UH design workshop offers free expertise to nonprofits

The University of Hawaii’s Graphic Design Workshop is now soliciting letters of interest from nonprofits with projects to be designed and completed during the spring term, from January to May 2012. The workshop offers professional graphic design services to nonprofits while providing an educational experience for advanced graphic design students.

In 2008, the Graphic Design Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa initiated the Graphic Design Workshop – a special studio to provide high-quality graphic design work for Hawaii nonprofits. Although the studio is only three years old, its projects already have won recognition from local, international and national competitions and publications showcasing outstanding work in graphic design.

UH’s award-winning Graphic Design Program was recently honored as one of only 50 international graphic design programs included in the new book Design Confidential: Extraordinary Design Projects from International Design Schools, edited by Lita Talarico of the School of Visual Arts in New York City and Steven Heller, past art director for the New York Times.

If your organization has a project to propose, please send a one-page letter of interest to design@hawaii.edu by Nov. 30. The Graphic Design Program faculty will review proposals during the first week of December and notify organizations with their decisions by Dec. 15.

Letters of interest should include the name of the nonprofit, the name of its contact person, mailing address, telephone number, email and website addresses, a short project description (one or two paragraphs describing the pieces that need to be designed), the budget for printing and production and the project deadline. The workshop does not accept proposals for hypothetical projects.

The workshop provides professional graphic design services to nonprofits free of charge; however, monetary donations of any amount to support the design program are welcome. The nonprofit organization is responsible for all materials, preproduction preparation, printing and final production costs.