Fairfield-basedyouthgraphic design program organizers eye national expansion

Aug. 7—Over the past four weeks, Torres has enjoyed access to upgraded applications, which he's used to illustrate a digital poster, recreate a Radiohead album cover and produce a promotional music festival animation in a campus computer lab. Torres said he wanted to gain experience in graphic design in case it could serve as a career tool later in life.

"I see a lot more potential in myself now that I did this," he said. "Learning more new things is not easy, but the more I learn, the more I know."

Torres graduated from the program in July, receiving a certificate, computer and Adobe subscription alongside about a dozen other Bridgeport high school students to bring back home and continue honing his artistic craft. Students like Torres in other states could soon receive the same opportunity as Haddad & Partners looks to expand its youth summer program onto college campuses outside of Bridgeport and beyond Connecticut.

DJ Haddad, the founder and creative director of Haddad & Partners, said he plans to establish sites in Waterbury and New Haven next year and hopes to eventually initiate the Summer Studio program in Atlanta and Denver. Haddad said a partnership the agency sealed earlier this year with PureRED — a graphic design company that works with major businesses, like Kroger and Rite Aid — would enable the expansion through a wider network of personnel with offices and contacts in other cities.

"We're going to start early and try to find a good college that's a good fit," he said. "I think that's one of the most important things is having these kids show up on a college campus and get that experience."

Haddad also serves as the chief creative officer of PureRED, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Haddad & Partners has operated the program for three summers, last year in New Haven, to educate local high school students about graphic design programming and diversify the field of artists, who are predominantly white. Haddad said African American designers comprise about 3.5 percent of the field, trailing Hispanic and Latino designers, who account for 10 to 15 percent.

Haddad said the program has forged connections with faculty and staff from local schools, who will help recruit students who are passionate about art to apply for the program. He said applicants submit referrals from art teachers recommending their students for the program — legwork that makes a difference in communities that might lack the familiarity with or financial access to graphic design programming.

"Nobody knows that this exists," Haddad said. "It's an elusive career path I think for anybody."

—

Union distributes flyers warning of Metro-North strike

—

Here are the candidates running for office in Easton

The annual four-week course ended with a graduation ceremony recognizing the work of a group of Bridgeport high school students who had spent the past three weeks experimenting with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and After Effect to create pieces including an illustration inspired by a quote they admire, a music festival poster and an animation in addition to a digital portfolio.

Each student presented their projects during a ceremony before their parents, guest speakers, Sacred Heart faculty and Haddad & Partners staff while sharing personal details about their interest in art and graphic design.

Melanie Uribe, the president of the Connecticut chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts who helped create the annual program, said donations to the Summer Studio have increased over the years and allowed the program to invest in more professors, like Sacred Heart faculty. She said the number of graphic design agencies in the state has also blossomed in recent years as the byproduct of business ventures that have emerged from COVID-induced layoffs, which could provide more employment opportunities for a diverse array of designers.

"The opportunities are one of the things that Summer Studio is doing," she said. "(It) is just providing that support to our diverse new generations, providing them with the needs and the means to create something."

Michael Denysenko, a professor of art and design at Sacred Heart, led the Week 1 course on Adobe Illustrator, in which students created posters inspired by a mix of quotes. These posters flashed on a projector screen during the ceremony as students explained the meaning behind each.

"Music is life," one coronary-themed poster read. "That's why our hearts have beats."

"Such a pretty house and such a pretty garden," another one showing a house in an open pasture reads, quoting the Radiohead song "No Surprises."

"Not all who wander are lost," a third stated with an image of a deer standing on a straight stretch of road.

Denysenko, who got involved as a program instructor in 2021, said the Summer Studio increased the number of weekly classes from two to three this year, which afforded the students more time to identify their favorite graphic design program. He said he's noticed more students enroll in the program with graphic design experience stemming from their personal devices like tablet computers as the field continues to evolve in a digital age.

"It's a gradual progression, there was really no defining moment where I saw the change, but I'm starting to see more and more students that come in that all of the creation of their art was digital," he said.