Art & Design • Departmental Honors

Rebecca Heller - Bio (2020)

STUDY OF MATERIAL DESIGN AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

PROPOSAL

I am going to be completing my Bachelor of Design in Interactive and Graphic Design with a minor in Entrepreneurship in the Spring of 2020. I have completed over 100 credits and have a 3.62 overall GPA, as well as a 3.59 GPA in the Art & Design Department, which qualifies me for an honors project. I am proposing a creative exhibition of material not covered in a regular Art & Design Department course offering; a portfolio of fine art or interactive and graphic design creative work. I have always been a committed and dedicated student who goes above and beyond all requirements both inside and outside of the classroom. I have held important positions on campus, the most recent one being that of Web & Interactive Design Intern for the University’s Communications & Marketing department. I am professional and always complete my work in a timely manner, which is why I feel that I am more than qualified to complete an Art & Design honors project.

I propose creating a series of designs over the course of my senior year to explore the relationship between design and entrepreneurship. I would do this by creating original designs and having them fabricated into items that people use in everyday life such as shirts, blankets, pillows, bags, wrapping paper, shower curtains, and more. With graphic design, you usually create things for a client. I would like the opportunity to create art and design work that negates having a specific client in mind, therefore allowing complete creative freedom. I would use this opportunity to explore my own voice and my personal creative style, without having to worry about pleasing anyone but myself. As part of my research, I will be exploring noteworthy textile designers such as Lily Pulitzer, William Morris, Dora Batty, and Timorous Beasties. I will also research different historic design movements and styles such as Bauhaus, Plakatstil, Minimalism, and Art Deco, and see how I could apply those styles to my design work while maintaining my personal aesthetic.

There is a limited discussion regarding the marketing of art and design in design classes. This project would allow me to explore more of the business side of design by creating unique designs and finding ways to market them. There are so many new venues to market artwork such as Pinterest and Instagram, as well as distribute art & design work on sites such as Etsy, Redbubble, and Society6. This independent research would allow me to explore all of these new opportunities. I would be able to use my entrepreneurial skills to market myself as an independent designer on social media as well as use my design skills to have items fabricated on distribution websites. These opportunities are not available in standard Art & Design Department course offerings, which is why I would like to do this project.

CONCLUSION

At the conclusion of my project, I have created 15 unique patterns with multiple variations of each. I have had some of the designs fabricated onto products using Redbubble, but was not able to get as many pieces as I would have liked. I have achieved all the goals I set out at the beginning of the project and have made some sales! Originally I planned to display my work in person at Made in Millersville 2020, but I was able to virtually present my work via online Made in Millersville. Thank you to the Millersville Art & Design Department and to Made in Millersville 2020 for supporting my work, and special thanks to Professor Jeri Robinson-Lawrence for being my mentor during this project.

Watch the presentation on Youtube