We are excited to announce that two Wilson School of Design students from the Graphic Design for Marketing program, Elias and Karl, have been awarded the Student Research and Innovation Grant for their projects.
Student Research and Innovation Grants (SRIG) are meant for KPU students to gain research and innovation experiences as part of their polytechnic university experience. In accordance with KPU’s Academic Plan, it will expand ways of learning by integrating learners into faculty-led and student-led research and innovation. Students undertake purposeful research and innovation while helping advance UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Elias Lemke
Elias’ research project’s goal is to create a brand identity, website and awareness campaign for LanguageGeek, a project dedicated to the promotion of Indigenous languages through the creation and free distribution of typefaces and keyboards for over 100 Indigenous languages. His project will discover how design can be used to promote, preserve, and revitalize Indigenous and minority languages.
“Bolstering LanguageGeek’s mission of providing typefaces and keyboards for Indigenous languages not only aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals but also supports the objectives of the International Year of Indigenous Languages initiative by raising awareness, contributing to language revitalization, promoting digital inclusion, supporting language documentation, and empowering communities.” (Elias Lemke)
Karl Cruz
Karl’s “Connected Coast” project will optimize the website and market campaign for communities with limited internet access and potential ISPs (insurance service providers), and advocate for rural connectivity. It will focus on “last-mile” connection awareness and will help to educate community decision makers and leaders about the digital divide. His project will address how a marketing campaign and website redesign can effectively raise awareness and provide support for rural communities with limited internet access.
“Now more than ever the internet is an integral part of human life. The UN even declared the internet a human right in Summer 2016; Even further the world’s most recent pandemic has just made it even clearer how important a reliable internet connection is to access basic human needs. Providing advocacy and awareness through a Connected Coast campaign is just another push towards creating equal opportunity for the communities Connected Coast is helping.” (Karl Cruz)
