When students take Design Studio III at CU Denver, they get a taste of what it will be like working with clients in the “real world” of digital design. When Visual Arts faculty members in the College of Arts & Media (CAM) first envisioned the class, this is exactly the experience they wanted to give the students. In addition to helping digital-designers-in-training get some resume-worthy experience, the class is also intended to benefit nonprofit organizations in the Denver community.  

The class is offered to third year digital design students in the spring semester and tasks them with solving a design-related problem for a local nonprofit. Depending on the organization, these needs can range from logo design to website design to marketing collateral. One year, the students even helped Morrison’s Dinosaur Ridge by coming up with a concept for an app that eventually came to fruition and is still in use today.  

Design Studio III Is Taught by a Professional Working in the Field 

For the past two years, the class has been taught by Lynn Mandziuk, whose resume is nothing if not diverse. Mandziuk has illustrated for big brands like the NHL and NFL, worked at a sign shop in Breckenridge, as well as helped smaller companies with web design and advertising. Her career has allowed her to work remotely at different points and enabled a penchant for rock climbing, which led her to illustration work for various outdoor industry brands and magazines.  

Mandziuk knows how to work with clients and troubleshoot design problems that often pop up—a skillset she is eager to pass on to students. An integral part of the curriculum is learning how to pitch concepts to a client, which requires the designer to stand on their own and establish boundaries. For young designers, a pain point can be that “sometimes people will try to take advantage of you because you don’t have so much experience,” says Mandziuk. Even when there is nothing nefarious on the part of the client, difficulties can arise. For instance, this year one group’s organization had some personal issues come up and the students had to navigate delays in communication and feedback on their work. Mandziuk takes on an art director role in each of these projects, offering feedback and ensuring the group is on track to meet their project deadline. 

The students of the spring 2024 class tackled a host of design issues for six local non-profit organizations. Working in small groups, each team had a leader who was tasked with delegating responsibility to team members. The teams collaborated with their respective clients throughout the semester and presented their final work at a special presentation in May.  

Organizations Assisted by the 2024 Design Studio III Class 

Manos Sagrados – is a space for creatives and artists that caters to BIPOC, femme, 2SLGBTQ+, and disabled people, “intentionally and specifically.”  Since Manos Sagrados already had a logo they liked, the student group focused their efforts on special event logos, social media post templates, a poster template, and the website, which they transitioned from a Squarespace template to a custom design. Bruce Trujillo, the founder of Manos Sagrados, said it was “really easy” to work with the students and she was pleased with the outcome of their project. 

Flamboyán – is Denver’s first Puerto Rican performing arts theater. The student group made a primary and secondary logo, designed their website using Squarespace, designed an upcoming show poster, t-shirt, social media templates, marketing collateral for an upcoming fundraising event, and animated logos for social media. “The website was incredibly boring prior to this, and the team brought a spark to it. I love the way it looks!” said Jon Marcantoni, the founder of Flamboyán. He also praised the students for responsibility, creativity, and productivity, along with their ability to take feedback well. 

Same Café – is a restaurant that serves everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. Same stands for “so all may eat.” For this organization, the students designed a logo for their catering events and for their monthly guest chef takeover events. The students also designed collateral including swag and social media posts. Executive Director Carrie Shores said “making sure that the focus was on inclusivity around our organization” was a big priority, and the students delivered.  

Greenhouse Connection Center - The center bringing together arts activism and community to drive environmental hope and community empowerment. The students assisted Greenhouse Connection Center by developing a color palette for their brand, social media templates, newsletter template, merchandise, and a website redesign. Founder Harmony Cummings gushed over the students’ efforts at the final presentation and said the team at Greenhouse is “super grateful for these students.” 

LYNX Camp – is an arts and media summer camp for high school students. Organized by CU Denver’s College of Arts & Media (CAM), the camps cater to students interested in illustration, contemporary music, animation, and film. For this group, the students designed a new logo, shirt design, lanyard design, social media templates, and included a flip book for the camp’s new brand style guide. Laura Harvey, the Student Experience Senior Coordinator for the college, was especially impressed by the brand standards for social media the students presented. 

CU Denver Accessibility Outreach Team – is tasked with ensuring CU Denver’s classes and curriculum are accessible to all students of varying abilities. The students created a logo, a series of posters designed to create awareness around ableist language, and animations the outreach team can use to further their mission.  

Mandziuk was really impressed with the 2024 cohort. She says design is a very broad field, which is reflected in the aspirations of the students in this class. After college, some want to be designers, project managers, developers, or work in marketing. The students walked away from their spring semester with relevant work to add to their design portfolios, which they can use to land those dream jobs.