Looking Back: Our 2013 Student Design Competition 2nd-Place Winner

Looking Back: Our 2013 Student Design Competition 2nd-Place Winner SPDStuComp2014-Logo.jpgTo help you brainstorm ideas for your 2014 Student Design Competition entries (get all the details here!), we're taking a look back at this past year's winners and getting some inside scoop on how they came up with their winning work and some tips for you. Today we're revisiting our second-place winning entry, so read on to hear from winner Ben Grandgenett ...



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Second Place 
BEN GRANDGENETT
 
SCHOOL: School of Visual Arts
LEVEL: Senior 
INSTRUCTOR: Leslie Steiger
CATEGORY: Entertainment

SPD-U:  What was your inspiration in creating your entry?
BEN:  My inspiration came directly from John Baldessari's work. The first illustration is a reference to his work with price stickers, and the type drew influence from his typographic paintings.

SPD-U:  What was the biggest challenge in creating your entry?
BEN:  The biggest challenge for me was in restraint. It can be very easy to over design something in an attempt to make a louder statement, but in this case I was looking for a more immediate visual response.

SPD-U:  Any advice for students entering this upcoming competition?
BEN:  Try to make work that excites you, and that you would like to see out in the world. Don't stress. Also, study and dissect the well designed magazines that are out there. By going through and considering the magazine's anatomy you start form opinions and begin to know what it is you like and do not like. Those opinions then inform your design in one way or the other.

SPD-U:  What magazines do you turn to most for design inspiration?
BEN:  New York, Colors, GQ, Bloomberg Businessweek, Apartamento, Wired

SPD-U:  What was your major while you were in school? Did you participate in any publication- or design-related campus activities?
BEN:  I majored in Graphic Design. Most of my design activities included homework, and various design lectures or exhibits that I would attend whenever I could. I had several internships during school which were all very useful experiences, and something that I would highly recommend.

SPD-U:  What are you up to now?
BEN:  I graduated from the School of Visual Arts in May, and started designing full-time for The New York Times Magazine shortly after, where I am currently working. 

You can see more of Ben's work at:  bgranddesign.com  AND  behance.net/bengrandgenett
And follow him on Twitter:  @bengrandgenett

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We'll be talking to some of our other winners in the coming weeks, plus sharing some tips and answering all your competition questions (email us at spdstudentoutreach@gmail.com), so stay tuned and get working! 
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