Announcing our 2024 Student Competition Winners

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After our virtual judging, we’ve picked the top winners in our 2024 SPD-U Student Competition! We’ll be announcing them over the next week and updating the list here. Special thanks to our judges Rachel Gogel, Emil Lendof, Alexandra Mooney, Nick Mrozowski, and Lily Qian for taking the time to review all of this year’s submissions and to our Student Competition Committee Chairs David Cooper and Josue Evilla for organizing.

This competition marked the 26th year of hosting our annual SPD-U Student Competition. After multiple rounds of virtual judging and Zoom meetings, our panel of judges carefully chose their picks from all the great student work submitted. They selected first, second, and third-place winners as well as some noteworthy entries. Click their names below to see the winning work.

Congratulations to all of our winners and to all the wonderful entries we received!

 

First Place - Design

Lucy Roberts

School: Norwich University of the Arts
Level: Third Year
Instructor: Andrew Johnson & Glen Robinson
Category: City/Regional

First Place - Illustration

Josi Svendsen

School: North Metropolitan TAFE
Instructor: Amie Mason
Category: Conceptual

First Place - Photography

Katy Alldridge

School: Norwich University of Arts
Level: Third Year
Instructor: Andrew Johnson & Glen Robinson
Category: Fashion/Lifestyle

Second Place - Design

Eden Harris

School: Norwich University of the Arts
Level: Third Year
Instructor: Andrew Johnson & Glen Robinson
Category: Sports/Adventure

Second Place - Illustration

Allison Hoyos

School: University of Hartford
Level: Junior
Instructor: Brian Lutz
Category: Conceptual

Second Place - Photography

Sarah Croibier

School: Miami Ad School
Instructor: Sarah Wood
Category: Portrait

Third Place - Design

Cat Slaymaker

School: Norwich University of the Arts
Year: Third Year
Instructor: Andrew Johnson & Glen Robinson
Category: Sports/Adventure

Third Place - Illustration

Kevin Weaver

School: University of Hartford
Instructor: Brian Lutz
Category: Editorial

Third Place - Photography

Katy Alldridge

School: Norwich University of Arts
Level: Third Year
Instructor: Andrew Johnson & Glen Robinson
Category: Fashion/Beauty

 
 

Quinn Bonney

School: State University of New York, New Paltz
Instructor: Etsuko Rosenblum
Category: Fashion/Lifestyle

Quoc Doan

School: Kutztown University
Instructor: Denise Bosler
Category: How-To

Charlie Dornbach

School: Kean University
Level: Senior
Instructor: Nancy Campbell
Category: Fashion/Lifestyle

Ruby J. Garcia

School: Kutztown University
Instructor: Denise Bosler
Category: City/Regional

Quinevere Gehman

School: Moore College of Art and Design
Instructor: Gigi McGee
Category: News

William Gordon

School: Kutztown University
Instructor: Sean Bacon
Category: Fashion/Lifestyle

Madeline Mast

School: Kutztown University
Instructor: Holly Tienken
Category: How-To

Noteworthy - Illustration

 
 

Kerly Aavik

School: North Metropolitan TAFE
Instructor: Amie Mason
Category: Conceptual

Cara McDonald

School: University of Delaware
Instructor: David Brinley
Category: Editorial

Avery Slezak

School: Pratt Institute
Level: Senior
Instructor: David Cooper
Category: Politics

Kelly Wang

School: University of Delaware
Instructor: David Brinley
Category: GIFs

Wang Xi

School: Maryland Institute of College of Art
Instructor: Andrew Haener
Category: Conceptual

Siyi Zhao

School: School of Visual Arts
Level: Senior
Instructor: Jensine Eckwall
Category: Portrait

 
 

Congratulations to the SPD-U Show & Tell Winners!

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SPD-U Show & Tell
Online Winners‘ Gallery

We are excited to announce the winners of the 2nd Annual SPD-U Show & Tell Student Competition!
There were no rules and no formulas, we just asked for students to show us their best editorial work. For the first time ever, the competition included submissions from undergraduate and graduate students while also marking the introductory of new categories that reflect SPD’s commitment to creative excellence across multiple disciplines.

Thank you to our SPD-U Student Committee members for judging the competition!
Rashida Morgan-Brown, Creative Director;
David Cooper, Illustrator/Photo Director/Educator;
Josue Evilla, Creative Director, Fortune Design;
Davian-Lynn Hopkins, Senior Designer, Pentagram; and
Nancy Stamatopoulos, Art Director/Photo Stylist/Educator

DESIGN

 
 

Sara Buzurovic

SCHOOL: Faculty of Applied Arts
GRADE: Graduated 2023
INSTRUCTOR: Milos llic, Associate Professor
INSTAGRAM: @kunkeneza

Yerin Lee

SCHOOL: School of Visual Arts
GRADE: Sophomore
INSTRUCTOR: Christian Widlic
WEBSITE: yerinlee.com
INSTAGRAM: @yrlcom

Illustration

 
 

 Patrycja Sliwowska

SCHOOL: Michael Graves College, Kean University
GRADE: Graduated 2023
INSTRUCTOR: Nancy Campbell and Trevett McCandliss, Professors
WEBSITE: patrycjadesigns.com
INSTAGRAM: @patrycjasdesigns

Hugo Wolf Grande

SCHOOL: Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)
GRADE: Sophomore
INSTRUCTOR: Jimmy Giegerich, Junior Illustration Teacher
WEBSITE: hugowolfgrande.com
INSTAGRAM: @hugondorf_

Motion Graphics / GIFs

 
 

Fabián Cárdenas

 SCHOOL: Shifta by Elisava
GRADE: Graduated 2023
INSTRUCTOR: Roger Ruppmann, Tutor TFM
WEBSITE: behance.net/FabianCardenas-
INSTAGRAM: @fabcar75

SeoYeong Hwang

SCHOOL: Savannah College of Art and Design
GRADE: Graduated 2023
INSTRUCTOR: Jay Peteranetz, Professor 
WEBSITE: seoyeonghwang.com
INSTAGRAM: @syh_art_

 
 

Announcing the Judges for the 2024 SPD-U Student Competition

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We’re excited to announce the judges for 2024’s SPD-U Student Competition!
Thanks to the following creatives for taking the time to judge this year’s competition.

 
 

Rachel Gogel

Independent Design Executive & Educator

Emil Lendof

Managing Photo Editor, The Wall Street Journal

Alexandra Mooney

Design Director, Cohan Design

Nick Mrozowski

Consulting Creative Director, Oishii

Lily Qian

Illustrator

 

The 2024 SPD-U Student Competition is Now Open!

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The 2024 SPD-U Competition is now closed. Winners have been notified and the results will be posted Fall 2024.

Stay tuned for the 2025 SPD-U Competition Call for Entries!

The 2024 SPD-U Student Competition is Now Open!

Enter by Friday, March 22nd, 2024 at 5:00PM ET!

Check it out and enter in our Design, Photography, & Illustration categories!

WANT TO ENTER? GET THE DETAILS BELOW!

OFFICIAL RULES & ENTRY FORM
Download the official CALL FOR ENTRIES with the complete rules and entry form HERE!

DEADLINE
Friday, March 22nd, 2024 at 5:00PM ET
SPD must receive all student entries, completed entry forms, and payment receipts by March 22nd at 5:00PM ET.

ENTRY FEES / PAYMENT
SPD Student Members get their first 3 entries FREE! (Though student members can enter more than that...if you do, any additional entries will cost $10 each.) Please note: Even though they're free, you must register your 3 free member entries HERE.

If you're not a member but would like to join, you can purchase your SPD Student Membership and register for your 3 free member entries at the same time HERE.

Otherwise, each entry is $10.

PRIZES
The first, second, and third place winners and runners-up in Design, Photography, and Illustration will be featured online at spd.org. Second and third place winners will also receive a 20-minute portfolio review with a board member.

In addition to being featured online, first place winners will also receive the following:
DESIGN: $1,200 + Summer 2024 Mentorship
PHOTOGRAPHY: $1,200 + Summer 2024 Mentorship
ILLUSTRATION: $1,200 + Summer 2024 Mentorship

Any questions? Email us at mail@spd.org.

Download the Call for Entries here!

You can pay your entry fees online here: http://bit.ly/SPD-U

YOU MUST INCLUDE THE RECEIPT WITH YOUR ENTRY. If we cannot find proof of payment or a valid SPD Student Membership, your entries may be disqualified.

Please upload your entries here: http://bit.ly/SPDentry

Make sure to include your entry form and payment receipt with your submission as one (1) PDF. You must fill out the entry form found in the call for entries.

 
 

The SPD-U Show & Tell Competition is Open!

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Enter by Friday, October 27th at 5:00PM EST

Forget rules and forget formulas; just show us your best editorial work by entering the SPD-U Show & Tell Competition. Formerly known as the SPD-U Spotlight Competition, winners have gone on to work at publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Glamour, Men’s Health, Vice, and Esquire.

If your work is chosen by our jury of top-notch editorial design professionals, you’ll receive an awards certificate and we’ll showcase your work in an exclusive online gallery. It’s a great way to get your name and work in front of the entire SPD audience, which includes art directors with the power to hire fresh, young talent like yourself.

 

Congrats to our 2023 Student Competition 1st-Place Winner in Design!

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We're excited to wrap up our announcement of the 2023 Student Competition winners today with our 1st-place winner in Design, Aspen Gengenbacher. Congrats Aspen!

You can find links to all of this year’s winners here. Congrats to all our winners! Thanks to everyone who entered and made our judges' decision a tough one...we loved looking at your work and commend you all on your great pieces.

First Place - Design
Aspen Gengenbacher

School: Missouri School of Journalism
Level: Senior
Instructor: Tom White
Category: Fashion/Lifestyle

 
 

Special thanks to Rebellion Design Co. for sponsoring the
2023 SPD-U Scholarship for our Design winner!

 
 

Congrats to our 2023 Student Competition 1st-Place Winner in Illustration!

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We're sharing our 2023 Student Competition winners this week and we're happy to share our 1st-place winner in Illustration, Isabel Foley. Congrats to Isabel!

First Place - Illustration
Isabel Foley

School: University of Delaware
Level: Senior
Instructor: David Brinley
Category: Editorial

 
 

Special thanks to Heart for sponsoring the 2023 SPD-U Scholarship
for our Illustration winner!

 
 

Congrats to our 2023 Student Competition 1st-Place Winner in Photography!

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We're sharing our 2023 Student Competition winners this week and we're happy to share our 1st-place winner in Photography, Natalie Schmidt. Congrats Natalie!

First Place - Photography
Natalie Schmidt

School: University of Delaware
Level: Junior
Instructor: David Brinley
Category: Portrait

 
 

Congrats to our 2023 Student Competition 2nd-Place Winner in Design!

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We're sharing our 2023 Student Competition winners this week and we're happy to share our 2nd-place winner in Design, Kylie Mena. Congrats Kylie!

Second Place - Design
Kylie Mena

School: Kean University
Level: Senior
Instructors: Nancy Cambell and Trevett McCandliss
Category: How-To