CHROMA gives seniors an opportunity to share graphic designs

By KAYLA MURO Staff Writer

Running from Jan. 23 - Feb. 10, CHROMA, an exhibition showcase, displayed the work of senior digital media & design students’ work from their time at BW.

Since the beginning of the school year, the students-John Tarolla, Skylar Sakonyi, Oliver Savel, Matthew Morales, Jackie Kasai, Jaden Trivisonno, Brandon Hrnja, Lexi Prokopius, Courtney Carruthers, Lucy Cummins and Sandra Maciak – have been working in their portfolio review class to prepare for the showcase.

“All of the students put in a lot of hard work,” Kasai said. “It’s an accumulation of [everything] we’ve worked on since coming to BW.”

Through their years at BW, the students have touched all areas of graphic design including layout design, brand development, typography and many other subjects.

Each year since 2016, the program has put on an exhibition for their seniors. For 2023, the students decided on a theme of CHROMA, which the students learned about in their courses said Erica Lull, assistant professor in the art and studio department and the digital media coordinator of CHROMA.

“Chroma is a quality of color combining hue and saturation,” Lull said. “It’s something the students learn in their color theory class.”

With this accumulation of knowledge and pieces they have created, the seniors were able to develop their brand as creators. Sakonyi said she was given the opportunity to work for the Digital Marketing Center on campus, as well as the Hive Design Group.

“Graphic design is something that we’re surrounded by every day …” said Sakonyi, “You don’t realize how much it affects the way we view things until you see these pieces individually.”

Working with their fellow classmates has increased this appreciation for the art. Multiple of the students recognize their liking of a skateboard program done by Brandon Hrnja, a senior in CHROMA.

“[It] was separate from curriculum design,” Kasai said, “I think it’s really cool that they are bringing different [pieces] into the show.”

The seniors also used CHROMA as an outlet to display personal connections with their art.

Courtney Carruthers, a participant in the CHROMA design show, said that her favorite piece was BOWWOW dog packaging. Carruthers said that creating this logo was very important to her, as it depicted her dog who passed away in 2021.

At the closing reception on Feb. 10, the students had the opportunity to pass out business cards, resumes, job materials and self-promoting materials.