When it came time for West Virginia University Transportation and Parking to design their new parking permits, they sought out the talent of students from a senior graphic design class.

The class offered by the School of Art and Design, Studio 2453, is one in which students interact with real-world clients to apply their design practices in developing the client’s product.

“I was working with the art department regarding the addition of artwork to some of our parking areas and asked about a possible student competition for designing the parking permits,” said Eric Rosie, assistant director of parking management. “I thought of it as a way to add artwork to more than 8,000 vehicles on campus and not just have the standard Woodburn Hall-type picture on the permits.”

Rosie met with the students and went over the parking management’s requirements for the permit design. About six designs were submitted for parking management to choose from.

“They were all very good, and it was great to hear the ideas behind the designs for the parking permits,” Rosie said.

The winner of the student competition was senior graphic design major Andy Sheldon from Ambler, Pa. Sheldon used notable images in his design including the Mountaineer, Mountainlair and outline of the state.

“One of the things parking management expressed to us in our meetings was that they wanted the new permits to be more fun,” Sheldon said. “The old permits were plain and flat, and my solution was to add some texture and depth to the existing color system and to incorporate school spirit into the design.”

Rosie said Sheldon’s design stood out right away.

“It was great to work with students to help design a functional permit that will be used on the WVU campus. They have very fresh ideas and are not as afraid to push the envelope for design alternatives,” Rosie said.

Sheldon’s winning design will be displayed in vehicles campus-wide. To view other artwork of Sheldon’s, visit www.andysheldon12.com.

For more information about Transportation and Parking, visit http://transportation.wvu.edu/. For more information about the School of Art and Design, visit http://artanddesign.wvu.edu/.

-WVU-

10/08/12

CONTACT: Eric Rosie, Transportation and Parking Management
304-293-6445, Eric.Rosie@mail.wvu.edu

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