The Graphic Design Student Office provides professional design services for local community organizations and university departments, giving students the opportunity to gain valuable, real-world experience and build their portfolios. Students selected to participate in GDSO learn communication skills by interacting with fellow designers, clients, printers, and professionals. They are introduced to
the problem-solving and collaborative situations they will encounter in future professional activities. Through these interactions, students receive first-hand experience with professional practices in graphic design. GDSO projects have won awards from the American Advertising Federation, the International Design Awards, and the American Graphic Design Awards (GD USA Magazine) and have been featured in the Print Regional Design Annual. Students who are interested in joining GDSO go through a selection process that involves a portfolio review and job interview. Also, students who show talent and potential in the classroom environment can be recruited by their professors to submit portfolios to GDSO. Students are selected not only for their graphic design skills but for their people skills, their teamwork capabilities, and their eagerness to participate and learn. GDSO participation usually begins with volunteer work and progresses to a work study job or internship for which class credit is available. For more information about the Graphic Design Student Office, contact Kitty Pheney, director of new initiatives at the LSU School of Art, at [email protected].
