6A
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2007
FINE ARTS
Design guru addresses students
BY BETHANY BUNCH
Jeff Zwerner, graphic designer, talks at Wesco Hall on Monday evening about a project that he worked on with Nike. The image on the screen was a graphical of Nike shoes.
A guru of a design firm that works for big names like Apple and Coca-Cola delivered a hopeful message to an auditorium of fine arts students Monday night.
Jeff Zwerner, graphic designer at Factor Design firm, gave a presentation outlining the changes graphic designers are undergoing and showed examples of his work. Zwerner said graduating fine arts students at the University of Kansas have the preparation they need to be successful visual artists, but launch, renew and envision are the three areas graphic designers should focus on.
Zwerner referred to launch as the beginning of the marketing process Renewal is the time when the company updates their image as the market changes and envision is the last phase when companies look forward to future marketing and design.
"It's nice to see that KU is training their students to think critically." Zwerner said. "Everyone is looking for those kind of people and no one can find them."
His impressive portfolio included Nike Plus, a product in association with Apple's iPod Nano, and Firefly, a cell phone for kids ages 8-12 operated by T-Mobile.
"Firely showed up randomly on our door with a terrible design," Zwerner said. "We convinced them to let us redesign and eight months later it was sold to Target."
Andrea Wertzberger, associate professor in the school of fine arts invited Zwerner to speak on campus. She and Zwerner were former coworkers at Factor Design firm.
"He's the best designer I ever met." Wertzberger said. "He can make thimus glow in Photoshop."
Wertzberger worked in San Francisco at the home office of Factor Design before coming to the University. They worked together on design projects for Apple when it was in "its dark ages," as Zwerner recalls.
He said Apple, Nike and Coca-Cola are huge companies who have large graphic designer staffs. When these companies work with outside firms like Factor Design, they depend
on them to execute every job.
"Everything has to be perfect or your fired because that's how it is with Apple," he said, "Editors, proofs, printers… they have to nail it."
Zwerner recalled a time when his company failed to nail it. Last month, an Apple calendar was sent to a flagship store in Chicago with a glaring typo: January. Factor Design hurried to correct the problem but not before Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, found a copy on his desk.
"I was on a plane to New York," Zwierner said. "And I had a missed call from Apple saving, 'Jeff, you're in deep shit.'"
Gemma Bayly Overland Park
senior, said she spoke with Zwerner over lunch about a potential job opening at Factor Design.
"His firm is hiring and I really want the junior designer position," Bayly said.
Bayly said she agrees with Zwerner that the University has readied her for a career in graphic design.
"I feel absolutely prepared," Bayly said. "Students coming out of Cal Arts aren't as prepared as we are."
Kansan staff writer Bethany Bunch can be contacted at bbunch@kansan.com.
- Edited by Joe Caponio
7 PM Tuesday, Feb 27
Spencer Museum of Art Auditorium
"Part I. The Photographer and Images of Society (Seydou Keita, Malick Sidibe, and David Goldblatt)"
Spencer Museum of Art 1301 Mississippi Street Lawrence, Kansas www.spencerart.ku.edu
A reception follows in the Central Court.
7 PM Friday, March 2
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Auditorium
"Part II: Uses of the Archive (Santu Mofokeng, Tshibumba Kanda Matulu, John Akomfrah, and Raoul Peck)"
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art 4525 Oak Street Kansas City, Missouri www.nelson-atkins.org
The Murphy Lecture Series is sponsored by the Spencer Museum of Art, the Kress Foundation Department of Art History at the University of Kansas and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The lectureship was established in 1979 through the Kansas University Endowment Association in honor of former chancellor Dr. Franklin D. Murphy.
COMMUNITY
Annual event raises more than $94,000 for children's needs
The event, held during six different sessions throughout February at Royal Crest Lanes, 933 Iowa St., brought in a record high of more than $94,000 for the local non-profit organization.
BY TYLER HARBERT
Both big and little volunteers helped Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Douglas County score a strike during this year's annual Bowl For Kids' Sake fundraiser, which ended Saturday.
Becky Price, northeast regional director for Kansas Big Brothers and Big Sisters, said the final amount of money raised would probably exceed $100,000 after the online pledges are tallied.
"The event is just a thank you to the bowlers for helping us get pledges," she said. "It's important to have the event be fun so people feel thanked and appreciated and do it again next year."
Price said fundraising wasn't the only motive behind Bowl For Kids' Sake.
"Money is important, but volunteers are gold," she said.
Price said the organization was always in need of volunteers, especially males, who are at least 18 years old and have a valid driver's license. After a series of background checks, volunteers are paired with children who
"Hed been sick all that week and weekend but we already go to the bowling alley together every now and then," he said.
One volunteer, Nate Bolinger,
Pittsburgh senior, was excited to take
part in his first Bowl For Kids' Sake,
even though his little brother Jacob
couldn't make it.
have similar interests.
Bolinger said he's never had a problem finding time to spend with his little brother and finding time to concentrate on his own school work.
"As a college student, you have more free time than you are willing to admit," he said.
He said he helped the fifth-grader with his school work too.
She said some of the 630 participants in this year's fundraiser were already Big Brothers and Big Sisters volunteers.
Bowling for Kids' Sake, now in its 15th year, is a benefit for some of those volunteers who form five-member bowling teams and then solicit pledges of $125 per participant. Price said teams often raise more than that amount. All of the pledge money stays in the Douglas County organization and is used to maintain matches between adult volunteers and the children they assist who need positive mentors in their lives.
"People always want to fund new programs and new agencies." Price said. "We have to do events like this."
Price said it takes about $1,000 a year to maintain the matches between each volunteer and child. This year's fundraiser should help match about 100 children and volunteers, Price said.
details
For more information on Big Brother and Big Sister volunteering, please visit www.mentoringmagic.org
Price said volunteers could be paired with a child either one-on-one, as a family or they could also volunteer 30 minutes a week to spend at a child's school with him or her.
One other way to volunteer was to become an advocate, said Meg Hooper, public relations specialist for Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
She said advocates helped the organization in its office, with its publications and by assisting with its activities.
She said accommodating all of the 203 children who were waiting to be brought into the Douglas County program would cost about $203,000.
Kansan staff writer Tyler Harbert can be contacted at tharbert@ kansan.com.
— Edited by Katie Sullivan
Beautiful music
ethan Golub, Rhode Island senior,
composes music with an electronic keyboard
Monday afternoon at Thomas Gorton Music
and Dance Library in Murphy Hall. Golub tried to form harmony out of thoughts in his mind.
"I'd like to be a music composer for movies," he said.
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