Pratt Institute graphic design students have taken a liking to the City of Newburgh. The class Design Corps, taught by Directors, Mike Kelly and David Frisco, gives students the opportunity to do professional work for non-profit businesses and organizations pro-bono.

Each semester a new organization is picked by Frisco and Kelly to meet their marketing needs. This semester the class is working with Blacc Vanilla Community (BCVF) Foundation. Melanie Collins, founder of BCVF is working with the students to create a brand and marketing campaign for the foundation.

Collins met with Design Corps in Brooklyn and invited them to get a look at the City first hand as part of their research for their work with BVCF.

After visiting the city they will compile their research and create a presentation for BVCF. After an approach is decided they will work on producing content for the foundation.

“It’s great to be able to work with them and show them the community, so they can see for themselves what our goal is and what we are trying to do,” said Collins.

The students visit various organizations and landmarks across Newburgh, starting at Blacc Vanilla Cafe, they took a bus to the Newburgh Armory and Unity Center. They were given a tour of the facilities and spoke with Bill Kaplan, Founder of the Unity Center. The group then moved on to take a tour of a church BVCF and RUPCO are going to turn into a community center for adults from 18 to 25. Along the way Collins invited community leaders to speak with the students.

“For us it’s really real to have this ongoing conversation,” said Julia Reid, Senior Graphic Design Student at Pratt. “We got to see how many awesome people there are, it’s really inspiring to go back and work for the people we saw. We can go back and know what Newburgh is now.”

Reid is the first returning student to the class. She worked with Damian DePauw at Impact Inc. where he was given a website, cards and a marketing campaign for Impact Inc in the City of Newburgh.

The person to bring Design Corps to Newburgh was Naomi Hersson-Ringskog. She heard of Design Corps through a friend when volunteering at the Newburgh Free Library and pitched the idea to Chuck Thomas, Director of Newburgh Free Library.
Hersson-Ringskog and Thomas met with Design Corps Students to create the “Think Together” Campaign in Spring 2018. Students created postcards, posters, social media elements, images and a large poster board used at career fairs and events to get feedback.

After working with Design Corps for the library Hersson-Ringskog recommended the class work with other groups in the City of Newburgh.

Professors Kelly and Frisco are looking to maintain a long working relationship with the City of Newburgh.

“We would like to spread our services to build continuity,” said Frisco. “This is the first time working on a continuous project, but the value is greater with long term work, and the impact is greater. It’s more than just handing over a product and being finished, this is having an open dialogue to meet clients needs entirely.”

To apply to work with Design Corps you can visit their website at designcorps.pratt.edu.