WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., March 13, 2018 — Digital illustration means creating appealing designs that successfully communicate a message and West Liberty University sophomore design student Kelsey Hayden did just that as she created a design for the annual Rally for Autism held in Huntington, W.Va.

Sophomore Kelsey Hayden displays her winning design.

The competition was announced last November and Hayden’s design will grace the official t-shirt and its promotional materials for Rally for Autism 2018.

“At last a winning entry has been selected from among all the excellent choices we received this year. I am happy to inform you that Kelsey Hayden’s submission was the ‘hands down’ favorite of all the judges,” read the message that Professor Moonjung Kang happily received recently.

“It is great news. I used this design competition as a class project in my Digital Illustration class and we got a winner, in fact even the runners up were from West Liberty University,” Professor Kang said. “This made my day!”

Hayden is from Charles Town, W.Va. and plans to work in the field of marketing after commencement. Other students who received awards include: Shayla Murray (Wheeling), second place, Mikaela DeMotto (Elkins, W.Va.), third place and Matt Layton (Dallas, W.Va.), fourth place.

All West Virginia college students were invited to submit designs in the competition, which was held by the Autism Society River Cities of Huntington, an advocacy group.

“Many other West Virginian college students submitted designs including Marshall University, which graciously organizes this event every year. We are proud of Kelsey,” she said.

The competition included a blind judging system where judges didn’t know where each submission came from or who created it till after the judging was complete.

Last fall, West Liberty University changed the name of one of its art majors from Graphic Design to Visual Communication Design. The new name reflects changes in the business of branding and shows the impact of technology and its influence on design thinking.

The Visual Communications program is just one of the majors offered in the College of Arts and Communication, which includes the Departments of Journalism and Communications, Music, Theatre and Visual Art.

To learn more about the Rally for Autism, please visit rallyforautism.org.

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