Pixels & Print – A Weekend to Remember

Last weekend, from March 5 through March 7, I had the honor and privilege to return to my alma mater to participate during the sixth year of a remarkable event called Pixels & Print. This Design Workshop for Social Impact is hosted by the Visual Communications Department at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. The event is a voluntary design workshop for students in the graphic design program who are eager to challenge their skills. The students get the opportunity to work with six industry professionals from across the country. Together the teams create powerful designs for a deserving organization. This year it was for a local non-profit dubbed Pass Da R.O.C.K., whose goal is to “redefine the realities of inner-city youth from desperation to hope.”

The workshop was 48 hours of intensive work. Each team participated in the brand sprints and logo designs Thursday evening. After a short rest period, Friday was dedicated to group work. Each group was then assigned a section of the rebrand and led by individual coaches. By 9:00 p.m. Saturday, the non-profit organization, Pass Da R.O.C.K., walked away with a new brand, website, merchandise designs, marketing collateral, social media, and motion graphics. I had the honor of leading Print Team 2, and they blew me away with their fantastic work ethic and creative stamina!

Receiving an invitation to give back to the place that provided me with the foundation and confidence to work in advertising and start my own agency was nothing short of rewarding or humbling. Witnessing the fire and passion within these students reminded me of the incredible environment that Syracuse fostered for me and got me, even more excited for the future of the advertising and design industry. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the students and getting to know their diverse backgrounds and learning about the different pathways they hope to take after graduation.

In my opinion, EVERY university with a communications or design program should have an event like this for students. There is no better way to teach the art of design than to fully immerse them with real clients and real industry professionals. I will treasure this experience forever! Thank you, Syracuse, for a tiring but enjoyable three days!

Sincerely,

Giavona “G” Williams
CEO, Grova Creative