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Features +

Feedback 12

by Peter Camburn

Thursday, May 6th marked AIGA Philadelphia's 12th (!) Feedback event. Held this year at Moore College of Art. Feedback is an annual portfolio review for seniors graduating from Philadelphia's local universities in the field of graphic design, digital media, advertising and many more visual communication majors.
 
Design professionals from the Philadelphia region give soon-to-be-graduates a chance to present their portfolios and provide them with feedback, thoughts, inspiration, and occasionally—tough love. This was the first time I was invited to participate as a Reviewer.

Feedback works something like this: Students and professionals started the evening together, mingling, catching up, sizing up, and filling up on finger food before entering Moore's Great Hall. The space was arranged with rows of 8' tables, numbered, with a Reviewer stationed at each. 50 Reviewers were scheduled to attend for approximately 150 students. Reviewers were selected by the students with whom they were to meet. Between 6:30pm and 9:00pm, students had 15 minutes to present their portfolios and receive feedback. The professional reviewers received a break during the 2.5 hours review process, giving each the opportunity to interact with nine students.

Schools represented by the 150+ students included Arcadia University, Cabrini College, Drexel University, Hussian School of Art, Millersville University, Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia University, Richard Stockton College of NJ, Rutgers University, Savannah College of Art and Design, The Art Institute of Philadelphia, Tyler School of Art, UARTS, University of Delaware, and West Chester University.

Professionals were represented by a wide range of designers including one-person design studios such as John Burns (John Burns Graphic Design), established Philadelphia firms—Warkulwiz Design Associates, Headcase Design, and Paragraph, Inc—as well as designers from the popular Philadelphia-based retailer Anthropologie. 

This was the first time I participated as a Reviewer at Feedback, and it was very enlightening. As an adjunct instructor at Philadelphia University teaching sophomore-level design students, seeing the range of talent graduating from the local design schools can be very impressive. Many of the students portfolios were meticulously crafted; packaged thoughtfully into brief-case sized presentation cases, they were exciting to review. Although I wasn't presented with digital portfolios, many students carried laptops in order to share work on-screen.

Organized by AIGA Philadelphia's education committee, Feedback was led by Dave Copestakes and Gigi McGee. Feedback continues to be one of AIGA Philly's most successful annual events. And a special thanks goes to CRW Graphics for printing our Feedback posters.

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Philadelphia Photo : Kimmel Center : AIGA Member Aryon Hoselton