Design Streak started in 1981 when a gifted student came and asked how she could get professional experience. Tannura scouted for graphic design projects locally and at the University, and as the program grew from two students to 30 to 40, she made it part of the academic program. Now I serve as the art director of a small business as well as a teacher, said Tannura. We typically limit Design Streak to 10 or 11 upperclass students who are ready to work professionally with clients. Design Streak is responsible for the Town of Normal identity and Illinois State s Homecoming logo for the past two years.
Assignments take two to three weeks and students work either individually or in teams.
It s not unusual for one student to start a project and another to finish it, just like in the real world, she said. We do between six to ten projects each semester, and everything leaving Design Streak is professional. The students meet with clients, present multiple designs, draw up contracts, assign a job number and post the numbers in a book. A time frame and price is agreed upon with the client, and my students get to work. They learn about getting bids and estimates for printing, establishing a rapport with the client, asking the proper questions and presenting the finished product.