Liberty student-run creative agency earns three American Graphic Design Awards for nonprofit campaigns

Liberty University’s student-run creative agency, Open Quote Creative, received three American Graphic Design Awards in the 62nd Annual GDUSA Design Awards Competition last month, recognizing projects created for nonprofits. This national competition received over 6,000 entries from students and professionals, with fewer than 10% receiving awards.

These awards are the latest of multiple other honors the agency has earned in just two years of operation.

Open Quote Creative, organized within Liberty’s Department of Studio & Digital Arts, allows students to work on real projects as they develop, design, and deliver materials for nonprofits and gain professional-level collaborative experience by working with clients from start to finish.

Open Quote Creative is sponsored by the School of Communication & the Arts.

Each semester, Open Quote Creative will partner with three to five nonprofit clients and create print and digital materials to promote events, initiatives, or their missions as a whole. The students are split into three teams, with each team typically focusing on one to two clients, and some students taking on leadership roles like creative director, art director, and project manager.

The three awarded projects included the Elkton Volunteer Fire Company’s 100th Anniversary campaign, branding for Never Surrender USA (a nonprofit promoting fitness and resilience among youth), and Meals on Wheels’ Giving Tuesday campaign for the Greater Lynchburg area. Each project involved the creation of marketing materials, brand identity, social media assets, and more. (See samples of the three projects below.)

In her three semesters as a member of Open Quote, current Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design student Josie Moffat said the opportunity to collaborate, create, and build up her experience was invaluable.

“When the professors invited me to join the agency, I was immediately interested,” said Moffatt, who was the art director for the Elkton Volunteer Fire Company project. “I saw it as a strong resume-building opportunity and a valuable way to gain experience working with real-world clients. It also gave me the chance to collaborate with talented students in our department whom I hadn’t previously had the opportunity to work with. As an emerging professional, this experience has taught me how to navigate client relationships, manage multiple projects, and trust my creative instincts.”

“Collaborating with top design students and my professors was the most rewarding part of the experience,” added Nina John, a current MFA in Graphic Design student who spent two semesters with the agency and was the art director for Meals on Wheels’ campaign. “Through Open Quote, I became more confident in client communication, meeting fast-paced deadlines, and continually developing my skills as a designer.”

Destiny Gertz, a senior studying graphic design who was the project manager for the Never Surrender USA branding and collateral project, said having her team and the others receive the GDUSA Awards affirmed the quality of their work.

“It feels amazing to have our hard work and dedication recognized, especially when we’ve put so much into creating our best designs,” she said. “Receiving this award caused me to pause and reflect on what I’ve done, and it made me realize that my hard work is paying off, even if I don’t recognize that right away. The Lord has given us all an amazing gift of design in OQC; I feel so blessed to be a part of this team.”