CreateAthon in Waterloo Region: Bleary eyes, bright ideas

rachel mackenzie
Conestoga College student Rachel MacKenzie works on a design project for a non-profit client at Waterloo Region’s CreateAthon Oct. 23.

Deadlines. Team meetings. Ideas that work, others that don’t.

Such is life in the marketing world. Third-year students in Conestoga College’s graphic-design program got a taste of it Oct. 23.

“This fast-paced experience really ignites the creative process,’’ Matt Piotrowski said four hours into a round-the-clock branding blitz known as CreateAthon  “The things we are designing will be used in the real world.”

As in past years, the beneficiaries are charitable non-profits in Waterloo Region. They sought help with tired websites, outdated logos and the need to raise the profile of key events in their fund-raising plans.

Held the same day around the world, CreateAthons provide thousands of hours of free design-and-marketing expertise to community groups. In Waterloo Region, the host company is Two Blonde Chicks Inc. of Kitchener, with Capacity Canada and the School of Media and Design at Conestoga assisting as partners.

The event is held at the college.

“CreateAthon is an incredible opportunity for our students in so many ways,’’ said John Baljkas, a professor of graphic design at Conestoga. “It builds their design skills, time management, group and team skills. And the project really contributes to the community. Students gain insight into their clients’ needs, and how design can solve real problems.”

 

Local non-profits apply to become clients of the CreateAthon in Waterloo Region. Seven were selected this year: The Literacy Group of Waterloo RegionLangs; the Family Counselling Centre of Cambridge and North DumfriesLisaard Housethe Wilmot Family Resource CentreHouse of Friendship; and KidSport Kitchener-Waterloo.

Twenty-eight students were divided into teams of four, one team for each client. Each team had its own art director.

Jolene MacDonald and Julie Knowles, the founders of Two Blonde Chicks, took on art-director roles, as did Baljkas and his Conestoga colleagues, Patti Lemene and Mike Powell. 

Matt Miller, a graphic designer and Capacity Canada executive-in-residence, led one team; Rawbie Thring of Quarry Integrated Communications took charge of another.

Rows of computers glowed with could-be logos and possible posters as the students tried out different ideas. Piotrowski’s team worked on a project for a Langs event, Celebrating Women.

“We want an identity that reflects the event’s success and helps it grow in the community,” he said.

Despite having powerful software at their fingertips, many students scratched out ideas with pencil and paper before committing them to the screen.

“It gets you away from the computer,” said Rachel MacKenzie. “You can be more creative and connect with the design a bit better.”

MacKenzie’s team worked on a logo, branding concepts and a brochure for the Family Counselling Centre of Cambridge and North Dumfries. The teams presented packages of marketing tools to their client agencies as the CreateAthon wrapped up on the morning of Oct. 24.

Hours earlier, MacKenzie wasn’t bothered by the prospect of an all-nighter to get things ready.

“You really want the client to get the most of what you’re doing,” she said.