Design Students Create a New Identity for St. Francis House

Students in Natalie Stephenson’s Design Methodologies class spent the past semester creating a new identity for St. Francis House, St. Augustine’s only emergency shelter serving the homeless and less fortunate.

The class of; Kaytlin Bremmer, Lia Dalpini, Noni Heers, Miranda Lee, Melissa Mision, Ryne Pearson, Alexis Valladares, Kara Walter, and Marco Warren, each created a logo and stationery package.  The logo created by Kara Walter was chosen to form the basis of the branding campaign.  The entire class continued the service-learning project by each creating part of a suite of marketing pieces, including an informational handout, a promotional media folder, posters, a banner, t-shirts, social media profiles and much more.  “The students learned a great deal from the experience, and I did too,” said Stephenson. “Since we visited the shelter and saw first-hand the facilities, the people and the administrative offices, this became so much more than just another class project. It was real and very meaningful for us.”

“We were so excited about the opportunity to work with these talented students,” Judy Dembowski, Executive Director of St. Francis House stated.  “We are deeply grateful for the amazing work the students have done. The results exceeded our wildest dreams.  Every student put their heart into this project.  The results meet or exceed what we could have gotten, but could never have afforded, at an established agency.  Every student in this class has a promising career ahead of them.”

Their work will help the organization launch a new identity as St. Francis House celebrates 30 years serving those in need.    

Design students complete service-learning project with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida

Summer Camp Designers (from left to right) - Pat Fallon,
Marina Harvey, Sara Pulsifer, Casmine Brown and Leah Frye

During the spring semester, students in two sections of Design Methodologies had the opportunity to create promotional material for four different fundraising events to benefit The Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida (BGCNF).

Flagler students judging artwork
by BGC members

While visiting the local club in St. Augustine, students learned about the organization’s mission and curriculum. They also were invited to judge various types of artwork created by members ages 6 to 18 for the regional fine arts competition. This field trip helped students gain a better understanding of the impact that the BGC programs have on their members.

Fundraising is a vital part of the success and reach of The Boys & Girls Clubs as 95% of their budget comes from private and corporate donors. After discussing fundraising goals and design needs with the Director of Development, Darby Stubberfield, each student was assigned to an event. They conducted design research and developed concepts for an event logo, promotional poster, save-the-date postcard, and digital banner ad. 

Students presented final logos and campaigns to the development staff, including Ms. Stubberfield, Patricia Thornton and Katherine Lovatt. They were "extremely pleased" with the presentations and had a hard time narrowing it down. After much deliberation, BGCNF chose designs by Leah Frye, Emily Holland, Alana Littman, and Cesar Sanchez-Cariello.

Ms. Frye, a sophomore, graphic design major from Jacksonville, Fl., created material to encourage people to support the BGCNF Summer Camp. Marina Harvey, Pat Fallon, Sara Pulsifer and Casmine Brown also presented strong campaigns for this event.

Ms. Holland, a sophomore, graphic design major from Stuart, Fl., created material for an Evening in Wine Country. Other students working on this event included Mitch Oliveira, Emma Behringer, Taylor Friedhof, Michelle Linteris and Kiara Sanchez. 

Ms. Littman, a sophomore, graphic design major from New Smyrna Beach, Fl., created material to promote the Steak & Steak Dinner & Auction, one of BGCNF's largest fundraising events. Kailey Deason, Sam Christiansen, Alex Guth, Cami McCall, Marlena Lomonaco and Stephanie Sorensen also produced design options for this event.

Mr. Sanchez-Cariello, a sophomore, graphic design major from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl., created material that will be used to promote the BGCNF Holiday Toy Drive. Seven other designers worked on this event, including Bernadette Januska, Chelsea Cutlip, Kristin Duke, Caitlin Ogburn,  Kristi Nelson, Lisa Pascucci and Marissa Donnelly.

The instructor, Natalie Stephenson, said, “I’m so thankful for the opportunity that The Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida gave our students. I truly believe that the students and our community partner had a mutually beneficial experience.”

Students presenting logo concepts during the field trip. From left to right -
Kristi Nelson, Marissa Donnelly, Caitlin, Ogburn, Lisa Pascucci, Kristin Duke,
Chelsea Cutlip, Bernadette Januska, Cesar Sanchez-Cariello.

After final presentations, one student commented, “This was my favorite project of the year!  We were working in the ‘real’ world with a client who provided specific requirements we had to meet.  I loved the experience!”

Design students partner with The Boys & Girls Club

 

Last semester, students in Design Methodologies did some amazing work with THE PLAYERS Championship Boys & Girls Club of St. Augustine. They created promotional material for two different fundraising events to benefit The Club here in St. Augustine—a Rock & Rock Bash and a Golf Classic. During a meeting with The Club’s community liaison, Jennifer Tesori, students learned about the organization’s needs, and then designed an event logo, poster, postcard, and digital banner ad. 

Design students that worked on the Golf Classic - (from left to right) Kayla Immel, Beth Kirk, Shelby O'Connor, Breanna Berry, Whitney Little, Katie Provenza, Allison Walsh

Design students that worked on the Rock & Roll Bash - (from left to right) Yaqi Huang, Katie Evans, Mallory, Bielecki, Keith Lowe, Chris Desrosiers, James Mattson

The class went on a field trip to The Club and gave final presentations there. After thoroughly reviewing each campaign, the ‘client’ chose to use Allison Walsh’s design for the Golf Classic and James Mattson’s design for the Rock & Roll Bash.

Mattson is a graphic design major from Concord, MA.

“This service-learning project is just one example of how design can be used to ‘do good’ in the community,” said Natalie Stephenson. “We were able to partner talented design students with a great organization that had a true need for creative services. Students gained valuable experience communicating with our client and developing empathy with stakeholders—stuff that’s hard to simulate in the classroom.” 

Walsh is a graphic design major from Kennesaw, GA.

In addition to the designs shown above, several other campaigns were highly regarded by our client. For example, Keith Lowe's vintage concept for the Rock & Roll bash was solid, and Katie Provenza was a strong contender for the Golf Classic.

Keith Lowe - Designer

Katie Provenza - Designer

The Director of Development for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida attended the final presentations. She was thoroughly impressed with the students’ work and wanted to continue the partnership. This semester, students in Design Methodologies will be designing promotional material for four regional fundraising events.