Graphic design student wins national award

Mila Mukhortva (right) with Graphic + Digital Design program head Karin Jager.

Mila Mukhortva, a member of this year’s Graphic + Digital Design graduating class is the inaugural winner of a prestigious national scholarship. This year marks the 30th anniversary for Applied Arts, Canada’s National design magazine, and the first year of the Georges Haroutiun Scholarship program. The scholarship is named after the founder of Applied Arts, a notable graphic designer who launched the magazine in 1986 as a way to connect with industry professionals and celebrate Canadian creativity, both established and emerging.

Mukhortova won the $3,000 scholarship for her compelling climate change concept. This year’s scholarship challenge was to raise awareness of the effect of climate change on their community. Her solution:

To raise awareness of the effect of climate change in British Columbia I designed an advertising poster and an idea for guerilla marketing. My concept depicts a glass of water as symbol for what we take for granted in our everyday lives — with the addition of measurements to indicate 100 years — from 1950 to 2050. Unfortunately our fresh water is not endless and ‘we’ are compromising fresh water sustainability through industry and our interaction with the world. 2050 is significant because scientists say it’s a pivotal moment in the history of humanity — warming will be an irreversible trend. The second part of my solution is to use the glass as a guerilla marketing piece – sharing our alarming reality in an everyday context to create awareness of the problem.

The original project was part of coursework that introduced public awareness design, Gestalt design theory, and symbolism.

“It is a tremendous honour for Mila to have her concept chosen for this important theme of Climate Change and to be invited to Toronto to accept this prestigious award. Kudos to Mila for her great concept and achievement,” said Karin Jager, Graphic and Digital Design program head.

Mukhortova is an international student from Siberia. She also served as creative director for the recent Creative Woods year-end show for the Graphic + Digital Design program.

Visit Mila Mukhortova’s website