Chris Chan is hoping to use his skill at animated video to give a voice to those who might not otherwise be able to express themselves.
“It’s a medium that’s very powerful for storytelling,” Chan said. “I want to do advertising for causes that need it.”
The third-year graphic design student, as well as his classmates who make up the college’s graphic design class of 2015, was among those who gathered in the Commons March 13 to show off their art to family, friends and industry professionals. The event was called Multiply and acted as both a grad show and a way for students to meet and network with potential employers.
Chan was playing a video compilation of his work while teachers and family browsed the various displays.
While some favored animation and digital design, others opted for more unique mediums to express their creativity.
Tyler Kotsopoulos, a classmate of Chan’s, was showing off products from the clothing line he co owns, Coalition.
“I was doing this before I started at Algonquin,” said Kotsopoulos, arranging the selection of hats he had on display. “It’s come a long way since I’ve started.”
He explained that the he oversees the design process and fabric selection, while he outsources the production to a company in western Canada.
From clothing to print to animation, the students were all enthusiastic about their program and instructors, praising the low student to teacher ratio and the interest professors take in their pupils.
Julia Paddick displayed her work in a large album, with prints ranging from lifelike pencil sketches of Breaking Bad’s Walter White to digital ads for Sally Hansen nail polish.
“There are more teachers than most colleges,” said Paddick, who hopes to work in print design. “They really care about their grads.”
“All of our teachers are from the industry,” program coordinator David Bromley said. “There’s a lot of one on one, and they’re very available to the students.”
He estimates that across four sections, the largest class size might be 25 students, with the numbers dropping to around 15 by the later stages of the course.
He explained that the course has been tweaked extensively in his time at the college, to keep up with the pace of the outside world.
“We’ve changed our program a lot in the past couple years to meet industry demands.”