Congratulations to this year’s holiday design winner, graphic design major Egann Roberge ’21 for the holiday video and second-place winner, ceramics major Orlando Plagata ’22 for the holiday card.

Egann and Orlando were tasked with creating a holiday video for their Motion Design course, taught by Nancy Sepe, adjunct professor for the School of Arts & Sciences and senior graphic designer for the Office of Marketing & Communications. All students in the class submitted videos to the Office of Advancement, and Egann’s submission was selected as the winner. His design will be featured on Colby-Sawyer College social media and will be included in a holiday email sent out to more than 10,000 people. Orlando’s video will be used as a still image for the holiday card President Sue Stuebner sends this year.

Inspired by vintage mixed media, Egann’s video showcases a picturesque environment full of texture and personality. He worked in Photoshop to create the background and bring in characters from old photographs, then transitioned to After Effects to add in movement. Since the Motion Design class was his first time working with animated graphics, Egann spent at least 10 hours working on this project. By the end, he was able to evoke a warm and tender feeling that made his video stand out and land a winning spot.

Art has always interested Egann, but it wasn’t until his junior year that he decided to major in graphic design. He was previously undeclared and considered majors such as environmental science and sociology. Inspiration from his friend Amelia and the diversity of jobs in graphic design helped Egann decide. Now he can finally see a future for himself in this field.

Egann said, “There's so much you can do that I'm not quite sure what I'll be doing after graduation. Right now, I want to be in a profession that makes me happy and challenges me. I want to love what I do and feel fulfilled by it. I want to have a positive impact on people's lives through design.”

Orlando spent most of his time working in Adobe Illustrator once it was decided that his design would be used as a still image. As a ceramics major, Orlando hadn’t worked with Adobe programs until last year, but he’s starting to feel comfortable with graphic design now, especially after spending about 20 hours on this project.

Orlando decided to major in ceramics because he enjoyed working with clay and was inspired by his high school teacher. He hopes to find enough success to pursue art full-time, whether that be in ceramics or graphic design. In the future, Orlando sees himself creating art for a company or starting his own business.

“Winning this contest meant a lot. Last year, I would have never pictured myself in a position to even be a contender for the contest. It makes me feel like my work and creativity is being pushed in the right direction, but I know I still have a lot of work to put in,” said Orlando.

The Office of Advancement commissioned graphic design major Jacob Cammett ’21 to create a holiday card for their office. Jacob has been using Photoshop since he was 13 and he fell in love with the creative process in high school. After realizing he wanted to pursue graphic design professionally, Jacob joined his local vocational school. He was eager to learn even more and came to Colby-Sawyer to grow his skills as much as possible.

Jacob says, “Being selected means to me that my work is good enough for actual clients and makes me even more excited to join the workforce.”

Jacob’s work will be used by Advancement in their emails and marketing. The holiday videos by each student in the Motion Design class are being featured on CSC Alumni social media throughout the month of December. As the winning entry, Egann Roberge’s video will be featured on the final day: Christmas.