Student Competition
01.15.15
#TBT: SPD Throws It Back to 2012 Student Competition Winner T. Leclaire
As part of SPD's 50th Anniversary celebration, we're looking back at our past Student Competition winners (see galleries of past winning work here on the blog). A few of them were kind enough to speak with us about what they've been up to since their wins and how the competition affected them. In 2012 as part of our 14th Student Competition, Taietsaronsere Leclaire won the 2nd place prize AND an Honorable Mention for his work as a student at Parsons The New School for Design under instructor Urshula Barbour (see T.'s award-winning work below as well as in the link here).
We recently caught up with T. amidst his busy days as a freelance art director and designer, working currently with J. Crew among others. Read on to hear about his career so far...
Image above: Invites to the fall/winter 2013 menswear collection show for rag & bone
T.'s 2nd-place 2012 winning layout (at top) and his Honorable Mention layout (bottom).
(Click image for larger view.)
SPD-U: What are you currently up to and how can you best describe your day-to-day?
T.: I'm a Freelance Art Director & Designer. I work within advertising and fashion, evenly within print and digital.
Identity, branding and art direction for Kaleidoscope Concepts.
SPD-U: What do you consider the greatest achievements thus far in your career?
T.: To simply do what I love to do, and for the work not getting monotonous.
rag & bone web design
(Click image for larger view.)
SPD-U: What advice would you give someone trying to get into the industry now?
T.: To not pigeonhole yourself and to keep an open mind with work. I came into publication design with the intent to never work in digital. Looking back, I can see how ridiculous that was.
Secondly, to try and participate in all industry-related events and competitions. It's the gateway to good networking.
Cover design for Tyrant magazine.
(Click image for larger view.)
SPD-U: Anything further you'd like to add?
T.: Congrats to the Society of Publication Designers! Looking forward to what the next 50 years brings.
You can see more of T.'s work here:
PORTFOLIO: tleclaire.com
Be sure to check back in with us every so often this spring for more galleries of past Student Competition work, and every Thursday for more Throwback Thursday interviews with past winners. And get the details on how to enter this year's competition here!
#TBT series produced and edited by Jamie Feld and Alyssa Clare Hoersten
