We love our interns!

Alan Hernandez-Aguilar, one of four interns from our Graphic Design program, had some nice words for us as the year ended:

"A year full of joy, learnings, and unforgettable people. I grew so much as a designer, creatively and professionally. I know there is still a lot that I have to learn before I can fly solo, but this was a HUGE stepping stone for me. Thank you to everyone in the marketing department and to the other interns, I don't think I could have asked for a better group of people to help me begin my journey into the crazy professional world of graphic design."

Alan, plus fellow interns Melissa Harder, Jennifer Messinger and Nicole Worthington produced an amazing body of work in their "Department Banners" project during our 50th Anniversary year.

Goodbye, Eloise!

Our hard-working, talented writer, Eloise Holland has left our marketing team to accept a position at Oregon Humanities. It’s a job with broader responsibilities in fund raising and communications, and working in the humanities is closer to her lifelong interests in literature.

We’ll miss her. Here she is at her farewell party last week.

Unintended Consequences

Last summer, we developed a plan to promote our new presence in Newberg. There were not many ways to get out the word about the fall classes, so we had to be creative. One of our ideas was to do some outdoor advertising, and that usually means public buses, since there are so few billboards available. We quickly realized our familiar Tri-Met program wouldn’t work, since they don’t serve Newberg—but they are served by Yamhill Valley Transit. The bad news was that they didn’t sell ads on their buses. However, they were interested in doing so.

So, our ad buyer, Mary Wallberg of Maverick Media, got Yamhill in touch with Lamar Advertising, who handles Tri-Met’s ad sales and production. They worked out a deal, and soon Chehalem was in the ad business!

Next, we designed a “full wrap” for the bus, colorfully announcing that PCC is now in Newberg. We’re in temporary quarters there until we open our new, bond-funded facility this October. All was well until we got a call from our colleagues in our Parking and Transportation office, telling us that students in Newberg were getting on that bus, thinking it would take them to the Sylvania Campus. Dohhh! I should have anticipated this.

Our marketing specialist, Jessica Dornfeld, worked out a good solution: lettering by the door saying, “Thank you for riding Yamhill Valley Transit. This bus does not go to PCC.” It seems to be working, and the spotlight it puts on our commitment to this part of the college district has been so successful that we’re continuing it for another year.

Let the termites eat cake

What’s an anniversary celebration without a giant birthday cake? We’re working with the PCC Theater Arts department to construct one. When mounted on its stand, it will be about 10 feet tall, and will be a focal point at several anniversary events, starting with the September in-service.

Did I mention the hidden streamer canons? Fire in the hole!

The sacrifices we make...

In the PCC Marketing office’s research and development division, we’ve been doing some groundbreaking work in culinary branding. The approaching 50th anniversary, along with its top-secret, “diamond pride” project, has given us food for thought. As these diagnostic photos demonstrate, structural integrity is not a given, especially in our thermal wind tunnel.

PCC student creates driving safety campaign

Andrew Holman, a student in Claudia Meyer’s graphic design class, recently produced the winning design in a project for the City of Portland Transportation office and Legacy Emanuel Hospital. The task was to create a marketing campaign that could be used on a bumper sticker, billboards, etc.

Our students do great work, don’t they? We’re currently working on an amazing 50th anniversary project, employing a team of four other students who will be starting their second year of the graphic design program this fall. I’ll post some samples from that project in a few days.

Russell