This article was originally published in the May 18, 2010 issue of AATCC News.
Student Designers Share Their Experience
The annual AATCC Concept 2 Consumer® Student Design Competition offers prizes and recognition to young designers. First prize winners in each category receive US$1,000 and a copy of Pantone's Cotton Passport. Second place winners get US$500.
The 2010 theme was Summer Bling! Students were challenged to create fabric or product designs for pool and beachwear based on color palettes from Pantone. All designs had to incorporate "bling"—any three-dimensional surface embellishments. Techniques ranged from beading and embroidery to knotting and smocking.
Four winners were selected from more than 70 entries, representing 16 different schools. Meet them now! For more photos of their work, visit the 2010 C2C competition page.
Sarah Buck Mueller
Shamanism-Spirit of the
Summer
1st Place, Fabric Design
I am currently working towards an MS in Fashion Design at Drexel University. I have a BFA in Printmaking from The Cleveland Institute of Art.
The inspiration came from a photograph of a seagull taken while on vacation
in Maine. I had a kind of a connection with this bird, who spent quite a few
quiet moments with 
me on a
cliff, so I thought it seemed appropriate for the Pantone color palette,
Shamanism.
Creating the fabric swatches was the most difficult part for me, though it ended up being the most rewarding part of the competition; to see what I created two-dimensionally take shape in three dimensions was really exciting.
Laura Jefferson
Seaside Serenity
2nd
Place, Fabric Design
This semester, I am finishing up my double major [at University of Wisconsin—Madison] in Textile and Apparel Design, and Economics, with a concentration in Textiles.
I learned
a lot about working creatively from a 
given theme, in order to provide an
original design. I also felt that I learned a lot about how to professionally
present my work on a display board.
My favorite part of the competition was coming up with the fabric designs, and thinking of ways that they could be used in final products.
Courtney Fitzpatrick
Hot Hot
Hot
1st Place, Product Design
I am pursuing Fiber Science & Apparel Design with a concentration in Product Development [at Cornell University].
My computer-aided design professor introduced it [the competition] to my classmates and me. We created our basic designs as a class assignment, using the Pantone Color specifications. After the assignment was completed, the design professors in the department chose the top four designs out of 40 student's work. These four selected students proceeded to develop their ideas to enter the competition. I was interested in this competition because of the opportunity to highlight my design talent and get my name recognized as a freshman. The competition appealed to me because I wanted to create work for my portfolio that reflected my design aesthetic.
A very
important part of the assignment was considering how my 2-D surface designs on
the computer would fit into actual garment patterns of a summer top and hat, and
then to imagine how this would look full-scale on a human.
Now that my work has been recognized by important professionals in the field of textile and product design, I am reassured that this could be a career path for me.
Emily B.
Parks
Tide Me Over
2nd
Place, Product Design
I am studying Merchandise & Apparel Design at Illinois State University.
I had originally heard about AATCC from my mom—she was a member in college
and suggested I look into the organization while at school. I was already a
member when 
my professor
told me about the design competition and encouraged me to participate with my
designs for the learning experience.
I learned the importance of gathering all your supplies before starting your project—even if that meant an out-of-town trip for materials that matched my designs. Time management, along with creatively using my supplies, were the most significant aspects of my project.
Advice
from the Winners
The 2011 competition is right
around the corner! Watch this newsletter, AATCC Review, and www.aatcc.org for announcements of the theme and important
dates. As you prepare your entry, keep in mind what worked for this year's
winners.
Be creative and have a lot of fun with it! ~ Laura Jefferson |
Details! Even a simple design can be completely refashioned to incorporate subtle design details. ~ Emily Parks |
Things always seem to go more smoothly when you have fun and enjoy what you are doing. ~ Sarah Buck Mueller |
Find inspiration in something that means something very personal to you. Make your design unique in every aspect; then detail it. It is all in the details! ~ Courtney Fitzpatrick |
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