedrafita, and director of communications, Angela Brocklesby, we created a program and award booklet for the ceremonies.
The process of this began with Santiago encouraging me to think outside of the box for how these pieces could be folded and assembled. Considering the large amount of these programs that are eventually thrown away, I challenged myself to create a fold that could be easily recycled—meaning they could not have staples or glue.
Conceptually, I wanted to find a way to connect the graduates with the larger North Carolina State University. For example, the black on black pattern on the cover of the book is the brick pattern in the plaza on our main campus known as “The Brickyard.” I also wanted to create a design that displayed high contrast and had a sense of movement