As more students find themselves drawn to graphic design, junior digital media communications (DMC) major and non-profit minor Ryan West and DMC professor Julianne Donovan worked together to create a space to foster and share that creativity. The club was officially created in 2022, in which West acted as president and advertised the club for all to join.
“Design Hive is a branch of William Jewell [College]’s Art Club, where we help other organizations with their marketing – such as [with] posters, flyers, logo designs, t-shirts, stickers, you name it,” West said. “We are here to help others get creative while growing our passion for digital media as well.”
Prior to the club’s start, West admits that she had been thinking about creating such a club since she was in high school, but remained unable due to the stress of graduation. However, at Jewell, West was given the perfect components to finally make her vision of a graphic design community a reality.
“Since [my] freshman year of being at Jewell, I have been planning and recruiting other creative individuals to help me bring Design Hive to life,” West said. “It’s been a great journey, and I’m grateful to have so many helpful hands in this club.”
West created Design Hive with the ultimate goals of having fun and providing her peers with creative opportunities in a relaxed setting.
“Having a space where people can just be creative without the pressure of grades, deadlines and stress on their shoulders is the end goal,” West said. “We want to help our Jewell community out while having fun doing so.”
With Design Hive being newer on campus, West was still testing the waters throughout the first year of the club’s creation. Now, she is focusing on recruitment, expanding the club’s community, and collaborating with other campus organizations.
”We’re planning on working with the Art Club more this year, as well as other clubs to boost their marketing,” she said. “We also plan on having guest speakers who are in the marketing and digital media field to talk with us about the future, networking, etc.”
This year, Design Hive is out of its creation phase and is ready for student leadership to elect an official Executive Board. While West had to step down from the President position, she is encouraging students to pursue leadership and membership in the club to those who are interested.
“A way to be involved is to come to our weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 4 p.m.” she said. “Our meetings are held in the DMC lounge in Brown Hall.”
Another way to keep in touch with Design Hive is to follow @jewell_designhive on Instagram and/or to fill out this Google Form to sign up for newsletter emails.
