Senior graphic design major Peter Bensonwon four awards, making him the only student to win so many awards for Sacramento State in the “Steal the Idea” contest hosted by Association of College Unions International, a leadership organization for promotion and marketing.

Benson won theawards for posters promoting Sac State organizations’ events.

Other contest winners included senior graphic design major Christine Jackson, who earned honorable mention for four-color posters for the band Ozomatli; Parker Scott, Sac State alumnus who won third place for his multipage publications and annual report; and junior graphic design major Peter Duong, who won third place for his two-color posters for the San Francisco International Stand-Up Comedy Competition.

Dean Sorenson, director of University Union and the Well Collaborative Services, said the Union design team submits work to this contest every year but this is the first time a student who designed for student organizations and leadership won an award.

“Our student interns and professional staff have racked up quite a collection of awards including “Best of Show’ for three years in a row,” Sorenson said. “But this is the first time that student work outside of the Union’s own design team has been submitted to ACUI for competition.”

Benson is inspired by the audience these events target, he said. Student Organizations and Leadership, the Women’s Resource Center, the PRIDE Center and the Multi-Cultural Center are all organizations for which he has designed promotional items.

“I give their ads extra attention so people can be aware of the programs put on,” Benson said. “I like combining creativity, edginess and artistry into event advertisements, it creates more excitement around the campus grounds.”

The Association of College Unions International, a campus leadership organization, created the contest and was looking for the best marketing and promotion ideas across campuses internationally.

Sorenson said Benson has brought a professional and consistent voice and raises the profile of Sac State internationally among colleges participating in Association of College Unions International.

“The Student Organizations and Leadership Office, Women’s Resource Center, and the PRIDE Center have all benefited by having this talented student graphic designer as a resource for them,” Sorensen said.

Benson has created designs for several Sac State organizations, but his passion behind marketing such events lies with his desire to bring awareness to social issues in the United States.

Last semester, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Care” campaign was organized by the PRIDE Center and Veterans Student Access Center to highlight the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. He received two awards for print advertisements, third place for one and honorable mention for the other.

“The school is inundated with fliers for organizations -it begins to blend in the social atmosphere,” Benson said. “It’s important for organizations that have great causes for minorities or underrepresented groups. I give their advertisements extra attention so people can be aware of the programs put on.”

Jackson Harris, programming and events coordinator for the PRIDE Center, said Benson’s work with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Care” brought the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender community and the armed forces community together.

“Peter’s work is not only eye-catching but it is always a multi-faceted representation of complex ideas and themes,” Harris said. “His work gets people interested in our events, but it is also fun to look at and dissect the symbolism.”

Delta Sigma Theta CARES &- an HIV/AIDS care provider in Sacramento, and the Housing Residential Life program did an event for HIV Awareness Week last year and Benson created the promotional graphics. He won first place for an event poster and third place for a print advertisement.

For this design he was inspired by the origins of HIV, the implications of the disease and how HIV spreads.

“I take the content and the general information and encapsulate it into visual metaphors,” Benson said. “My approach is to create a combination of illustrated imagery and the actual text which elaborates and informs in its own right.”

He was given honorable mentions for his promotional campaign for “Body Image Workshop” with the Women’s Resource Center.

Lindsay Brent, Women’s Resource Center coordinator, said his designs added to the success of their events and the center in amazing ways.

“His designs have not only increased the visibility of our events but it has also created a way for us to communicate with the campus in creative, thought-provoking and exciting ways,” Brent said. “Consequently leading to higher volumes of participation.”

Benson’s graphic design work has helped organizations promote events on campus, increased participation among students and brought the community together, organizations said.

Moreover, his designs encourage people to think critically about the message in the advertisements, he said.

“I treat the audience as critical thinkers who can engage with work that is not just a simple flier,” he said.

The awards came as a surprise to him since the contest was international, Benson said. He felt validated that he had moved people emotionally with his designs.

“It’ll be an archive of an important event and hopefully I was able to visually articulate some of the urge, emotion, conflict within the issue &- and portray it in a positive and informative light,” Benson said.

Mallory Fites can be reached at [email protected]