CMU communications design students’ voter registration exhibition

Jacqueline Kim

Carnegie Mellon Communications Design students created colorful posters and exhibits around the CUC to promote voter turnout. **Arden Ryan/** News Editor

On October 10th, the junior Communication Design students hard launched the culmination of six weeks worth of work in a Voter Registration exhibit in the Cohon University Center.

The opening ceremony displayed several large posters designed by the design students who were also present to explain their work and facilitate a live screen printing. They handed out free screen-printed tote bags, bandanas, and T-shirts and provided passersby with QR codes and resources through which students could easily register to vote for this year’s elections.

The project was led by School of Design Professor Kristin Hughes, who recently received the 2024 title as an Unstoppable Voters Faculty Fellow by the Center for Artistic Activism. Hughes was motivated to design a project that would encourage students to become more involved in civic engagement through social, art, and design activism.

“I took that opportunity to embed some of the activities that I’ve been learning in the fellowship into the coursework,” Hughes said. “The whole idea was to figure out how, in a non-partisan way, we could introduce issues that are on the ballot this year and really motivate students to engage in the process.”

“We all just had to design our own design system,” said Ray Ka, a junior Communications Design student. “We had to have correct typography and hierarchy and color to create a system that’s consistent and that people can recognize easily.”

The intention of the project was to appeal particularly to the younger student population, especially those who will be voting for the first time. With this specific audience in mind, the design students iterated through several creative options to determine which designs would most resonate with their fellow peers.

“I kept sticking to more neon colors and really bright colors that would attract attention and have the overall thing be really eye-catching to our demographic, like Gen Z, because that’s the most important voter demographic this year,” Ka said.

Another important focus of this exhibition was to introduce students to the available resources that CMU provides its students. The posters hung throughout the exhibit include a QR code that directs students to an API system that facilitates the process of registering to vote in a safe and reliable way.

“Part of it was increasing awareness about issues on the ballot, really thinking about democracy and how important that is, but then also promoting some of the incredible assets that the university has to support students in voting in a safe way that they can trust,” Hughes said.

The striking, interactive exhibit gave many passing students the opportunity to think more deeply about their abilities to vote and to participate in the elections. “I think the most rewarding thing is being at the exhibit and seeing people stop by and actually look at your work,” Ka said.

Hughes reflected on the engagement of her Communications Design students who come from various backgrounds and varying regions of the world.

“Watching them work through the project statement and really challenge themselves to think carefully about issues that really mattered to them was a touching moment for me,” Hughes said. “It also gave me such great hope for our future that we have some really incredible students at our university that care deeply about the democratic system and how they embraced that through their visual campaign.”

Although the deadline for voter registration has passed, the posters will remain up in the main hallway of the University Center until the day after Democracy Day to continue to encourage students with the ability to vote to participate in this year’s upcoming election.