Conestoga news

October 22, 2018 7:52 AM

Graphic Design and PR students support non-profits during creative blitz

Students and faculty from Conestoga’s Graphic Design advanced diploma program and Public Relations degree program volunteered in a day-long creative blitz on October 18 to develop free design and marketing work for non-profits across Canada. The event, known as Creative Day for Social Good (CD4SG), was delivered in partnership with Capacity Canada, Alchemy Systems, Him & Her and Manulife, with support from the local creative community.

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Conestoga students present their logo designs for the KW Art Gallery at the Creative Day for Social Good reveal on October 19. The event supported 21 non-profits nationwide.

“This year we had 140 volunteers producing work for 21 non-profits and charities from Vancouver, British Columbia to St. John’s, Newfoundland,” said Alchemy creative director Terry McGuire before the project reveal on October 19. “We produced 120 to 150 projects yesterday. Congratulations to everyone who worked on them.”

Students collaborated in teams that were supported by art directors, writers and account managers and worked in two locations: the Alchemy office in Guelph hosted 17 teams, and five teams worked out of design firm Him & Her in Kitchener to produce materials for the organizations assigned to them. Teams began at 9:00 a.m. on October 18 and had until midnight to finish projects that included website redesigns, marketing materials, videos and identity designs.

The event was previously known as Createathon and served non-profits in Waterloo and Wellington regions until 2016 when the focus shifted beyond Ontario to help 12 non-profits in Fort McMurray following the wildfires that hit the community.

CD4SG now accepts applications from non-profits nationwide and continues to increase the number of organizations it supports. Last year, teams worked with 18 non-profits across Canada to deliver more than $100,000 of pro bono work.

“We’re changing lives,” said McGuire. “... and we’re making an impact.”

On October 19, teams presented their work at the Alchemy office to event partners and representatives from the 21 non-profits who either attended in person or watched the reveal online.

Organizations supported by CD4SG this year include Volunteer Canada, the Canadian Celiac Association, the Sunshine Foundation of Canada, the Fort McMurray Girls and Boys Club, and the KW Art Gallery.

Conestoga’s three-year Graphic Design advanced diploma program is recognized as one of the top design programs in the province. It employs a project-based learning approach that addresses design, digital content creation, communication, inter-personal, mechanical, technical and enhanced employability skills.

Conestoga's Bachelor of Public Relations degree program was the first to be approved in Ontario and the fourth of its kind in Canada. Graduates are prepared with critical thinking skills and the practical experience required to manage reputations, responses and relationships on behalf of their organization.