Presenting a wide range of data in a fully accessible, appealing and engaging way is a tall order and four students rose to the challenge with their successful design for the 2021/2022 George Brown College Fast Facts report.
Cyan Dela Cruz-Galang, Nathan Leung and Patricia Marinay, all third-year students in the Graphic Design program, and Elisa Oh Chong, a third-year student in the Interaction Design program, worked together to design the online and PDF versions of GBC’s annual Fast Facts report. Leung and Chong designed the website element of the project while Dela Cruz-Galang and Marinay worked on the PDF. The project, which ran between April and July 2022, was part of an experiential learning initiative at George Brown’s IN Design studio.
Fast Facts contains highlights of key achievements as well as data about our community, including numbers of students and employees, percentage of international students, and financial aid figures. The students worked with George Brown employees in the communications and marketing departments, including Senior Corporate Communications Specialist Melinda Mattos who compiled the data and wrote the report.
"This group of students demonstrated excellent adaptability, problem-solving and communication skills throughout the design process and in meetings with senior leaders at George Brown,” Mattos said. “The skillful design highlights key information about the college in a way that's engaging and aligns with the GBC brand.”
Bringing the design brief to life
Leung said design briefs used in class can be “open-ended” and the Fast Facts brief was the first he’d worked on with very specific requirements and a few limitations, much like a brief you’d need to follow when working with a client outside of the school setting.
"With any sort of design project, one of the challenges is trying to understand the scope of the brief and learning and working within the set of limitations," Leung said.
“We worked well as a team to make sure we were communicating with the web team and the marketing team.”
Dela Cruz-Galang said she and Marinay faced the challenge of condensing the web design and content into a PDF version.
“Patricia (Marinay) and I were able to overcome that challenge by communicating with our team and really pinpointing the most important information and getting that done first before tackling anything else,” she said.
After many rounds of feedback and revisions, the student design team presented their work to George Brown President Dr. Gervan Fearon and Vice-President, External Relations, Communications and Real Estate Development Joe Cressy.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
Marinay plans to one day start her own business, but in the near future, she hopes to find a “nice studio to work at and learn from” after completing her program.
Dela Cruz-Galang said the Fast Facts project helped her understand how much she enjoys editorial work.
“I see myself going into this field and starting my own business,” she said. “The Fast Facts project has given me a good head start.”
Chong hopes to pursue a career in User Interface design as an in-house designer or at an agency.
“I’m open to anything as of right now,” she said.
And Leung said he loves branding and design strategy.
“I would love to work for an advertising agency or firm or studio in Toronto or Montreal,” he said.
Learn more about the School of Design
Related
Design students’ work featured at Smorgasburg Toronto open-air food festival at the waterfront
