Typography assignments in two of Jayna Conkey’s graphic design classes at Western Nevada College morphed into her students’ posters becoming an art exhibit presented by the Capital City Arts Initiative.

1. Typography assignments in two of Jayna Conkey’s graphic design classes at
Western Nevada College morphed into her students’ posters becoming an
art exhibit presented by the Capital City Arts Initiative.
The posters created by eight students will be on display in the “Graphics
Extraordinaire 2021” exhibit from Sept. 27 through Dec. 3 at the Community
Development Building (more commonly known as the Brick). Students who
designed the posters are Ayla Charles, Diana Estey, Jacob Flynt, Kelly
Kiesow, Jennifer McKenzie, Angel Natividad, Isela Rodriguez and Dylan
Sliger.
“The work in this exhibit was created by WNC students enrolled in online
graphic design courses during COVID,” Conkey said. “They should be
complimented for their creativity while working under those conditions. The
high quality of their work speaks to their dedication and reflects the solid
foundation they learned from their previous course work in the Graphic
Design program.”
Conkey’s students in the intermediate graphic design course were tasked
with creating posters in Helvetica, Bodoni, Alphapipe, Futura and Caslon
fonts.
“The purpose of this project was to expand creative typography and design
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2. approaches while showcasing the history of a typeface,” she said. “Every
Diana Estey’s colorful poster on the Futura typeface is part of the “Graphics Extraordinaire”
collection that will be shown at the Brick from Sept 27 through Dec. 3

3. font (typeface) on any given computer was designed by someone —
probably hundreds of years ago. For this assignment, students were required
to choose a typeface, then research its history. Next, they created a poster
that had to include a biography and image of the type designer, as well as a
dynamic display of the typeface’s elements (uppercase, lowercase,
numerals, glyphs and punctuation).
Conkey’s advanced graphic design class created the Milton Glaser and Jan
Tschichold posters as tribute to some of the most noted designers in the
graphic design profession.
“They were required to research designers and, after choosing one, create a
poster reflecting the designer’s style — without simply copying their work,”
Conkey said. “While researching, they had to ask themselves what
characteristics made that designer’s work so unique — what was their ‘claim
to fame?’ An understanding of these ideas helped them create visually
interesting designs, echoing the work of Milton Glaser and Jan Tschichold.”
The quality and creativity of the posters has impressed CCAI Executive
Director Sharon Rosse.
“The Initiative is delighted to present this excellent work — these weren’t
easy assignments,” Rosse said. “Professor Conkey’s lessons challenged the
students and they definitely rose to the occasion.”
The Brick is located at 108 E. Proctor St. It is open to the public from 8 a.m.
to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.