Student’s work gets prominent display

Graphic design student Lydia Light hasn’t even graduated yet, but her work already has been—where else?—up in lights.

Light, on track to earn her associate’s degree in May, has designed her first billboard for display on Kingston Pike atop Bearden Hill. And what began as an unpaid internship for Light at local ad agency Low + Tritt Inc. has become a designer’s job at the agency.

Light, 21, began the internship last fall. After working for about seven months—“sort of back-to-back internships of about 180 hours”—she was hired as a part-time designer and began tackling a pending assignment for one of the agency’s clients, Joe Neubert Collision Center.

She came highly recommended for the position by Communication Graphics Technology instructor Todd Duren.

“I knew Lydia had good work and a great attitude, and the client needed help right away,” he said. “Lydia really pulled it out of the fire.”

Light, who became interested in commercial art at Oak Ridge High School before starting at Pellissippi State, completed the billboard design assignment quickly, using a simple slogan in orange letters on a black background: “Dialing + Driving = Joe Neubert.”

The billboard, which also incorporated a company logotype, stayed up in the Bearden area of Kingston Pike for several weeks in late summer.

This fall, Light is working on other graphic design assignments for the agency, including mailers and point-of-purchase materials for Markman’s Diamonds and Fine Jewelry and mailers for the Heska Amuna Synagogue in Knoxville. Low + Tritt is accommodating her class schedule so she can complete her Pellissippi State degree requirements while working part time.

The Communication Graphics Technology concentration, one of four in the new Media Technologies program, has incorporated internships on a regular basis. The internships enable students to develop on-the-job skills in various forms of graphic design for work in advertising agencies, design studios and corporate marketing departments.

Besides Low + Tritt, CGT students have taken internships at HGTV, The Bingham Group and several other area firms. In their course work, students get hands-on training in three state-of-the-art Macintosh computer labs, as well as create portfolio projects in advertising design, corporate identity, page layout, typography and illustration.

The chance to take on real-world work appeals to college student Light.

“I’ve really learned a lot of the basics here and through my internship. I love the opportunity I’ve been given to continue to learn and grow as a designer,” she said.

“I enjoy working at Low + Tritt, and I hope to obtain a full-time position there when I graduate in May.”

"Inside Pellissippi" is a bi-monthly electronic publication produced by the Community Relations Office for the faculty and staff of Pellissippi State Technical Community College, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, P.O. Box 22990, Knoxville, Tennessee 37933-0990. All suggestions and comments should be sent to Julia Wood (jwood@pstcc.edu).

For past issues, visit the Inside Pellissippi Archive.