Friday, March 27 @ 5:30pm

The AU Design Show is an annual exhibition celebrating outstanding student work across digital, print, motion graphics, foundation, and mixed media. It’s a juried event featuring projects selected by the panel of accomplished design professionals.

This year the AU Graphic Design Show is trying something new! For the first time, our exhibition features a pilot selection of invited alumni work, sharing the spotlight with the juried student projects. It is exciting to bring alumni voices back and highlight the many directions design careers can take. Huge thanks to:

• Ross Nover
• Tate Strickland
• Erik Jacobsen
• Asha Newsom
• Brigitta Blair
• Bryan Innes
• Liz Calka
• Alexandra Law

Well, come join us at the reception! But also the list of the selected student work can be found here.

So glad you asked! We have invited some truly amazing professionals to select your work this year.

• William Colgrove, an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at RIT and a founder and the Chief Experience Officer of Threespot, a digital strategy and design firm. He is a graduate of RIT with a BFA in Graphic Design and an MFA in Electronic Media Design.William’s work has been recognized by prestigious competitions and publications, including Communication Arts, Graphis, HOW, One Show Interactive, Print, and the Webby Awards. His professional speaking engagements have run the gamut, from AIGA National to Creative Mornings to several sessions at SXSW Interactive, on topics such as life as a creative and managing challenging personalities, of which he is undoubtedly one.
• Katty Huertas, currently an art director at The Washington Post, she is a multidisciplinary artist born in Colombia and based in DC. She holds an MFA from MICA. Her work explores identity, folklore, and double standards, among other subjects. She likes combining analog and digital mediums including painting, digital drawing, and animation. In 2023 she completed a 30-foot mural as part of Noma in Color at the MBT in Washington, D.C.She is a 2026 DC Arts and Humanities Fellow.
• Alice Packard, a proud American University Graphic Design program alum, class of 2017. She is a design system consultant who specializes in Figma library architecture. Before design systems, she did design operations, was a dedicated prototyper on a UX research team, and designed logos and illustration assets at a small DC design studio. Alice shares her knowledge on how to build excellent Figma components on her blog, and strives to be developers’ favorite designer on the team. Alice worked with a variety of clients including FiscalNote, Garner and Marriott.

Absolutely! While RSVP's a greatly appreciate and help us prepare better, we are happy to see you stopping by unplanned.

The reception is held on Friday, March 27, from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM at the Katzen Art Center Rotunda, American University.

Yes you can! The show will be on view for a full week after unti March 30th.

Yes, paid parking is available in the Katzen Arts Center garage. Please enter from Massachusetts Avenue and follow signs.

Yes! The show includes award announcements for best-in-category projects, as selected by a panel of esteemed judges.

You bet! Light refreshments will be served during the reception.

The show was made possible through the hard work and dedication of AU’s graphic design students in GDES 396 Special Topics couse, who led the branding, exhibition design, and event planning.