Research, explore, develop, refine, implement – the creative process. It’s what went into the fliers passed out for the Design Department’s Spring Show; it was the vehicle for every single student’s portfolio, and it is the theme celebrated at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 21 in the University Ballroom.

The Department of Design’s Spring Show is a free event that will be boasting the best of the department’s senior and upper division level’s work in interior design, graphic design and photography. The event will be open at 10 a.m. with a reception starting a 6 p.m.

Seniors will have their own booths displaying their bodies of work, plus their senior portfolios. For senior photography major Kevin Fiscus, his table will include black and white portraits, digital photos and platinum prints, which is a photo printed in the sunlight with liquid platinum, an 18th century method.

Fiscus decided for his final semester to take advantage of the darkroom. His entire portfolio is made up of film prints. He said he is one of two photography students who decided to present their portfolios in film, not digital.

“Since day one of this semester I’ve been working on these 10 shots,” he said.

Fiscus said when he walked into last year’s design show, he was slightly intimidated and blown away at the work the students put out. He said it is the best of the best.

“All these students are getting a kick out into the real world,” Fiscus said. “It’s a great platform to really show what you’ve got.”

Senior graphic design major Joel Felix was the creative mind behind all the Department of Design Spring Show’s promotional papers. ‘Celebrating the Creative Process’ is this year’s theme. He said this is an important concept because many people tend to only see the end result, but that the process is what makes the result all the more powerful.

“I don’t think people really understand the amount of time and effort that goes into making a flawless print, an identity system or an interior of a room,” Felix said. “That is why I developed this theme for the show. It’s a celebration of that process we go through as creatives.”

Felix said the faculty has done an “excellent job” of reinforcing that process.

“We have become better designers for it,” he said.

Kyle Lamb, a junior interior design major focusing on construction design, said that many people assume interior design is the easiest major at Sacramento State, but the program is anything but easy.

“(Interior design) is a lot of fun but a ton of work,” he said.

Lamb said that the event will demonstrate all the hard work interior design students put into each project and will show students what the design program is really all about.

“My friends joke and say that all we do is look at color swatches and pick out pillows and throw them on a couch. It’s a lot more complex than people are aware of,” Lamb said.

This complexity is what Lamb said has been keeping all interior design majors sleep-deprived. Lack of sleep is another common bond that all design students share. Felix said that he can’t remember the last time he got a full night’s sleep. All those hours spent preparing portfolios will hopefully pay off. The event is not only for family and friends; it is a draw for potential employers.

Assistant graphics design professor John Forrest said the Department of Design invites alumni who have gone through the design program and have established themselves in their fields. He said it will be an excellent opportunity for students, not only to showcase their work and receive feedback on it, but to network with professionals in the industry.

Forrest said the event will not only boast individual student’s hard work, but will demonstrate to prospective students what the design program is about. Forrest said the “creative process” is what the individual disciplines (graphic design, interior design and photography) share.

“We talk to high schools and community colleges to give prospective students the opportunity to see what they would be doing if they were to study one of these disciplines,” Forrest said.

Students aren’t the only ones who are excited to show off their work. For professors, much of the students’ accomplishments are also their own. Assistant professor and photographer program coordinator Nigel Poor, worked on the committee organizing the event. Poor said this is the fifth design event she has been apart of and is always impressed with the outcome. She said last year that 700 hundred people attended.

Poor said students always worry their work isn’t good enough but said she is amazed to see what everyone comes up with. She said the event is an exciting time for seniors, many whom are displaying their work outside of the classroom for the first time.

“I love seeing all the students so excited,” she said. “We get to be proud of our students. It’s a nice celebration.”

Graduating graphic design major Amanda Chaffee will be showcasing her portfolio, which includes a 62-page book she created about an alternative, electronic band called “Depeche Mode.” Chaffee said she worked on the book throughout the semester with Forrest’s help. Chaffee said faculty members in the Department of Design support their students and for the most part share “a very symbiotic relationship.”

“The teachers aren’t just your professors – they’re your friends and mentors, helping you every step of the creative process,” she said.

Chaffee said that creating the book was hard work but she would love to work in a publishing company, creating covers and interiors of novels.

For every senior working on his or her portfolio, this event, in many ways, is the first step in the process of finding a dream job. For Fiscus, he said he wants his camera to tell him where to work, dabbling in fashion, commercial and photojournalism. Felix said he wants to freelance as a graphic designer in Sacramento. For Felix, however, the process for him has always been more interesting than the result.

“I have grown to see the beauty in the unrefined and how a simple sketch on a napkin, as the inspiration comes, can turn into something really refined.”

Adina Zerwig can be reached at [email protected]