Ohio Governor John Kasich with winning design Aaron Roberts

CCAD-Designed Licenses and Plates Hit the Road

It was a pretty big deal when Gov. John Kasich asked CCAD to help design new driver’s licenses and license plates for the Ohio BMV. And ever since the selected designs were unveiled in November 2011, we’ve been itching to see them out in the real world.

Well, that time has come. The new driver’s license went into circulation in January, and the new plates are due to come into use as this magazine hits the mail. So watch the wallets, purses, and bumpers near you for clean, elegant new designs by CCAD’s very own Aaron Roberts (Advertising & Graphic Design 2012)!

Informal Critique Blooms on Campus

Want to get unvarnished opinions about your art? Ask your peers.

That’s the approach Fine Arts alum Erin McKenna (CCAD 2012) adopted for a student-driven critique program she started at CCAD.

During her junior year, she participated in the semester-long New York Studio Residency Program. “There were kids from all over the United States,” McKenna says. “Nobody knows anybody when you get there. We decided that on Wednesday nights we’d make dinner together and walk around the studios, giving critiques. It was at night, much more relaxing; there were no professors there. We listened to each other. I learned a lot; it was nice to have the perspective of a peer.”

McKenna liked the idea so much she brought it back to campus, organizing evening critique sessions for students during her senior year. Up to 30 participants, mainly Fine Arts majors with some from Illustration and Advertising & Graphic Design, visited studios. “I had a lot of people come up to me after they had their critique and say it was very helpful.”

“It’s still going on Wednesday nights and has even more people,” she says.

Animation students during Skype conversation

Animation Students Skype for Advice

For members of the Animation Student Collective at CCAD, professional advice is only a Skype away.

Skype, an Internet voice and video service, links the student animators to professionals, including CCAD alumni. Animation senior Rico Jackson, president and founder of the Animation Student Collective, explains: “Most of the professionals are in California because that’s where the animation industry is, the bulk of it. We can’t bring them to Ohio because that would cost entirely too much money.

“Instead, we Skype them.”

The group meets in Kinney Hall. Using a computer linked to a video projector, Jackson asks the guest animator questions; other students also can come up to the computer’s camera and pose questions as well.

Chris Oatley (CCAD 2001), a former Disney character designer who now runs an online art academy, held a session with students last semester. “Chris is a phenomenal speaker,” Jackson says.

Jackson hopes to have Skype sessions with three guests during spring semester. He says the sessions have an impact. “With Chris, a lot of people sent us messages or talked with us afterward. They said it was really inspirational. Students made some artwork right away because they were inspired.”

Students work in the MindMarket

Students Embark on Two-Year Project with Electronics Company

The CCAD MindMarket’s DesignLab is giving students the chance to dig into an extended design project with the advanced electronics company InPower.

“InPower reached out to CCAD after learning about some of the offerings CCAD has for Industrial Design,” says Cynthia Gravino, CCAD MindMarket director.  “We determined that a DesignLab partnership would best serve their needs and would provide a great hands-on opportunity for our students in a client-based project setting.”

Tom Gattis, dean of the School of Design Arts and chair of Industrial Design, stepped in to lead the project.

For the first semester (fall 2012) students conducted a comprehensive market, product, and competitive landscape analysis.

This spring, they’ll incorporate that research into a redesign of InPower’s product packaging.

InPower will continue to tap into CCAD talent throughout 2013­–2014, focusing on work to find new avenues for their products.

“As an engineering-based organization, InPower provided an opportunity to expand the types of companies we serve,” Gravino says.

“The only difference [from the real world] is we are doing it within the safe confines of the college,” Gattis says. “Students have expert guidance from faculty and can try a lot of things and really explore concepts that in a corporate setting would be a bit too risky.”

Science Chair’s Research Presented

CCAD Chair of Science Julie Posey has worked with Ohio State University’s Division of Infectious Diseases since 2010 to create a tracking profile for a specific strain of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Posey’s research studied nearly 500 positive cases of MRSA.

The resulting paper, Development of Bio-informatics Research Network for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Blood Stream Infections (BSI): A Multicenter Regional MRSA Surveillance Collaborative for Genotyping, Geocoding, and Data Collection for Outbreak Investigation, was presented by OSU researchers at the Infectious Disease Society of America conference last fall.

Alexa Carson’s holiday card design

’Twas the Season — for a Holiday Card Contest Winner

CCAD teamed up with the Columbus Partnership last year to create a new tradition — a holiday card design contest.

The Columbus Partnership is a nonprofit, membership-based organization of 49 CEOs from Columbus’ leading businesses and institutions. Its primary mission is to improve the economic vitality of the Columbus region.

“Partnering with CCAD was a great opportunity to support an incredible educational asset in our community and work with the creative student innovators of Columbus who help drive our economic growth,” said Stephen Lyons, vice president of member services and community engagement at the Partnership.

A jury reviewed 38 entries and selected Illustration senior Alexa Carson’s design.

Carson received a $1,000 cash prize, and the card, which included her name and contact info, was distributed to more than 3,000 Columbus Partnership clients and friends.

Fine Arts Faculty Member Keeps Active Practice

Danielle Julian Norton’s approach to artmaking? Two words: keep moving.

Norton, a 1999 Fine Arts alum and now an assistant professor of fine arts and graduate studies, is keeping up an almost dizzying itinerary of residencies and exhibitions in the United States and Europe.

This includes stints last fall at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, CO, and last summer at I-Park in East Haddam, CT.

A year earlier, she did residencies at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, NE, and in Dresden, Germany, under the sponsorship of the Greater Columbus Arts Council.

Her exhibition schedule last year ranged from the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio in Lancaster to the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO, to the Cynthia-Reeves Gallery at Art Miami. A show at Ohio Dominican University will have just closed as this magazine mails.

“To grow as an artist I feel it’s important to meet other artists and go outside my comfort zone.” Norton says. “Each time I go and meet a new art community and group of artists, it’s like a mini-graduate school; you learn new approaches to art-making.”

“I think it works well in the classroom,” she says. “I can give [students] real-world examples. A teacher should also be an active artist.”

Norton calls her work interdisciplinary, “a cross between sculpture, photography, and performance.”

Next on tap is I Forgot to Forget, a June 15 – July 20 exhibition she is curating at the Urban Arts Space of Ohio State University.

Students work on project for InPower through the CCAD MindMarket

It has only been about four months since the CCAD MindMarket officially launched and it is already flying strong.

The MindMarket opened in fall with ThoughtLab speaker Roger Martin and this spring will host internationally renowned retail design and branding expert Marc Gobé and his daughter, Gwenaelle Gobé.

Businesses have already tapped into CCAD talent through the MindMarket’s DesignLab. Companies range from a local electronics company InPower, Inc. to a charrette that just concluded with the Arnold Classic.

The MindMarket’s Incubator program currently has four participants taking advantage of the mentorship, business coaching, and professional services. While the Incubator tenants share a connection to CCAD, as they are alumni, their reasons for coming back vary.

Advertising & Graphic Design alumna Annie Weihrauch (CCAD 2003) started her first business in 2007, Modern Material. She eventually transitioned that graphic design-oriented company to include her love of fashion and accessories and renamed the company Rock & Royalty.

Students working in the CCAD MindMarket, photo courtesy Danielle Ford (2013)

Over the past several years, Weihrauch has been making and selling her jewelry and embellished apparel through her website and through local Columbus events. She is learning more about garment construction and buisness so she can create her own clothing line.

“I absolutely loved my time at CCAD,” Weihrauch said. “When I learned about CCAD’s MindMarket I realized it was exactly what I needed to move forward. There are a lot of other business programs out there, but they aren’t geared toward the creative mind. I am looking forward to the connections and programs provided by CCAD, while working with people who understand the importance of creative integrity.”

Weihrauch’s process at the MindMarket is just beginning. She plans on accessing mentoring, legal advice, business guidance, and using the fresh talent of CCAD students and facilities.

The legal counsel will assist her with tradmark issues she has encountered, and business mentors will help strengthen her business plan.

Illustration alumnus Anthony Weiler (CCAD 1994) started a freelance design career a few years ago, and by the end of his time in the incubator he hopes to launch a firm with a full-time design team.

Weiler’s company is IncredABLE Design. One of his current clients is Ohio State University’s IT Department

Weiler was introduced to CCAD’s MindMarket through an existing business mentor who highly recommended the incubator.

“Upon meeting with [CCAD MindMarket director] Cynthia Gravino I knew that this was going to be perfect for me and my company,” Weiler said. “I wanted a place where I can try new things out, not be afraid to make mistakes, and have access to the coaching that I needed and the facilities CCAD has to offer.”

“I am excited to see all the changes at the college since I graduated. CCAD and Columbus have a lot of energy, and are headed in the right directions with strong business focuses,” Weiler said.

Media Studies alumna Hazel Tarr (CCAD 2007) is the only current resident member of the Incubator. Her current company, Tarrka Studios, is an animation/motion picture/documentary studio.

Students working in the CCAD MindMarket, photo courtesy Danielle Ford (2013)

Tarrka Studios is dedicated to creating and producing original movies and programming that speak to the community and social consciousness as it relates to the well-being of children and pets.

“I wanted to transition my solo documentary studio to include animation,” Tarr said. “This program afforded me the opportunity to realize my dream. Having major costs such as building, equipment, and supplies and people like the interns through CCAD covered, makes the CCAD MindMarket Incubator program invaluable to anyone with a start-up or transitioning business.”

Tarr will use the business mentors available to help strengthen her business plan, and she will take advantage of the legal counsel available.

“Physically being located in my tenant space has also allowed Tarrka Studios to be introduced to various individuals within the Columbus community, thus garnering exposure for the studio and the various projects in production,” Tarr said.

Illustration alumna Maggy O’Reilly VanOrder (CCAD 2009) started O’Reilly Ink in 2007 by selling prints and drawings through Etsy, an online artisan shop.

VanOrder originally heard of the MindMarket Incubator when it was in its beta phase, through the CCAD Alumni Newsletter.

“I was going on one year of being unemployed and it seemed like a direct sign and too good to be true,” VanOrder said.

VanOrder didn’t participate in the beta program, but she kept informed as the year went on and is just now beginning to use and learn more about the services provided.

“This past December I realized I had really let go of my art and nearly lost the passion for it that I once had,” VanOrder said. “I didn’t work on selling with Etsy or seeking out freelance work, though I was now working full time again. I remembered the MindMarket and contacted Cynthia, and wouldn’t you know, they were looking for new interested people. It was perfect timing.

“I still feel like it’s a program that is just too perfect to pass up,” VanOrder said. “I definitely need a boost and someone to really push me. I also need access to someone with business sense and the resources that I wouldn’t have otherwise. I’m hoping to take my business to the level it needs to be at and eventually turn it into a full-time endeavor. I want it to be my passion and my life. By the end of my time with the CCAD MindMarket, I hope to be well my way to that self-made status, one of many founded here in Columbus, Ohio.”

Students work on project for InPower through the CCAD MindMarket

Students are tackling a big project with local advanced electronics company InPower through CCAD’s MindMarket.

“InPower reached out to CCAD after learning about some of the program offerings CCAD has for Industrial Design,” said Cynthia Gravino, CCAD MindMarket director.  “We had several meetings and determined a CCAD DesignLab partnership would best serve their needs and would provide a great hands-on opportunity for our students in a client-based project setting.”

Tom Gattis, dean of the School of Design Arts and chair of Industrial Design, stepped in to lead the student class.

“InPower originally came to us hoping to redesign the packaging for an existing product and look for some new market opportunities,” Gattis said. “We attacked it from a different point of view and realized we can do a lot more than just redesign a package.”

For the first semester (fall 2012) students conducted a comprehensive market, product, and competitive landscape analysis.

“We spent nearly the whole semester researching things like who the customers are, what motivated them to purchase, examining how the company was attacking the market and finding alternatives,” Gattis said. “The students did a tremendous amount of work and exceeded the client’s expectations.”

During the spring semester (2013) Gattis is leading the students in the physical redesign of the packaging based on the internal and external factors revealed by their research. They will explore design factors such as mood, color, typography, and texture to create the best branding and packaging for the company.

The partnership with InPower will extend throughout the next academic year, with the company tapping into CCAD talent to help discover new avenues for its products and its brand.

“One of the most interesting aspects of this partnership is that InPower is an engineering-based organization,” Gravino said. “This type of company is outside of the other industries we usually have a chance to work with and provided an opportunity to expand the types of companies we serve.”

The partnership allows students to experience a real-world situation with a client and product that are local and will use their ideas.

“This is as close as we can simulate to the real world; the only difference is we are doing it within the safe confines of the college,” Gattis said. “[Students] have expert guidance from faculty along the way, and they can take a lot of risk without the fear of getting fired or demoted. They are allowed within that context to try a lot of things and really explore concepts that in a corporate setting would be a bit too risky.”

The CCAD MindMarket offers several creative services formats through the DesignLab, from charrettes, which are intense 54-to-72 hour design challenges, to class projects lasting 16 weeks, to partnerships, which can be longer and recruit the broadest variety of CCAD students, faculty, and staff.

Roger Martin

As jobs and the economy continue to be a hot topic of national debate, the necessity of creative thinking and innovation in the American marketplace is of particular interest to artists and designers, and CCAD is bringing Roger Martin to Columbus on Sept. 28 to share his thoughts.

Best known in design circles for his book The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage, Martin was named in 2010 as one of the most influential designers in the world and in 2011 as the sixth top management thinker in the world.

Martin is the dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and an adviser on strategy to CEO’s of several major global corporations. He writes extensively on design and is a regular contributor to Washington Post’s On Leadership blog and to Financial Times’ Judgment Call column.

Martin’s presentation coincides with the launch of the CCAD MindMarket, a creative center that integrates art and design talent with business practices via business partnerships, a business incubator, and the ThoughtLab—an initiative that will recruit leaders in business and design to discuss and study the connection between creativity and economic value.

“We are so excited to bring Roger Martin to CCAD and Columbus,” said CCAD MindMarket Director Cynthia Gravino. “He is a respected leader in the business community and is seriously raising the level of debate on the idea of design thinking and its importance to our economic future. I can’t think of a better way to kick off the CCAD MindMarket, an innovative college program that connects the talent our students and alumni with the business community.”

Martin comes to CCAD, Friday, Sept. 28. After a cocktail reception at 4:30 p.m., Martin will speak at 5:30 p.m., with a Q & A session with the audience at 6:30 p.m. in the Canzani Center Auditorium. After the lecture, in CCAD’s Design Studios on Broad, Martin will do a book signing for ticket holders, tours of the new CCAD MindMarket will be available to ticket holders and the public. Also in Design Studios on Broad there will also be a free and open to the public party hosted by idUS —Columbus’ citywide celebration of innovation and design. Visit the event page for more info.

Tickets to see Roger Martin are $100 and may be purchased online. The post-lecture CCAD MindMarket tours and idUS party are free and open to the public.

Still shot from the Tech Columbus video

The new year brought the culmination of an innovative initiative that combined the talents of Columbus College of Art & Design, Tech Columbus, and Columbus State Community College, called 1492. It was a 12-week project to accelerate the creation of entrepreneurial start-ups driven by market need and opportunity into a matter of months, not years.

“1492 was a unique opportunity for the technology world, art world, and business community to come together to help businesses quickly and meaningfully get new companies up and running,” said Director of the CCAD MindMarket, Cynthia Gravino.

Part of CCAD’s MindMarket initiative program awarded five business start-ups $20,000 and 12 weeks of intensive training, coaching, advising, and mentoring.

“The development of entrepreneurialism in our community is important not only from the economic standpoint, but also so that the central Ohio region can demonstrate the unique capabilities we have here in Columbus,” said Gravino.

The program helped launch Azoti, Capstone Innovations, Churchsys, Hungerly, and Infinum Education.

In addition to advising and mentoring opportunities the start-up businesses also had access to CCAD students interns. Their social media, branding, imaging, and promotional material were all worked on by various CCAD students.

“All of the 1492 winners have decided to continue with our internship program and hire more CCAD students to help them bring their businesses to the next level,” Gravino said.

Tech Columbus filmed the inaugural project and released a video sharing the experience shortly after 1492 wrapped up.

During Family Weekend & Homecoming, alumni got a tour of the raw space that will soon house the MindMarket.

Columbus College of Art & Design is in the early stages of a new endeavor that will change how the college engages its students and alumni with entrepreneurship and the business world.

The program, called the CCAD MindMarket, will have many facets including business partnerships, charrettes, and a business incubator—which is about to enter its beta phase with a few alumni.

Only offered to CCAD alumni and students, the business incubator will assist entrepreneurs in launching their start-up companies by providing space and services that a new business owner might not otherwise have access to.

“The business incubator is designed to provide a comprehensive resource center for small, start-up businesses aimed at accelerating growth and increasing the business’s potential for long-term success by leveraging the resources at CCAD,”  said Cynthia Gravino, executive director of the MindMarket initiative. “We are able to provide physical space, basic office equipment, and office support for a fraction of what these tenants would pay if they tried to do this on their own.”

“More importantly, we will be providing our incubator tenants mentorship opportunities with industry experts, seasoned entrepreneurial artists and designers, as well as important links to the entrepreneurial community.  By having an incubator on campus, our tenants will not only have a home-base within our creative community—they will also have the opportunity to engage and embrace the energy and shared learning that is created by working with other creative start-ups and professionals. They can bounce ideas off of each other, as well as tap into the talent that is on campus.”

Incubator tenants will also have access to a network of professionals in areas outside the scope of art and design that are imperative to the success of a start-up, such as accountants and lawyers who can provide the expertise needed to navigate issues like business filings, intellectual property protection, and tax liability.

Eventually the MindMarket and its incubator program will be housed on the ground floor of Design Studios on Broad. While renovations continue on that space, the college is recruiting a select few alumni to engage in a beta test of the program to be housed in the Loann Crane Center for Design.

An email was recently sent to alumni announcing the opportunity. More than 40 alumni responded. Applications will be evaluated through December with the expectation that two beta tenants will move into their office space in early January.

During the beta phase each participant will be provided with a cubical-office space, access to meeting rooms, a computer, internet access, fax, copier, access to support personnel, and access to CCAD’s entrepreneurial support network and partners, such as TechColumbus and the Columbus State Small Business Development Center.

Since the full range of services will not be available during the beta phase, participants will be given reduced rates for their participation.  Once the full program is launched, all tenants will pay the same fees.

“By doing a beta run we can see how the program works as it is currently modeled, and we can adjust as needed,” said Gravino. “We can identify services that should be added or those that, perhaps, are not necessary.”

The incubator program is just one part of the MindMarket. Career Services is working closely with Vice President of Academic Affairs Kevin Conlon to develop curriculum that will dovetail into MindMarket-run business partnerships. In addition, plans include the development of charrettes, which will allow students to work with organizations on short-term design challenges.

“The goal,” said Gravino, “is to arm our graduates with the business savvy they need as creative professionals. Anyone who applies themselves can learn sound businesses practices. The same cannot be said of creativity—and that is what our alumni and students bring to the boardroom table.”

Members of the 1492 project sit to discuss project goals

CCAD’s collaboration in two innovative entrepreneurial events this fall has lead to a rich new appreciation of the importance of creative thinking in business development.

Startup Weekend Columbus took place Oct. 7–9, 2011 on CCAD campus. In its fifth year, it was the first time this 54-hour program was hosted on CCAD’s campus.

The program, which normally draws students, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists, had a new edge by including the creative class.

“Through Startup Weekend our students got an accelerated and intense sense of any number of considerations that impact business decisions and in turn impact design. They got to see how design contributes to business and how business influences design and how together, a company becomes more successful and their stories more impactful,” commented Cynthia Gravino, director of career services.

The program helped emphasize how closely related the creative and business processes have become.

“The weekend was not just another class exercise for students,”said Gravino. “This is a real-world experience that they can take with them as they launch their careers.”

Ten CCAD students participated in Startup Weekend Columbus, including honors students, Chavilah Bennett (senior, Advertising & Graphic Design), Lillie Templeton (junior, Advertising & Graphic Design), and Hilary Sroufe (junior, Advertising & Graphic Design); and Yiangos Panayiotou (junior, Illustration), Vincent Smigiel (sophomore, Advertising & Graphic Design), Abby Staley (freshman), Manuel Austin (sophomore, Media Studies), Michael Kroptavich (junior, Advertising & Graphic Advertising), Nikhil Nigade (freshman, Advertising & Graphic Design), Danielle Williams (sophomore, Advertising & Graphic Design), and Devin Broadnax (junior, Fine Arts).

The students worked closely with the 16 teams launching their business plans. Creatives and techies worked together to execute a successful start-up.

At the end of the weekend three of the 16 teams were chosen as the best concepts presented. They included, Source Match, DemandZilla, and UserTOS.

Similiar in some ways, 1492 is a program that accelerates the creation of start-ups in a couple of months as opposed to what would normally take a couple of years. The program is a collaborative effort among TechColumbus, Columbus State Community College, and CCAD, with support from the Ohio Third Frontier and includes money for the chosen projects.

Out of 162 applicants, 10 companies were chosen to present their ideas to a panel of judges on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Out of the 10, five were chosen to participate in an 11-week coaching program on CCAD’s campus. They will each receive a $20,000 grant and will launch a product or service in mid Jan. 2012, following the program.

The five companies selected for the 1492 program this year were Azoti.com, Capstone Innovations, Churchsys.com, hungerly LLC, and Infinum Education LLC

Azoti will serve local farmers, dairies, fisheries, distributors, co-ops, farmer’s markets and artisans by providing demand aggregation services, program management and a host of CRM solutions.

Capstone Innovations has designed and patented an adaptable interlocking pallet system made up of identical units.

Churchsys is a software service (SaaS) developed to manage all aspects of operating a church or any other institution with patrons.

hungerly LLC is a location-based mobile marketing, analytics, sales, and loyalty platform built with street truck and cart vendors in mind.

Infinum Education has developed Aviso, which allows students and instructors to collaboratively drive both student and institutional success.

During the 11-week training the start-ups cover everything from financial advice to meetings with business mentors, and brainstorming sessions on how to achieve their desired goals and results.

In addition to these training programs, the start-ups will be able to utilize a CCAD intern. The intern will be with them through the duration of the program and their initial launch.

Support from participating organization, professionals, peers, and CCAD’s creative talent ensure the participating companies with a successful product launch.

The competition, tagged 1492, is a collaboration among TechColumbus, Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD), and Columbus State Community College (CSCC) with support from Ohio’s Third Frontier.

Just prior to 1492’s mid-October deadline, CCAD also is hosting Startup Weekend Columbus, an intense 54-hour event that focuses on entrepreneurs and how to produce a product or idea from artistic, design, and product perspectives. The weekend can form the basis of a credible business.

Cynthia Gravino, director of CCAD’s Career Services office, said 1492 will help fund and coach five start-up finalists.

“The tech community recognizes the need for creative minds and CCAD is the place to go for creativity,” she said. “There is tremendous support around launching technology and medical devices companies, but often what is missing is the creative element.”

“Our students are creative, a process which doesn’t have ‘rules.’ They’re comfortable thinking outside the box and are becoming more tech oriented, so the energy and synergy are fantastic.”

Greg Pugh, director of IT Commercialization at TechColumbus, said an ideal 1492 candidate is someone who has new ideas to bring to market. “We absolutely are looking to draw on the student, faculty and alumni base of the two schools. We work with mainstream relationships and in our attempt to diversify contacts are reaching out to CCAD and Columbus State, in particular.”

“The whole idea and 1492’s reason-to-be is economic development in Ohio,” Pugh said. “Facilitating innovation means reaching out to other groups, getting their ideas, and giving people who aren’t mainstream entrepreneurs a shot at investment dollars.”

The broader base that 1492 seeks ultimately will be whittled to 10 finalists, who are selected based upon written business briefs to make formal pitches before the 1492 judging committee.

From those 10, five will be chosen to receive up to $20,000 each in startup funding, along with business coaching services to help launch the enterprises. The focus of 1492’s first effort a couple of years ago was on mobile technologies, but this time organizers will competitively evaluate any business idea.

In addition to financial assistance and mentoring, this year’s finalists will benefit from the experience of 1492′s first business launch: MobileXpeditions, founded by Mark Gilicinski.

Pugh said Gilicinski is active on the current committee and will participate in the mentoring and educational series.

“Mark rose to the top because of his passion and his vision,” said Pugh. “He communicated what he wanted to do and why.  And he did that well. He conveyed confidence that he could pull [his plan] off.”

“You talk to Mark for just two minutes and you understand the passion,” Pugh said.

The 1492 competition deadline is Oct. 12. In order for applicants to compete for the $20,000 grant, they must meet two other contingencies: supply $5,000 of their own money so that, in the end, they will have $25,000 to start their business; and secondly, commit to 12 weeks of coaching and mentoring services that will take place on CCAD’s campus beginning Oct. 15.

Pugh said finalists have to be able to commit to 12 Wednesday work sessions from 4-7 p.m. The training is purposely structured so that somebody working a regular or full-time job has an opportunity to participate. “It will be like going back to school,” he predicts.

“Starting your own company is an incredible amount of work,” Gilicinski said. He describes it as “a foolhardy exercise that can be truly rewarding,” thanks to the tools that 1492 gave him to bring his idea to reality.

Gilicinski believes “no one can get a business started without focus, deadlines, and mentoring.” He said deadlines impose a finite amount of time to demonstrate the viability of an idea, while mentoring offers opportunities to vet a company or product with others who can objectively determine if the idea is interesting and compelling. He said mentoring also limits risk.

The MobileXpeditions founder credits 1492 as giving him “critical mass of resources and focus” for his smart phone mobile apps. Gilicinski found a quick way to tell a story and created an app to share content.  For example, a zoo or museum can use the app to help visitors explore physical space or food or art or architecture.  In other words, a good description is “a docent in a pocket.”

The company has created four apps for Celebrity Cruises, available in multiple languages, to describe the art aboard cruise ships and the artists to passengers.  The product also can be used in a business-to-business application as a sales tool.

“No matter who uses our apps, it gets back to storytelling,” Gilicinski said. He describes his company as “making significant progress with successes along the way.” In the early stages he recalled asking his wife to bear with him for just “another three or four months.” Now, only two years later, he’s passionately advocating on behalf of other entrepreneurs while focusing on more successes for MobileXpeditions.

Just prior to the 1492 deadline, CCAD is hosting Startup Weekend Columbus, which also coincides with CCAD’s Family Weekend & Homecoming on Oct. 7 and 8. Startup Weekend brings together people with different skill sets—primarily software developers, graphic designers, and business people—to build applications and develop commercial cases around them.

Pugh said 1492′s deadline is timed specifically so that Startup Weekend participants can enter. The two efforts are unrelated but the relationship benefits both groups, he explained.

CCAD’s Gravino said students who participate in Startup Weekend will be encouraged to apply for the 1492 funding. “All the energy of the alumni, students, and parents will be very supportive of the entrepreneurial mindset,” she predicts.

“With Startup Weekend and 1492 counseling taking place on campus, Career Services is confident that students, faculty, and alumni will feel especially encouraged to start their own businesses and pursue their entrepreneurial dreams,” Gravino said.

Information on applying for the 1492 grant can be found at http://www.onefourninetwo.com/.

Startup Weekend Columbus can be found at http://columbus.startupweekend.org/.

A portfolio review at Directions

There was ample evidence at Directions, CCAD’s annual career fair, to indicate that more than 160 soon-to-be graduates are eager and prepared to enter the workforce.

Armed with faculty-juried portfolios, polished résumés, branded business cards, ready smiles, positive attitudes and a few cases of nervousness, the seniors and some December graduates networked with nearly 200 employer representatives in the Canzani Center.

Small, large and international companies, including McGraw Hill, American Greetings, Abercrombie & Fitch, Interbrand, Columbus Idea Foundry, LimitedBrands, and LPK, attended the April 20 career fair, which opened with a preview hour for employers to privately review student portfolios.

Cynthia Gravino, director of Career Services, said several factors indicate that the job market looks good for creative individuals. Her office currently is receiving more full-time job descriptions than it has in the recent past and salary ranges, in some cases, are $10,000 to $15,000 higher.

Kristen Macauley was the sole Fine Arts senior participating in Directions. Her burgeoning love for design compelled her to register for the annual career fair.

“It’s exciting to see interest in my work. I expected to be ignored but it has been very rewarding to describe my work and jewelry designs.” Macauley is heading to New York City after graduation for a three-month paid position with The Jones Group. During the career fair the Idea Foundry approached her about conducting jewelry workshops in Columbus.

Justin Highlander, a senior in Interior Design who is an intern at Asset Strategies Group, LLC, confessed to being a bit nervous but said his goals for Directions include getting his name circulating among potential employers and creating an impression that helps retail design and commercial design firms to remember him.

“Directions is helping me understand what companies expect from an entry-level designer,” said Highlander, who is willing to relocate and is looking at opportunities in Seattle, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. He said preparing for Directions taught him how to memorably brand himself, how to explain his work and to convey his personality. “I feel prepared for any interview in the future,” Highlander said.

Several CCAD alumni were among the employer representatives networking at Directions. Tom Studer (CCAD 1993-97), digital strategy director at LPK in Cincinnati, said he loves the diversity of projects at the event. “This is an opportunity to create interest in LPK. A job opportunity might be a year from now but it’s still important to make a memorable connection today,” he said.

Studer’s co-worker, Steve Bowling, a talent acquisition specialist at the global design agency, said he participates in Directions because he respects the talent. Bowling and Studer, who studied Fine Arts at CCAD, are especially interested in students who can cohesively story-tell across multimedia.

Interbrand’s representatives teamed up to review all the available portfolios. Jamey Wagner, creative director, and junior designers Katie Carter, Susan Burke (CCAD 2010) and Jen Rossignol (CCAD 2009), summed up their impressions by describing the students as eager, the vibe as good, and the work as strong. Both Burke and Rossignol studied Advertising & Graphic Design at CCAD.

Jennifer Chema, who describes herself as a research designer, talked to seven companies at Directions. Participating was a “no brainer,” she said. “I want to learn about people’s mindsets and to network. You learn more from interacting with people than from a website.”

One project featured in Chema’s portfolio, completed as a senior capstone project in CCAD’s Honors Program, included a redesigned federal income tax form. Jim Lutz (CCAD 1978), an instructor in Visual Communications who majored in Advertising  & Graphic Design, served as her project mentor as she researched the history of the form, its current design, gathered feedback and tested new designs.

The Advertising & Graphic Design senior said her future design work will involve “turning something negative into something positive.” Her portfolio reveals just such plans for nuclear power plants.

Director of Career Services Cynthia Gravino has the following opportunities available to alumni.

My first piece of advice to any alum looking for career help is: call me! The Career Services Office wants to see all CCAD students succeed in their careers, which is why we offer all our services to alumni as well as current students. Whether you’re looking for a new job, hiring new talent, or just need some advice, we’re here to help.

Finding a new job
If you’re looking for a new job, we can meet with you one-on-one to help you review your career goals and objectives, develop an overall strategy to identify and apply for positions that meet those goals, and prepare your application materials (cover letter, resume, and more). There are many job postings on www.ccadcareers.com, as well as additional job search resources readily available in our Career Services Office.

Going to graduate school?
We offer workshops on how to apply to grad school. We also have a graduate school resource center in the Office of Career Services with grad school catalogues and application materials. We work closely with students to develop a strategy on schools to which they would like to apply.

Need a transcript? Request one online.

Looking for interns or new hires?
Each year, CCAD hosts internship and career fairs to help our students find positions. They’re a wonderful opportunity for alumni to give back to their alma mater by offering a job or internship opportunity to current students. And rest assured, our students are prepared. All participating students in the Internship Fair and Directions Career Fair have been fully registered with our office, have had at least one one-on-one career strategy and planning meeting, and have an approved resume and cover letter.

Interested in career advice?
If you’d just like a little advice on your career path, we’ll meet with you one-on-one to go over your personal career plan and strategy. We also provide workshops and offer guidance to accessing the proper resources.

For more information about any of these offerings, please contact the Career Services Office.