Jillian Taylor

University of Tampa students earned all four top spots in WEDU’s Marche de Rue artwork competition.

Jillian Taylor, an intern from the University of South Florida, spear-headed WEDU’s campaign for entries. The junior mass communications major first targeted her own alma mater with lackluster response. Taylor then broadened her net to include all area schools as well as local amateur artist organizations.

When UT Professor Delia Segovia received the information about the contest, she turned it into an assignment for her graphic design students.

“It is very important for students to have real world experience,” Segovia asserted.

Within two weeks Segovia had led her students through the paces of the design process. They began with researching the client, WEDU, and proceeded to propose a design brief.

After the professor accepted the proposal, each student produced a hundred thumbnail sketches and then turned the three best into roughs. Finally, each pupil picked a favorite to develop into a final composition.

When Michelle Etienne, a UT senior from Brazil, researched the project, the words that resonated with her included music, flowers, interactive and pleasing. The graphic design major secured a place in the winner’s circle with her vision of vibrant flowers flowing from a fanciful horn.

Etienne’s creation began as a notebook paper-sized painting done with a thick watercolor. She scanned it into her computer and began the typography work, which involved adding thick and thin black lines and manipulating the different design elements until she had the poster she wanted.

The three other winners, Christina Gonzalez, Jahan Henriquez and Jose Hernandez are also Segovia’s students.

Tracey Stone, a WEDU employee, said that the winners’ posters will be used to promote Marche de Rue, a Southern Living Magazine sponsored event that WEDU will host in Hyde Park next March.

“Marche de Rue will be like a European street festival or market,” explained Stone.

Laura Turner, WEDU’s Director of Public Relations stated that this will be the first community festival that the TV station has undertaken. She gives Taylor full credit for managing the competition.

“It was an amazing process,” Turner exclaimed.

The staff had hoped to do better with a second campaign for contestants, but they never expected 28 entries from one teacher.

The group was so impressed with all of the entries that they had to go through several rounds to choose the best. Of course they used the contest parameters as guidelines, but they also considered factors like which best represented the festival, which was most visually pleasing and which each staff member would be willing to purchase the work for home or office.

“UT did a much better job than USF, and you can quote me on that!” Taylor beamed.