Schools

Unified Graphics Students Have Designs on their Futures

Washington Park High School graphic design students are exploring their creative side while using their talents to develop real skills they can use in future careers.

Students in the Printing and Graphic Design class at Washington Park High School aren't just exploring their creativity, they're sharpening skills that will carry some of them forward into their future.

Teacher Jeff Bergman's first hour class is a mix of second, third and fourth year design students. Around the perimeter of Room 165 at Park is a line of iMacs and there are a number of iPads for students to use as well. Bergman got the funding for the iPads and some graphic software programs in part by having students design and print t-shirts and posters in class that are sold as Park Spirit Wear. Students also so work for local businesses and other schools throughout the district.

"The district does fund our program and we get some federal support as well, but to keep up with programs and equipment, we have to do fundraising," Bergman told Patch on Wed., Feb. 1 when we visited his class as part of the national recognition of the role technology plays in the classroom.

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Governor Scott Walker issued a proclamation to underline the importance computers, software and other technology in the classroom and beyond.

Right now, the class is working on designs for the 2012 Career and Technology Awareness Day. They also designed the 2011 shirts and poster, and samples of their work for other events crowd the large bulletin board above some of the computers.

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"It's the perfect opportunity to introduce kids to professionals and professors to help them maybe develop that plan for their future," Bergman said of the event.

And kids don't have to be fantastic artists with pencil and paper to find their place in this class and succeed. Alejandra Esparza-Castro knows she isn't the best at drawing, but she enjoys finding different elements and then using programs like Illustrator and Photoshop to create something completely new.

"I like this class because we're allowed to explore a lot of different things," she said.

Paul Oemig is a senior and in his third year of Bergman's class. who hopes to combine photography with a career in the ministry after college. He's also working as an apprentice at Unified's central office, a job Bergman held, too, when he was a student at Park.

"I want to pursue photography even further because the business is still growing," Oemig said.

He's still figuring out colleges, but is already operating a photography and design business outside of school. He showed us several samples of buttons he's designing and hopes to sell as well as posters he created for the district's annual Transition Day for parents of children with special needs.

Senior David Hugasian is hoping to hear soon from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He plans to major in game art and graphic design. He doesn't have a solid career path worked out just yet, but imagines he'll have to move out to the East Coast to fully pursue anything in gaming and design.

"The jobs are out there," he explained. Still, he's working on his computer skills at the same time he's working on his technique on paper.

Bergman says he wants his students to ultimately design and publish an ebook to supplement the traditional textbook for the class because the differences between the 2000 and the 2010 editions are not drastic enough to put in a purchase order for the costs, about $90 each.

"This way, the book is a fluid document that can be updated quickly and more easily," he said. Right now, Bergman's class is the only one with iPads that stay put. Students do share with each other, but since the tablets were paid for using money raised by the design students, they stay in the classroom.

What's always surprising for Bergman is that even though the kids all have the same assignment, like the technology awareness day project, the results are as individual as the student.

"Just look around and you'll see," he said. "Everyone has their own idea for what the shirt and the poster could look like. Isn't that great?"


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