 |
Seniors in Lee Troxell's digital
design class at Virginia Beach Advanced Technical Center
recently competed against one another to come up with
a billboard design advertising the upcoming Neptune Festival.
The winning project, the result of a partnership with
Adams Outdoor Advertising in Virginia Beach, is on display
on a billboard on Virginia Beach Boulevard near Haynes. |
There's an art to getting across a simple message to motorists
By Rita Frankenberry, The Virginian-Pilot - 9/18/2008
Creating an eye-catching billboard isn't as easy as it may seem.
Motorists speeding by only have five to 10 seconds to read the roadside ad, so it has to make its point quickly, without being overdone.
As the 20 seniors in Lee Troxell's digital design class at the Virginia Beach Advanced Technical Center learned, it's a design principle that's easier learned in theory.
Putting it into practice is another matter.
The aspiring graphic designers recently competed against one another to come up with a billboard design advertising the upcoming Neptune Festival. The project, the result of a partnership with Adams Outdoor Advertising in Virginia Beach, was so successful the company plans of offering future project to the center's students each semester.
"It's definitely something we would like to continue," said Doug Lister, community relations director for Adams Outdoor Advertising. "They looked really excited, especially at the concept of having it posted and having so many people see it."
Until Sept. 30, thousands of motorists whizzing along Virginia Beach Boulevard near Haynes, will see the winning design of Adam Mignat, 18.
"It's pretty simple," said Mignat, who also attends Ocean Lakes High School. "There are four separate images all Photoshopped into the final image."
Besides dates for the annual festival, and a Web site, motorists will only see the surf, sand, sky and a sand bucket.
"Our art director explained how you try to capture the feeling," Lister said. "It's more about portraying a feeling than just explaining the facts."
Whitt Collins, vice president of the Neptune Festival, said event organizers are pleased with the result.
"It's a win-win for everybody," Collins said. "It's a way they're partnering with community - with students and the community festival."
In addition to learning about advanced design skills, students learn about different software programs, digital video, Web design and making ad campaigns, said Troxell, the center's design instructor.
"This is definitely a college-level course," Troxell said. "One of the things about the class is we try to have the students do real world projects as much as possible."
Students likely found this billboard project a bit tough, Troxell said, because it's often difficult to make a simple ad.
"In a way, sometimes it's tougher to make something simple, than something complex, because they really had to edit themselves down."
Rita Frankenberry, 222-5102, rita.frankenberry@pilotonline.com
