When it comes to creating unique ideas, students at Dutchess BOCES’ Career & Technical Institute (CTI) think outside the box, or crayon box.
Graphic Arts and Design instructor Stephen Lawson tasked Jason Moffitt, a second-year student in the program, to create a coloring book centered on the different trade programs CTI has to offer both to advertise the school and to use as his senior project for the program.
“I really liked the idea, I’ve always liked to draw and he thought that my style was really good for it,” Moffitt said referring to Lawson. “I’m glad that my senior project is something that can contribute to the school overall and something that can be distributed so all kinds of people can see.”
The idea to create this unique marketing tool sprung from CTI Principal Nick Millas, who was inspired by a similar project Eastern Suffolk BOCES had on display at a conference he attended.
“I thought why couldn’t we develop something like this, but have our take on it and have our students who are very artistically inclined generate something they can be proud of,” Millas said. “It’s something a student can add to their portfolio, but also be used to market Dutchess BOCES.”
Moffitt was largely given free rein on the design and based some of the characters in the book off of his friends from the Electrical and TV & Film Production programs. He even included a self-portrait for the graphic design page.
“It was up to me how to draw each character and scene as long as it was a solid idea that related to the class,” Moffitt explained. “I tried to make every character look different as best I could.”
Working on the project gave Moffitt a good idea of what it is like to work on a graphic design project in the real world, as he had to keep track of his time, sketch out designs and stick to deadlines.
“It definitely took me some time and there were some moments where I had to remind myself to work on it,” Moffitt said. “I really enjoyed doing it.”
The book, which Millas is aiming to have completed in a month, is being marketed toward students as young as elementary school. He noted that it could be distributed to the community in many ways, including Early Childhood Education and Nursing students bringing it to their work sites to educate clients about CTI.
“We’re influencing and laying the foundation for an awareness in students who are a little bit younger,” Millas said. “I’m proud of Jason for the work that he put into it.”
Millas especially appreciates a largely blank page of the book stating, “Draw and Color What You Want to Be When You Grow Up,” allowing younger students to be creative when it comes to their future careers.
“It allows students to promote that expansion of their ideas of what they want to be when they grow up, rather than saying ‘These are all you have,’” Millas said. “Maybe it’s something that an influential person in their life does for a living that inspires them.”