INK – A Graphic Design Connection
INK is an online source for Graphic Design & Communications students, professionals, and anyone passionate about the visual communication industry. It was started in 2010 by two talented Salt Lake Community College Visual Art & Design alumni, Casey Kim and Nadya Bratt.
Kerry Gonzáles, Associate Professor, and Graphic Design & Communications Specialization Rep, and INK Advisor took over the site when Casey and Nadya graduated. She refers to herself as the caretaker of INK. Kerry posts stories constantly, working hard to promote and support her current students and alumni, all of whom she is so very proud.
INK encourages creative and professional growth by providing access to job information, design news, scholarships, resources, portfolio reviews and activities in an environment which creates genuine connections with other visual art students and creative professionals.
We invite everyone to follow INK!
INK SLCC
INK FOUNDING MEMBERS
Left to right: Casey Kim, Nadya Bratt, Sara Corrigan-Gibbs, Kerry Gonzáles, Danielle Gough, Jordan Gough, Peterson Timothy.
BAD DESIGN DESTROYS CONTEST
From Tenfold Creative / Colorado
“The Tenfold Collective is taking a fight against the ugliness with a Bad Design Destroys campaign. As part of this campaign they are having a (temporary) tattoo competition. It’s simple really, snap a pic of you with the tattoo, and win cool stuff… hopefully.”
In response to the contest, Alumnus Peterson Timothy sent photos and this letter:
“Upon reading about the contest, fellow design students signed up for their newsletter and sent for their free temporary tattoos. That was the easy part. Now the hard part was coming up with a clever way to use the tattoo and spread the message.
So in typical college student fashion, we waited ’till the day before to do anything about it. We compiled all our tattoos, a sticker here and there, and a few posters to top it all off. With a note to the Tenfold Collective: Pick us please!”
AND WE WON!
Kerry and her students – Casey, Nadya, Sara, Danielle, Jordan and Peterson – received a huge box load of beautiful t-shirts, posters, decals and tattoos.
Our sincere appreciation for the talent, skill and ENTHUSIASM of these founding members and INK site managers! Kerry Gonzáles is currently the site manager.
BUT WAIT… THERE’S MORE!
Kerry Gets Interviewed!
From Associate Professor & INK Caretaker, Kerry Gonzáles:
“I had the pleasure of being featured in SLCC Magazine. Here are a few of the questions I was asked.”
Why working at SLCC matters:
The diversity of SLCC has a positive influence on helping our students learn compassion for others and responsibility for themselves. With open enrollment, more students have access to higher education and job training.
Greatest professional challenge:
Our Graphic Design students need to be ready for the workforce upon graduation. Because SLCC is a 2-year college, our students are not only in competition with students from 4-year institutions, but also with graphic designers already working in the field. As a result, the Graphic Design program is designed to be very comprehensive. We work very hard to cover as much as possible to help our students succeed. Time is always the challenge. However, our successful alumni are proof of a successful program!
Greatest professional accomplishment:
Maintaining a strong ongoing connection with Alumni! The ability to work with students from beginning through advanced capstone classes and then onto graduation and beyond, has been so rewarding. I maintain contact with over 200+ alumni and regularly invite them to be guest speakers/reviewers in my classes. When current students work directly with alumni, they can see that a career is possible. The INK website as well as the INK Shows I promote each fall showcase this alumni connection.
https://inkslcc.wordpress.com/about-ink/ink-show/
Advice for students or others:
Raising the bar is a good thing! If projects or assignments are always easy, what’s the point of taking a college class? A good project challenges the student to think critically. To succeed, students need to be passionate, problem-solvers, self-starters, persistent and reliable. They need to demonstrate responsibility and be able to handle consequences. However, the most important, or at least in the top ten of the attributes list, is the ability to maintain a good attitude. I’ve seen so many talented people fail or not progress because of their bad attitude. Conversely, I’ve seen many with average beginning skills, become very successful primarily because of a positive attitude and a willingness to keep trying and learning!
Future plans:
My plans have always been to improve the Graphic Design program as much as I can by continuing to look for educational opportunities and incorporating them in my classes. I look forward to working with the Graphic Design Faculty to actively promote and recruit potential students.
INK 
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