Sixteen graphic design students from professor Chris Stagl’s Spring typography class recently competed to have their work showcased in the Sorrell College of Business. After being juried by Dr. Judson Edwards, Dean of the SCOB, and the class client, Dr. George “Paul” Willis, a winner was named after a live-voting event held May 3.

Design students Shelby Clinkscales, Maddie Carver, and Ellen Lanford were each awarded with a $100 scholarship, while Trey Byrd received the most votes and received a $200 scholarship.

“The students creative work truly showcased an amazing range of skills in thought, typography and application,” Stagl said. “Dr. Willis challenged the students to be as creative as possible while keeping the mission, philosophy and spirit of the college in mind, and I believe they knocked it out of the park.”

Willis added, “I was very impressed with the work produced by Professor Stagl’s graphic design class. As an educator, it is very rewarding to see students apply skills learned in the classroom to a real-world application. This was a wonderful opportunity for these students to gain graphic design industry experience that will contribute greatly to their portfolios, and hopefully open doors to other exciting opportunities.”

Byrd said he was grateful for the opportunity and was honored to be voted the winner.

“It’s kind of surreal to have my work up in the College of Business,” he said. “I didn’t know coming into this class I would have this opportunity.”

The murals will be hung in the coming weeks by Dothan-based creative firm Tri-State Graphics who also installed the new vinyls in Sorrell’s atrium.