Congrats to our 2015 1st-place Student Competition Winner!!!

We're super excited to wrap up our announcement of winners from our 2015 Student Design Competition today with our 1st place winner -- and recipient of the first-ever Mitch Shostak Award -- Mary Kate Henry. Her prizes include $2,500, inclusion in our Pub 50 SPD Annual, invitation to our SPD Awards Gala and a summer design internship here in NYC! Click through to see her complete design and a short Q&A with her...

First Place and Recipient of the Mitch Shostak Award*
 
MARY KATE HENRY
SCHOOL: Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA
LEVEL: Junior
INSTRUCTOR: Elaine Cunfer
CATEGORY: News magazine (This category required the use of a numerical "50" in the headline to honor SPD's 50th Anniversary!)

SPD-U: What was your inspiration in creating your entry?
MARY KATE: My professor mentioned that it was the 50th anniversary of "The Sound of Music," and I immediately had ideas for this topic. It went along with the "50 Questions" category perfectly.

SPD-U: What was the biggest challenge in creating your entry?
MARY KATE: I have always loved Julie Andrews, so making one of the classiest, kindest women in the world look like a villain was by far the biggest challenge.
(Editors note: Why did she have to make Julie Andrews a villain, you ask? Cause that was our supplied dek/subhead that students were required to use for this category.)

SPD-U: Anything you learned or advice to share for students entering future SPD Student Competitions?
MARY KATE: I would suggest developing your concept, and then doing the design work. I had a handful of concepts that I wanted to work with, so I would choose one at a time and look at tons of reference. Take the time to study some really well-designed magazines, make sure you are showing your work to different people for critique frequently, and be open to new ideas. 

SPD-U: What's your major/field of study? And do/did you participate in any publication- or design-related campus activities throughout your college years?
MARY KATE: I'm currently studying Communication Design with concentrations in graphic and interactive design. Besides classes, I am involved with the Kutztown University Graphic Association where I help set-up design-related events within our major. I helped coordinate this year's Designation where students design for non-profits for 24-hours straight. I also work on-campus as a student designer, I am a "font fellow" -- a mentor -- to a freshman in my major, and I attend the annual Hackathon in my area with my classmates.

Find Mary Kate online:
WEBSITE:  behance.net/marykatehenry
TWITTER:  @_marykatehenry
INSTAGRAM:  @marykatehenry


*What's this all about?
This year, our top prize is the first-ever Mitch Shostak Award, given to honor Mitch Shostak. A dear and dedicated friend of SPD, Mitch passed away on June 25, 2014. The former SPD board member had worked at numerous publications before opening Shostak Studios in 1993 where he continued to produce volumes of work for a number of clients. Mitch was widely respected as one of the country's leading publication designers. Committed and passionate in his teaching at the School of Visual Arts and mentoring in his own design studio, Mitch inspired his peers as well as many new generations of designers and art directors. We dedicate our top Student Design Competition prize to him in remembrance of his life and work. 

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While that wraps up our top 6 winners, we're not done! We'll be featuring all our non-winning finalists in the next few weeks, so stay tuned. And don't forget, if your entry didn't win, you can still enter it and any other editorial design pieces you've created this year in our SPD-U Spotlight.

See all the 2015 Student Design Competition winners here and get details on the competition rules here.

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