The AIGA Vermont chapter presents the third annual Student Design Challenge. This competition encourages students to actively engage in design thinking and community building. Vermont students were asked to design campaigns to boost tourism, increase annual visits, lengths of stays and brand awareness for the town of Middlebury, Vt. Each entry will consist of a complete campaign that includes strategy, logo, brand development and other components to be determined by the student.

The exhibit is open the to public and debuts with a reception from 6-8  p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3 at 47 Maple St. in Burlington. "We welcome all those interested in seeing young Vermont talent and encourage you to judge for yourselves which campaign is the strongest," said Suzanne Glover, assistant professor in the Champlain College design program.  Many of the student artist will be at the opening and available to talk to. The exhibit will be on display from Feb 3-7.

A jury will award the top selected submissions from the exhibition an Adobe Creative Suite and an Apple iPad. Four runners-up will receive Communciation Arts magazine subscriptions. Judging the competition will be Steve Cook, Deputy Commissioner, Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing; Rick Machanic, Principal from Tag New Media; Chris Thompson, Curator of BCA, and EJ Bartlett, Principal, EJ Creative. The top submissions will be on display at JDK located at 47 Maple St. in Burlington.

The Student Design Challenge is sponsored by Adobe, Champlain College, Communication Arts and Jager Di Paola Kemp Design (JDK),

Glover added, "The students have eagerly welcomed the opportunity to compete and look forward to having their work displayed in the exhibition."

AIGA, the professional association for design, stimulates thinking about design, demonstrates the value of design and empowers the success of designers at each stage of their careers. AIGA's mission is to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force. Founded in 1914, AIGA remains the oldest and largest professional membership organization for design, and is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) educational institution. For more information about AIGA, please visit www.aiga.org/about.

"We are thrilled to be able to present this challenge to inspire young designers to utilize their future profession in a way that benefits the Vermont community," notes Michelle Hobbs, President, AIGA Vermont. For more information about the Student Design Challenge, please contact: Michelle Hobbs, AIGA Vermont President at president@aigavt.org

Participants are:
Jeremy Smith, Master of Fine Arts in Emergent Media, Champlain College; Emily Snyder, Senior, Champlain College; Jamie Tam, Senior, Champlain College; Rachel Dowd, Senior, Champlain College; Sarah Prak, Senior, Champlain College; Jordan LaCount, Senior, Champlain College; Devan Brancard, Senior, Champlain College; Eric Pollock, Senior, Champlain College; Kaitlyn Bouchard, Senior, Champlain College; Casey Bertrand, Junior, Champlain College; Rosie Strom, Junior, Champlain College; Kevin Potter, Junior, Champlain College; Zachary Allott, Champlain College; Taylor Menezes, Sophomore, Champlain College; Devin Carter, Sophomore, Champlain College; Sean Widman, Sophomore, Champlain College; Jessica Hopkins, Sophomore, Champlain College; Cody Mannigan, Hannaford Career Center, Middlebury, VT; and Anna Rumbough, Hannaford Career Center, Middlebury, VT