In the News: Design class inspires student

When Yellow School principal Filip Hristic asked Ian Reynoso what his dream subject to teach would be, his answer was graphic design. The Newberg High School art teacher, who was hired in 2009, got his chance to teach graphic design I and II, drawing, digital photography and visual arts during the 2010-2011 school year.

While Newberg High School had a graphic design course the previous year, Reynoso hoped to expand the class and make it a more prominent option for class electives.

In addition to giving students the opportunity to express their artistic abilities, Reynoso wanted to give his students a “job.” He wanted the class to be “not just playing with fonts and photos, but actually creating art.”
“My main purpose for the (graphic design II) class is to challenge the students artistically, conceptually and professionally,” Reynoso said. “We were getting into a Photoshop project and I was trying to figure out how I could give them a job, but let them get some exposure with (the program) as well.”

After looking at his favorite design sites, Reynoso decided to give his students an opportunity to show their skills by creating school-focused computer backgrounds that could be available to download as desktops from the district’s website.

“I had decided that we were going to make backgrounds for NHS, all of the small schools and all of the athletic programs here on campus,” Reynoso said.

The 14 students were each assigned three subjects to work on individually. It was the students’ responsibility to get the coach or principal’s input for their design as well as undergo a critique from their peers and Reynoso to further improve their designs.
The coaches, principals and even other teachers said they were excited about the opportunity to work with the students. Included was the football coach, who explained to the athletes and design students the different elements he thought would be essential to the designs.
“To get those 14 kids artwork out into the community and have people be really pleased with what was going on was pretty fun for me,” Reynoso said.

Not only did Reynoso’s class make an impact on the community by promoting school spirit through art, but it also inspired students to take their knowledge to the next level.

Reed Allen, a recent graduate, plans to continue studying graphic design at Portland State University.

“He had never taken anything like it before, but thought it was interesting,” Reynoso said. “At first he seemed to be struggling with some of the programs, but about halfway through the semester he showed that he had a very natural design eye.”

Allen displayed his art in a show and walked away with a third-place design for a poster he did for the Portland Art Institute.
“It was kind of cool to hear what people were saying that don’t know me, so they can give kind of a candid response to what they see,” he said.
The possibilities are endless for both Allen and Reynoso as they continue to expand on what they learned.
Allen said he hopes to continue to learn and see what areas of design interest him the most by creating his own jobs. He is off to a strong start.

“I’ve been talking to the managers of several bands ... while I’m in college designing posters for concerts and stuff, for free and just for experience,” he said. He hopes to get the opportunity to explore logo design, what he says is one of his weaker areas.

Reynoso also hopes to push his design talent to the next level by starting a yearlong graphic design class in the next two years. It would be a group of handpicked students that would manage design for the school district as well as local businesses.
He admits his ideas seem ambitious, but hopes to get the community involved, especially in the technology of design. Reynoso is looking to get local companies to help with printing; the favor will be returned as his students design for the community.

“I was talking to my principal today about getting to the point where the high school as a whole doesn’t outsource anything for graphic design anymore, they don’t have to go to a local company to get posters made for advertising or anything like that, they can do it all through our graphic design program,” he said.

By: Amanda Kate Winkelman, The Newberg Graphic