Pomona, CA, 26 January, 2018 – Student AIGA groups from Cal Poly Pomona, and Cal State Long Beach gathered together for a 24 hour design marathon, in what is slated to be an annual event. Working with two non profit organizations, the Undocumented Student Service Center, and Project Sister the teams created an immense amount of design collateral in a caffeine frenzied 24 hour blur.

Project Sister (new site not live yet) is a Pomona based non profit rape crisis and family counseling organization, and the Undocumented Student Service Center (new site not live yet) is an organization which serves DACA recipients and undocumented students and families at Cal Poly Pomona.

“…at Cal Poly Pomona alone, there are over 800 DACA recipients, and according to RAINN, 11.2% of college females are survivors of rape.”

With the students divided into two teams, they created an -immense- amount of collateral. For Project Sister, the team created: 2 logos, 6 brochures (in both English and Spanish), 3 motion graphic videos, a years worth of social media content, a social media template, and a fully functional website. For the Undocumented Student Resource Center, the team designed: 2 logos, 1 brochure, 1 flyer, and a fully functioning website.

None of this would have been possible without the immense help provided by the greater Los Angeles Design community and AIGA LA, including: Agustín González Garza, an AIGA Fellow, and principal of Garza Group, Art Director Gabriella Sanchez, graphic designers and recent Cal State Long Beach Alumnis, Derek Dubler and Ray Ramirez, Cal State Long Beach Assistant Professor Sam Anvari, and Long Beach City College faculty member, former AIGA LA Board member, and art director, Khara Cloutier, as well as Cal Poly Pomona’s Assistant Professor and AIGA LA Education Director, Anthony Acock.

The 24 hour tornado was brought in part by 12 pizzas, (provided by AIGA LA), 8 gallons of coffee (!), a heroic amount of redbulls, not nearly enough water, a donation of Kind Bars from Kind Snacks, 1 mild skateboard injury (evidently jumping over a table at 2 am is a bad idea) multiple dance parties, and endless loud music.

Cal Poly Pomona’s 24 hour design marathon was modeled closely after the AIGA student group’s similar annual event, Creative Engine, hosted each year at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg Missouri (UCMO). By working closely off of UCMO’s precedent the team was able to put together an event that not only created a large body of portfolio worthy work in a short amount of time, but also was achievable and for good causes near and dear to the student population.

“The students created great portfolio pieces, for real-world clients, dealing with issues that they care deeply about.”

For instance, at Cal Poly Pomona alone, there are over 800 DACA recipients, and according to RAINN, 11.2% of college females are survivors of rape*. This means that while the non profit organizations were of course great organizations, their audience hits particularly close to home for the student designers taking part in this process. The students created great portfolio pieces, for real-world clients, dealing with issues that they care deeply about.

Moving forward, the Education Committee of AIGA LA is looking forward to making this event annual, involving more colleges and universities, and helping more non profits. With AIGA LA’s design community, and LA County’s diverse and talented student population, the possibilities are endless.

* David Cantor, Bonnie Fisher, Susan Chibnall, Reanna Townsend, et. al. Association of American Universities (AAU), Report on the AAU Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct (September 21, 2015). (“Victim services agency” is defined in this study as a “public or privately funded organization that provides victims with support and services to aid their recovery, offer protection, guide them through the criminal justice process, and assist with obtaining restitution.” RAINN presents this data for educational purposes only, and strongly recommends using the citations to review any and all sources for more information and detail.)