EDGE Class of 2011
Love Champaign / Honorable Mention : Student + People’s Choice Nominee
“Love Champaign” is a campaign to bring together the local Urbana-Champaign community and to support local businesses. Started by seventeen students over one week, this project served as a catalyst and example to the community that all you need is a few people and just a little time to start change.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s EDGE (Ethics of a Designer in a Global Economy) Class of 2011 discovered that some local residents of their college town felt lonely and desolate while others resented the University because they felt its students didn’t give back to the community. This was a startling awakening for the students who looked at their University experience as only connected to campus, when in fact, it was also intertwined with the many cultures of the local town. This realization empowered the students to create a project aimed to remind the local community and University why they all “Love Champaign.”
Professor Canniffe encouraged the students to think about design beyond the standard poster. Students created a buzz using social media, hanging recycled cloth posters and hearts throughout town, and even spraying messages in the snowbanks using stencils and food coloring. The team was featured on the radio and the local morning news.
Events were held the week of Valentine’s Day and included networking at “Real Talk, Real People,” specials at local businesses and craft events for children. Additionally, blank Valentines addressed “To Champaign,” “Love, Champaign” where placed around town for people to write messages on. At the end of the week, all of these Valentines were collected and showcased at the gallery celebration on Valentine’s Day.
The campaign was a success by starting a dialogue and uniting the community. It demonstrated that design can be more than a poster. As designers we can place ourselves in the world and create truly valuable and informed solutions that make an impact on the community.
Love Champaign on Facebook + The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
do-gooders:
Creative Director / Eric Benson
Art Director / Bernard Canniffe
Designers / Annaka Olsen, Samantha Snyder, Kathy Vanderjack, Kamil Kecki, Katy Dondzila, Bomin Kim, Aramide Odusanya, Caroline Arata, Elizabeth McMillen, Sanny Lin, Vinay Srinivasan, Brent Wagner, Nicole Hammonds, Kristy Brown, Rick Glenn, and Sylvia Uhl
Illustrator / Kamil Kecki
Photographers / Brent Hofacker and Sanny Lin
School / The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
