The New Image Professionals

Sacramento City College’s Graphic Communication and Photography departments bring forth Sacramento’s new design avant-garde

Nowadays, image is everything. Successful advertising hinges on cleverly crafted and visually stimulating multimedia campaigns. Companies and corporations pay vast sums of money to revamp their brand and appeal to customers for whom an edgy, current look is a promise of quality. Behind these stunning finished products — whether it be a catchy advertising campaign or a classy logo — are armies of creative individuals who have discovered a way to turn their passion for design into lucrative professions.

Sacramento City College offers several innovative design courses that teach students how to channel their
talent and prepare them to enter the design workforce. One such program is the Creative Agency at Sacramento City College. The Agency combines  advanced students from two classes: Graphic Communication 490 and Photography 490. Students from both classes work collaboratively with real clients to create high-quality promotional materials, multimedia advertising campaigns, up-to-date Web sites and much more. So far, the Agency’s already impressive clientele includes the UC Davis Medical Center, the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce and the Los Rios Community College Foundation — to name just a few.

The Creative Agency is a veritable design laboratory where everyone benefits. Clients who commission the Agency for their projects receive professional work at a fraction of the typical cost, explained Marquita Plomer a photography instructor who has been advising students at the Creative Agency for the past two years.

“We’re stepping into the budget they’ve established,” said Plomer, adding that, in the past, clients have also donated state-of-the-art equipment as compensation. And by having one foot in the classroom and the other one in the real world, students benefit too. “

What I love about the assignment and photography and graphic design class is the ability to take everything that I’ve learned in a school environment and apply it to a work environment,” said Cyrette Smith, a photography student who is project manager for one of the Creative Agency’s advertising and marketing campaigns this summer. “It’s really the perfect bridge between school and the real world. This opportunity to work with creative staff to learn how to foster and provide an environment of creativity while still being held to those timelines and all those demands that come in real-world situations — this class is invaluable for that.”

Andrea Diaz-Vaughn, a graphic communication instructor who also teaches GCOM 490, said that students leave the Creative Agency at Sacramento City College with not just a professional portfolio but also with solid client connections that often lead to full-time positions. In addition, the fast-paced, intensive training they receive prepares them to excel in the marketplace.

“They are doing better than other new-to-the-industry designers would because we’re putting them through boot camp,” Diaz-Vaughn explained, adding that clients have been raving about the students’ work.

The Agency at Sacramento City College is yet another example of the important role community colleges
can play in supporting the local economy, as Plomer pointed out.

“When we have students who go out in the community, who can actually be employable as the result
of the knowledge and experience that they gained in a true vocational program, then everybody wins.”
Interested in giving your brand a lift? Visit the Creative Agency at  http://theagencyatscc.com and see how they can help you improve your image!

Project: Visual identity and branding
Client: Sacramento City College
Semester: Summer 2009–present
Design: Christie Garcia, Charles Henderson, Lori Llanillo

Project: Dr. Jekyll + Mr. Hyde
Client: City Theatre
Semester: Fall 2009
Design: Lori Llanillo
Photography: Kevin Fiscus

The Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce hired us to design a web site serving as a “green” resource for their local businesses. The client was so impressed with our students, they hired one as a full-time designer.

Project: Go Green California Business Web site design
Client: Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce
Semester: Spring 2009
Design: Jenn de la Fuente, Priscilla Garcia, Vitaliy Zavorotny

Project: Logo design, marketing collateral and photography
Client: Sacramento Taiko Dan
Semester: Spring 2009
Design: John Conley, Rachel Cate, Carol Klippstein, Jessica Weber
Photography: Louise Mitchell