University of Northern Colorado graphic design exhibition ‘Inside Outside Upside Down’ explores the tension between the push to fit in and the pull to stand out

Campus Commons Gallery on the University of Northern Colorado campus was constructed in 2018. It is part of the student-centered campus hub and hosts six originally curated exhibitions annually. Photo by Emily Kemme.

By Emily Kemme

With graduation looming, seniors at the University of Northern Colorado are busy putting the final touches on their resumés and preparing for their final projects and exams. For seniors at the school of Art and Design, the school’s annual senior exhibition is also a rite of passage. 

This year’s exhibition is entitled, “Inside Outside Upside Down.” It features the design work of the past 4 years from 14 different student designers. Each student will showcase 5-6 projects each from their portfolios, along with their senior projects.

Benjamin Logan, who is graduating next fall, is majoring in art and design with a concentration in graphic design.

“The title and theme is really about space, about how designers think about space, but also about finding our place in the world after completing our degrees. It is meant to represent the opposing ideas of ‘fitting-in’ and ‘standing out,’” Logan wrote in an email.

His senior project, Concealed Card, will be shown during the event, along with other selections of his portfolio work highlights, he said.

Campus Commons Gallery on the University of Northern Colorado campus was constructed in 2018. It is part of the student-centered campus hub and hosts six originally curated exhibitions annually. Photo by Emily Kemme.

His project is a simplistic idea, and he’s surprised it hasn’t been done yet. It harnesses the privacy filter concept that’s popular on computer screens or phone displays.

“You’re preventing people from seeing stuff that could be potentially private information, like when we use phones for payments or other private transactions,” Logan explained.

Concealed Card takes that privacy filter and overlays it on top of a credit card; when you make online payments, people around you can’t see that number. 

Graphic design by Benjamin Logan.

“The screen will look like a polarized plastic material. It’s a bunch of either vertical or horizontal lines — when you try to look at it from any angle, those lines prevent the light from reflecting so you can’t see it. The numbers are only visible if you’re viewing it directly,” he said.

Logan doesn’t plan to copyright the idea, although he admits taking that step might be a deterrent to imitations. He said he could trademark a brand at some point.

But his focus after graduation is to pursue working in a field that channels user experience design, which on a broad level is designing how people interact in a store, designing brand identity and figuring out traffic flow.

One example is a fast-casual restaurant.

“Somebody had to think of a way how people go through and customize their order. That’s a different process than fast food like McDonald’s or Wendy’s,” he explained. “That’s interaction design, how you want that store to interact with the customer and vice versa.”

Logan is also helping to organize the 2022 senior exhibition, along with Jorge Jaquez-Marquez and Nicole Natal. They are advised by Mark Fetkewicz, professor of graphic design. UNC’s Gallery Coordinator, John Lake, is also on the committee.

The event opens 7 p.m. April 21 in the UNC Campus Commons Gallery, just prior to the UNC-Greeley Jazz Festival.  

The senior exhibition will have a lot of work on display, Logan said. 

“This is the Class of 2022s last student work and then we head out into the workforce, which is exciting. This is an opportunity to see the beginnings of where everyone heads next,” he said. 

To go

Hours: Show opens Thursday, April 21 at 7 p.m. and runs through Sunday evening.

Where: Campus Commons Gallery, University of Northern Colorado, 1051 22nd Street, Greeley, CO 80639