PDS Awards Students Prizes in ‘Career Energizer Graphic Design Contest’
During the APA International Personalization Expo in Las Vegas (Feb. 6-9), PDS Equipment hosted its third annual Career Energizer Graphic Design contest. Fifty graphic design students competed for trophies and $1,000 in cash.
PDS Equipment partnered with the Southeast Career Technical Academy to help provide print industry encouragement to 11th and 12th grade graphic design students.
“These events are to challenge the designers with different design elements that we print out on our Mimaki UV printers,” says Steve Weist, CEO of PDS East. “We have strict design requirements that have to be followed, and we make sure the students know how to use the different design elements of UV print, like matt clear, Spot gloss clear, white plates, and texture prints.”
Weist lists three reasons PDS Equipment hosts events like this:
- Growing Tech-Savvy Talent: We need tech-savvy teammates who get graphic design, and these events help us spot them. Take Nolan Martinez, the winner of our first-ever Career Energizer Event. He scored $500 and is now joining the PDS Crew. Once we get Nolan trained up, we already have a few more potential candidates ready to join PDS. Its cultivation, we are planting seeds for the future. It’s great to have a steady crop of new talent ready to work.
- Opening Doors to Opportunities: We want these students to know the endless opportunities in the print industry if they get good at graphic design. They're often way better at social media content creation than most adults. Our goal is to get them amped about the industry so that they make the most out of their time in the Graphic Design program. The opportunities are there; they just need to #gogetit.
- Helping Local Print Shops: It's not just about the students. Our events connect local printing facilities with potential employees who know graphic design. We bring in industry pros to speak with students, sharing how they got into print and why they love it. The companies that present to these students share their hiring process and what they look for when hiring. They offer tips like: try to keep your social media clean as possible if you want a real job.
“This year's contest in Vegas was a blast,” says Weist. “We got 35+ entries, 280+ voters, and both online and in-person voting on Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram. The competition was fierce, and the top three winners scored cash prizes: 1st Place $500, 2nd place$300 and 3rd $200.
“At PDS Equipment we get to do a lot of events,” he continues. “This event is a highlight for me and gets me fired up about the future. If you're thinking about teaming up with a local graphic design school, remember – you don't just find employees; you grow them. Spend some time encouraging these kids, and you might just find your next star.”
He encourages graphic design teachers that would want to be apart of the PDS Career Energizer events to contact him at sweistsr@gmail.com.
The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with In-plant Impressions. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of In-plant Impressions.
