Emily Webb, Author at BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications

Collaborative Experience Between BYU and Volunteers of America Supports Homeless Youth

Emily Webb — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 19:53:43 +0000

College of Fine Arts and Communications classes allow students to use their artistic abilities to help populations in need BYU design and art students used their time and skills to fundraise, collect clothing and teach youth and young adults at the Volunteers for America (VOA) Youth Resource Center (YRC) in Salt Lake City last fall. Students who take Design Lab, taught by Linda Reynolds, and App Creative/Critical Thinking, taught by Joe Ostraff, spend an entire semester using their design knowledge and skill to benefit the community. The classes provide a way for students to get real-world professional and leadership experience while serving alongside volunteer organizations. “We’re honored that BYU art and design students selected VOA to work with and we’re humbled by the generosity and compassion they’ve shown our clients. The students are indeed ‘difference makers’ and through art have changed and saved lives of youth experiencing homelessness,” said Cathleen Sparrow, the chief development officer of Volunteers of America Utah. For the Youth Resource Center partnership, students planned and led several different projects to work directly with the clients and support the center financially. Every student enrolled in the two classes helped teach one of six art workshops at the center. Each workshop focused on helping the clients develop a new skill and create an art project of their own. Visual Arts major Kara Smith led a workshop on screen printing T-shirts. She said the clients took the class seriously, with one client making an extra shirt for a friend who had to leave early. “They were just very involved and excited to take part and ownership in the creative process and that inspired me,” Smith said. The experience benefited the BYU students as well. Ricey Wright, another art major, said, “I believe being able to teach the process of how to make something definitely helps me become a better artist. I am able to reiterate what I know as well as learn from the individual creativity of the participants. To raise money for the YRC, the students spent a night selling art in Salt Lake City. Artists Brian Kershisnik and Gary Ernest Smith donated artwork, which the students recreated with screen printing and sold. Abby DeWitt, a graphic design student who helped with the print collective, said, “This was an awesome experience because a lot of designers were able to learn the screen-printing process. Then we were able to package, distribute and figure out how to sell a lot of these prints.” The class also hosted an all-day pop-up shop in BYU’s Harris Fine Arts Center. Each student received $100 as seed money to create a product that would demonstrate their talents and appeal to customers. “It was a little scary at first because there were rumors floating around about how much had been spent, and everyone was nervous that we wouldn’t make that much back,” said Haley Mosher, a Design Lab student. “But we ended up making a lot of money. It was a great experience for the customers, and we ended up earning a ton of money to donate to the YRC.” Mosher also led the group in charge of the clothing drive. They created branding for the drive, purposefully designing a concept that would catch the attention of students and encourage them to donate. “We were told by the Youth Resource Center that these kids want clothes that are cool because they’re going to interviews, they’re going to high school or college, they want to dress nice,” said Mosher. “We wanted to urge people to donate clothes they actually liked and actually wore. We wanted it to be more of an actively giving clothing drive.” According to Mosher, the branding appealed to BYU students. At the end of the drive, the team filled two 15-passenger vans with donated clothing for the YRC. Design major Brooke Pathakis said the class showed her how she could use the skills she learned in school to help others. “It’s good to do service, but it’s hard to find those opportunities,” she said. “I usually wouldn’t think of graphic design as ‘service,’ but it really is.” Mosher appreciated seeing the impact her work had on the YRC and its clients as well as the other students in the class. “It was a win-win,” she said. “We got to be creative in ways we don’t always get to because of class restrictions, but we also knew that our product was going to benefit the YRC.” The art and design students who participated can now add to their resume that they worked on a large-scale project to serve the community, and they better understand how to use their skills in a philanthropic context. In addition, the Youth Resource Center volunteers and staff say the partnership with the BYU classes has had a positive impact on the youth and young adults who use the shelter’s resources. “Partnering with BYU’s art and design departments has been an amazing experience for our Homeless Youth Resource Center. It started as a one-time art class and has grown into multiple projects that range from fundraising to in-kind donation drives at BYU’s campus to joining our clients in a collaborative setting. Both student and professors have inspired our clients to express themselves multiple mediums of art,” said Jayme Anderson, the Volunteer Services Director of Volunteers of America Utah. Funding for the projects came from the Laycock Center for Creativity and Collaboration and the Sorenson Legacy Foundation. The College of Fine Arts and Communications plans to continue the partnership in the future.

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New Y Digital website streamlines Utah wildfire information

Emily Webb — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 16:12:51 +0000

BYU students have set up an online information hub, organizing the flood of information on two major wildfires that have chased more than 6,000 Utah residents from their homes in recent days. Less than 24 hours after its creation, the Utah County Fire Relief Website had received more than 15,000 visitors. That’s about one new visitor every second. Y Digital Agency Manager Adam Durfee teamed up with BYU students and local volunteers to build a central hub for real-time updates on the Pole Creek and Bald Mountain fires burning just outside Spanish Fork, Utah. Finish reading “New Y Digital website streamlines Utah wildfire information” at universe.byu.edu.

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New video series uses dance to show dangers of air pollution

Emily Webb — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 15:53:28 +0000

When Keely Song moved to Utah in 2016, she was jarred by what she called the “apocalyptic” talk about air quality during the state’s notorious inversions. So when BYU announced in November it would be providing free UTA passes to students, employees and their families, the dance professor had an idea. “I wanted to create a work that motivated people — including myself, who commutes from Salt Lake City — to use public transit, while being educational and entertaining,” she said. “I didn’t understand how hazardous the air quality is on a red day, and that by limiting our emissions through carpooling, using public transit or not driving at all, we could actually greatly improve the air quality.” Continue reading on news.byu.edu.

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Digital lab lands students major clients

Emily Webb — Wed, 30 May 2018 17:50:07 +0000

Y Digital, a student-run digital- and social-media agency, opened a year ago, with the goal of preparing BYU communications majors and minors for a digital-first professional world. And over the past year, more than 60 students have done social-media analytics, social-media listening, digital-media production, content creation and search-engine marketing for such real-world clients as Pepsi Co., Marriott International, Subaru and the NBA. “The more society turns to the internet, the more we need people who are savvy with the internet and technology to produce work for companies,” said Adam Durfee, public relations instructor and the lab’s director. And he’s passionate about helping students become savvy. “We have a whole range of skills — advertising, strategic messaging, writing, pitching, design and video — we help students put together to coexist online. That great writing is nothing without great visual. That great video is nothing without great targeting. Those are the connections we want them leaving with.” Read the rest of the story on news.byu.edu.

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BYU Noteworthy Celebrates Mother’s Day with New Music Video

Emily Webb — Sun, 13 May 2018 17:17:30 +0000

The all-female a cappella group released a music video of their new arrangement of “You’ll Be in My Heart” to pay tribute to maternal love. BYU’s a cappella group Noteworthy chose to honor mothers this year by recording an all-female arrangement of the song “You’ll Be in My Heart,” originally written and performed for the animated Disney movie “Tarzan” by Phil Collins. The group had planned to do a tribute to mothers and mother figures since last year, and the timing of their most recent music video happened to coincide with the week before Mother’s Day. Keith Evans, the director of the music video and the former director of Noteworthy, chose the song “You’ll Be in My Heart” because his wife often sings it as a lullaby to their own son and he felt it was a good representation of the bond between mothers and children. “This seemed like the perfect song to use for a tribute to the gentle, nurturing presence of mothers in our lives,” Evans said. “In Noteworthy’s version, we emphasize the qualities of the song that make it feel like a lullaby to make it feel more soothing and less intense than the original version of the song.” The music video, which was primarily filmed at the Bright Building in Provo, features three generations of women coming together to welcome a new baby. Lead singer Amy Lorsch explained, “We thought the concept of showing a family of four generations in the video would help people think about their own family and the love between them.” The video was uploaded to YouTube on May 8 and already has over 17,000 views. Fans can purchase the single on iTunes or listen through Amazon Music.

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School of Communications Convocation Highlights

Emily Webb — Fri, 27 Apr 2018 21:55:39 +0000

Student speakers express gratitude for difficult paths and look forward to promising futures The 2018 convocation for the School of Communications took place on April 27, 2018. Here are some of the highlights of the event. The convocation began at 2:00 p.m. in the de Jong concert hall and was conducted by Ed Adams, dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communications. Sandra Rogers, International Vice President, served as the university representative. The first speaker, Nastassja Krupczynski, opened by expressing gratitude for the School of Communications, particularly her instructors Joseph Ogden, Adam Durfee and Robert Walz. Her remarks centered around the idea that up until this point, she and her fellow students had spent nearly their entire lives getting an education, but now their course is uncertain. They ask themselves, “Where do I go from here?” “Direction and stability are some things we as humans crave,” Krupczynski said, and pointed out that having a lack of direction is often seen as a weakness. However, “I see a lack of direction as a chance for opportunity and growth,” she said, “and we must create that direction for ourselves. We must step back and find joy in the journey.” Krupczynski’s collegiate journey began with significant confusion as she attempted to find a major that matched her goals and values. She spoke with professors from various disciplines across the university before finally meeting Robert Walz, a professor in the School of Communication, who showed her how the mission of the school aligned with her own passion for digital communication and social media. As a communications major, Krupczynski was one of the first members of Y-Digital, a student-run PR agency that gives students practical experience working for real brands. “Hard work and passion,” she said, “turned the four-student operation into a successful lab with over 30 students working for 15 local and national brands.” “I never knew my exact path…but I always knew what I wanted to accomplish. I always made sure to complete the goals I set for myself,” she concluded. “We are not here to do something, we are here to become something. Become something you can enjoy and be proud of.” Brittney Thomas, who is graduating as an account planner from the advertising program, spoke about her experience working for different brands as part of BYU’s AdLab. “My job,” she explained, “is to organically and authentically connect brands with consumers.” According to Thomas, “Brands are living, breathing things.” Every brand must create a manifesto to detail the intent of the company and how it plans to live up to that intention. If a brand fails to uphold their manifesto, disaster occurs. Thomas compared a Pepsi ad featuring Kendall Jenner ending a “Black Lives Matter” protest with cans of soda to a Jeep ad showcasing the vehicle’s off-road ability. The Pepsi ad violated the brand’s manifesto by making an unsubstantiated claim about the company’s ability to solve a problem, while the Jeep ad clearly depicted the company’s capability. Likewise, Thomas said, all people spend their lives developing their own personal manifesto. She asked the audience to consider, “What do you stand for? Is the manifesto you have been developing the one you want to be?” Thomas suffered an accident in high school that caused her to question her manifesto and her entire identity. She was rear-ended by someone who was texting and driving, and lost 70% of her lower mandible. The damage to her jaw forced her to step down from her position on the debate team, a role that she believed defined her. As her jaw deteriorated and she gave up a large part of her life, she found that she began defining herself by her injury. “I needed to restart and rediscover who I am,” she said. “My jaw continues to deteriorate, my face shape has changed three times, and I live with chronic pain, but that is not what defines me. Curiosity defines me. Passion defines me. Kindness defines me.” Thomas credits her communications major and work with the AdLab in helping her change her frame of mind and reset her life. “It took me losing myself entirely to reset and rediscover who I am meant to be,” she said. Piano performance major Hyrum Arneson played Transcendental Etude no. 11, Harmonies du Soir by Franz Liszt. He was followed by Ellen Huish, a communications major with a public relations emphasis. Huish talked about “Communicating Across Generations,” opening with a story about her great-grandfather attending BYU in 1914. Despite having a successful educational experience and serving in WWI, late in his life he felt as though he had not left any real mark on the world. Huish, a fourth-generation BYU student on her father’s side and a third-generation BYU student on her mother’s side, said that although her ancestor felt like he hadn’t accomplished much, he and paved the way for her to attend the university. However, Huish’s family legacy didn’t protect her from going through serious challenges in college, including realizing her lifelong dream of serving a mission, only to come home after two months in the field. “I came to BYU expecting my path to be a certain way, only to be pulled off course time and time and time again,” she said. She encouraged her fellow students to fulfill their role as “storytellers” by not shying away from the messiness of reality. Instead of telling “the sanitized stories we think we should be telling,” communications professionals should tell “the honest and genuine stories that truly matter,” even if those stories discuss painful topics like failure and loss. Those stories, she said, allow the audience to have more appreciation for the stories of earned victories and unparalleled joys. Huish closed her remarks by quoting the musical “Hamilton”: “There are moments that the words don’t reach.” This was one of those moments, she said. “While words fail to adequately express how I feel right now, I hope it is sufficient for me to say, thank you,” she concluded. The ceremony ended with the presentation of the graduates.

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Sarah Roberts Expanded Her World by Studying Art

Emily Webb — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 19:59:21 +0000

The Department of Art and Department of Design Convocation will take place at 8 a.m. on April 27 Sarah Roberts did not know if she would remain an art major throughout her college career. She liked to draw and had a talent for it, so she decided to major in art until she was sure it wasn’t right for her. That moment never came. “My experiences were nothing like I expected, but they were also a lot better than I hoped,” Roberts said. Roberts participated in many projects during her time at BYU that enabled her to grow as an artist and a person. One of her most memorable experiences was going off campus to learn the art of making lace from a professor’s elderly neighbor. “It was pretty magical,” said Roberts. The art major also gave Roberts the opportunity to study abroad in Morocco and Spain, which exposed her to different cultures and expanded her view of the world. Later, she visited Massachusetts and participate in a collaboration with the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum. Roberts and her fellow students took part in intensive workshops to explore the relationship between clothing and the Suffragist Movement. Student artwork inspired by the trip will be on display at the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. “These traveling experiences made peers and professors into friends and helped me see how art can operate in the world, outside of BYU,” Roberts said. The collaborative nature of the art department is one of the reasons Roberts loved her major. She said, “An art department is naturally full of passionate and diverse people, but I think ours is special because we are all invested in each other’s work and actively help each other succeed. It’s a community.” Roberts hopes the relationships she forged at BYU will remain strong after graduation. Roberts successfully completed her BFA in Art and received an art education licensure. After graduating, she does not plan to slow down. She has a solo exhibition at Finch Lane Gallery on display until June, is currently applying to art teaching positions and is considering attending graduate school in the future. “Things feel really open right now and I like that,” she said. Q&A What did you want to be when you grew up? “I wanted to be an author and illustrate my own books.” Where do you find inspiration? “I keep my eyes open, let my mind wander and spend time with other artists. I don’t really wait for inspiration.” What was the hardest challenge you had to overcome at BYU? “Overcoming anxiety and depression and finding confidence in my personal artwork.” What is your favorite snack? “Between classes, I’ll eat anything. But I did eat a peanut butter and honey sandwich every day at BYU and it always tasted like heaven.”

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BYU Folk Dance Legend Mary Bee Jensen Passes Away

Emily Webb — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 17:53:33 +0000

BYU alumna and founder of the International Folk Dance Ensemble Mary Bee Jensen passed away April 13, 2018. She was 100 years old. Mary Bee, as she was known to her family, friends and dancers, came to work at the College of Physical Education to teach square dancing before receiving her Master of Arts in Recreation Education at BYU in 1963. One of her most long-lasting and notable achievements was the formation of the International Folk Dancers in 1956. The program is the largest of its kind in the country due to Mary Bee’s willingness to fund the first international tours herself and her commitment to training the group both on and off the stage as ambassadors of the LDS Church, BYU and the United States. While under her leadership, the International Folk Dancers traveled outside of the U.S. over 20 times. In addition to international tours, Mary Bee’s students performed at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and in television performances seen in Bucharest, Moscow, Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary. Mary Bee also co-founded the National Folk Organization and served as its president after retiring from BYU in 1985. She was also a member of the Worldwide Association for the Performing Artists Board of Advisors and was the first American appointed to the World Congress as a delegate to the Council of International Organizations of Folklore Festivals (CIOFF®). She served in this position for fourteen years and received the CIOFF® Gold Award for Meritorious Service. Mary Bee’s impact on dance at BYU and the dancers she taught will not be forgotten. She leaves a legacy of dedication and love of dance through her BYU students and countless other individuals and organizations. More information about Mary Bee’s life and accomplishments can be found in BYU Magazine and on HFAC50. A memorial gathering will be held this Saturday, April 21 from 9-10:30 a.m. at Sunset Heights Stake Center in Orem located at 1260 South 400 West, followed by a funeral at 11 a.m.

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BYU Music and Advertising Student Collaboration Earns ANDY Gold Award

Emily Webb — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 17:58:27 +0000

BYU advertising and commercial music video advertisement impresses industry professionals and wins students $10,000 scholarship BYU Communications majors Chris Petersen and Seth Mollerup brought the glamour of Broadway to the dirty reality of pest control in the inventive and ANDY award-winning advertising spec spot, “Pests Do Not Mess With the Orkin Man.” The ANDYs are an international advertising competition held each year in New York City. High-profile industry professionals comprise the jury and the competition rewards campaigns that demonstrate “bravery, innovation and contagious thinking,” according to the website. The winners of the Glenn C. Smith student award receive a $10,000 scholarship as well as recognition from potential employers. The student advertising submissions are not actual campaigns created for the companies they promote, but mock commercials meant to highlight the skills of the advertiser. Petersen came up with the idea of combining musicals and advertising during his stint working freelance for a small pest control company in Spokane, Washington. He was helping produce commercials and had the idea to write a musical to promote the company, but it never panned out. The idea stuck with him. “On a study abroad this past summer Seth and I were watching the amazing and ambitious work presented at the Cannes festival in France, and we decided we wanted to try and do something crazy,” Petersen said. “That’s when I remembered the musical idea I had previously had. We decided that if we could strategically tailor the idea to Orkin’s brand history it could be a fun and fresh take on the pest control industry.” Petersen and Mollerup both have a musical background, which they drew on to shape the ad. Mollerup spent a year playing trombone at the University of Washington, and Petersen was a jazz saxophone major at Whitworth University before transferring to BYU. The two chose to parody “My Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music” for the ad. “I just had this hilarious mental image of a gruff pest technician spinning in a field just like Maria in the opening number of ‘The Sound of Music,’” Petersen said. “I really wanted to see that happen.” The story of the ad draws heavily on Orkin’s business practices and brand history. Each situation showcases an actual pest extermination service the company provides, and the video features a character named after the company’s founder, Otto Orkin, who is morally conflicted about killing animals. The ANDY’s judges approved of the decision to include a commentary on the ethics of pest control. “This is genius,” said jury member Jaime Robinson, co-founder and chief creative officer of Joan. “It’s beautiful and it shows empathy for the audience too, because killing things is really hard.” The process of creating the video showed a commitment to researching the company, understanding the pest control industry, engaging with the audience and working with other members of the College of Fine Arts and Communications. After writing the script and lyrics, finding the cast and putting together a barebones piano backtrack, Petersen and Mollerup brought their team to BYU’s Studio Y to record the vocal tracks. They worked with Justin DeLong, a senior majoring in commercial music, to direct the singers and mix the audio. DeLong also stepped in and sang one of the parts when the fifth actor dropped out. Including the commercial music program in the process gave Petersen and Mollerup access to additional talent and on-campus resources, while also allowing DeLong to participate in a multi-department collaborative project. Petersen and Mollerup also brought in BYU School of Music alum Jordan Kamalu to orchestrate the music track. Kamalu is known for writing the music and lyrics for the original BYU musical “Single Wide.” “I think our collaboration with the BYU commercial music program was invaluable,” Petersen said. “Seth and I both had a background in music before finding advertising, but what Justin and Jordan brought to the table definitely improved the quality of our production way beyond anything Seth and I could have done on our own.” Another key team member was fellow advertising student, Bentley Rawle, a junior content creator in the advertising program’s Creative Track. Rawle was the cinematographer and director of photography for the film, and his craft and skill work with the camera led ANDY judge Pete Favat, chief creative officer of Deutsch North America, to say, “The production value on this was fantastic. It’s amazing when students can show up a bunch of professionals.” With a miniscule budget and a limited timeframe, Mollerup, Petersen, and the cast and crew headed down to St. George from Jan. 5 to Jan. 7 to shoot the video. The team put in around 12 hours of work each day, and Petersen spent the next two weeks editing the ad and working with Kamalu to complete the orchestration. The hard work paid off when the ANDYs jury watched the ad. “It was a smart idea for the brand, and the execution was amazing,” said Kerstin Emhoff, co-founder and president of PRETTYBIRD. “Your ability to tell a story and bring those characters to life is phenomenal.” Mollerup credits the video’s success to the sincere portrayal of the brand’s history and purpose and the inclusion of “human truths,” including the ethical implications of pest control. For Petersen and Mollerup, the purpose of creating the ad was not to receive acclaim or prizes. “We didn’t make this spot to win awards. We made it because we were passionate about the idea and wanted to see it come to life,” said Petersen. “The awards are an amazing validation of something we always believed in and we’re thrilled a lot of people are enjoying our work and reaching out to us about it. When it comes down to it, entertaining people is one of the big things that advertising and the arts is all about!” Read more about the award and the students’ experiences on BYU News.

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