Samantha Stetzer/Winonan
Every year, Winona State University graphic design students have to put their own personal touch on Valentine’s Day.
As an assignment for their graphic design class, students created Valentine’s Day cards, which were being sold all week leading up to the big holiday on Feb. 14.
According to junior graphic design student Lucas Sanneman, the card sale was no Hallmark operation.
“There are only 10 copies of each card available for purchase, and after those are gone, the cards are gone,” Sanneman said.
Buying a card, Sanneman said, is an act that lands close to the heart in multiple ways.
“Not only does the buyer get the sense of buying something not many people will have, but they also help the WSU art department,” he said. “The proceeds are given to us to get new equipment.”
Each student was given the opportunity to create any type of card they desired, targeting a specific audience. There were cards targeted at young children, people in relationships and even to everyone’s inner “nerd.”
This is not the only season where these students display their cardmaking talents. They also create Christmas cards. For both sales, students like junior Mackenzie Miller put in huge amounts of work brainstorming, drafting, designing and packaging their cards.
“The work was extremely time-consuming,” Miller said. “I had to completely start over a couple of times because my first few ideas weren’t very good. Assembling the cards after they were already designed, approved and printed alone took about four hours for only 10 cards.”
Kelly Nichols, another graphic design student, said she consistently pushes her limits for the card sales.
“I tend to put in too much work for my cards, so it took about 40 [hours] of making graphics and prototypes,” Nichols said.
That work, she said, was worth it when it came to the final product as well as the friendships forged along the way.
“It’s fun to be in the lab all the time. We all become friends at one point or another after being together for so long,” she said.
But for the students, it is not just about the grade or having the best design. For them, it is all about the feeling people get when they receive their cards.
Nichols’s Valentine’s Day card featuring an owl is targeted at parents looking to give their child a special card, but she said she believed students could also like it.
“I also tried to make a graphic that was so cute that students would also be interested in it,” she said. “I was inspired by graphics that I’ve made for a few childrens’ books in the recent past.”
Sanneman designed his card after the popular show “Game of Thrones” because he wanted to share the love he had for the show this Valentine’s Day.
“I am a big fan of the series,” Sanneman said. “And the 4th season is starting soon, so I was motivated to create a card that other fans would love to share with their loved ones because of the close and loving relationships the characters have in the book and series.”
According to Sanneman, even though the card design was mandatory for their graphic design class, the students participated with the feeling it was “not really a chore.”
“I participated in it full-heartedly because I’m interested in making cards for the future,” Nichols said. “I think it’s a fun way to better my skills and the understanding of selling to an actual audience.”
Other students agreed that the card sale was a good test of their skills for future design careers.
“I am hoping to gain experience in Photoshop and strengthening my skills in designing and thinking of ideas that work for certain target audiences,” Miller said.
For the students making the cards, designing them was a labor of love.
“Making cards is a wonderful experience, even if it’s incredibly exhausting,” Nichols said. “It’s my favorite activity in the graphic design program so far, and I’m disappointed that I’ve done all the cards for my program.”
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