Junior GAID students are displaying their vibrant, interactive kiosk posters as part of the annual restaurant identity project, “Crave.” With brightly colored, engaging imagery, enticing language, and scannable QR codes that lead to video and behind-the-scenes content, “Crave” is a showcase of nearly all the skills cultivated in the GAID program. 

Curated by Professor Paul Sheriff, who has been coordinating this assignment for the last 25 years since his time at the original Elkins Park campus, “Crave” has grown and changed over the years to reflect a modern student and creator.  

“Crave,” aptly — and newly — named this year by alumni and project assistant Philip Le, engages viewers in a hybrid of various design processes. The large-scale posters advertise an invented restaurant or food service organization, ranging from examples such as Jade McMichael’s Swallow, an American-style pub, Grace Alderman's Bopsong, a Korean health food initiative, Mia E. Fabrizio’s Forage, a food accessibility program, and Nathan Covarrubias’ Chow Chow, a dog-friendly restaurant. 

Students are responsible for designing a logo, creating an app or a print campaign — Sheriff’s parameters are relatively open-ended as far as creativity goes as long as students check off those major boxes. Some choose to incorporate music, some incorporate environmental design — the freedom this project allows is what makes it so enjoyable to the students. 

Sheriff described how students get to truly “author” this project and pull from nearly all the skillsets they’ve garnered during their time in GAID. Aside from using what they have learned from classes and software such as Typography 1, InDesign, and UX (User Experience Design) and UI (User Interface Design), everyone brings their own unique interests to the final product. Sheriff says this assignment is a great example of “furthering their education all in one project in order to develop design skills and integrate collateral material along with considering social responsibilities when servicing a specific community.” 

Along with the vast examples of intelligent creative expression from the students, Sherrif also loves how collaborative this exhibition is among faculty and staff. The parameters have grown and changed thanks to GAID faculty Kelly Holohan and Bryan Satalino, who re-created the assignment this year and were influential in integrating the technology aspect into the final projects. Philip Le worked with Satalino, Sheriff, and GAID graduate student Meryl Skoog to fully design the "Crave" logo and branding. During the installation phases, Senior Facilities Manager Zach Lindenberger and Associate Director of Academic Enrichment Programs Kati Gegenheimer worked with the department to set up the exhibition. Assistant Director of Technical Support David Rhoads and Senior Technical Support Specialist Craig Fineburg were also influential in aiding students in their final processes. 

The exhibition will be on view until February 14 in the Green Hallway. 

Photo by Isabella Rose Marchiel