Lincoln, Neb.--Three graphic design students from the School of Art, Art History & Design took home honors at the American Advertising Awards this year.
“I’m so excited our UNL Graphic Design students had the chance to share their work and compete against other talented students from across Nebraska in the American Advertising Awards,” said Jen Landis, assistant professor of practice in graphic design.
The American Advertising Awards are the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition, attracting more than 25,000 entries per year.
Conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the local tier is the first of a three-tier national competition. At the second tier, local ADDY winners compete against other local clubs in one of 15 district competitions. District winners are then forwarded to the third tier to compete on the national stage. A Gold ADDY is recognition of the highest level of creative excellence and is judged to be superior to all other entries in the category.
Madelyn Waltman (B.A. and B.J. 2024) received a Gold ADDY for her project Live Bait Card Deck at both the national and district 9 levels.
“This is a three-tiered competition that moves from local to regional to national,” Landis said. “Winning locally is an incredible achievement. Winning regionally, against students from Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska is even more competitive. For recent graduate Madelyn Waltman to then win a Gold ADDY at the national level is a true testament to the talent of our students and the dedication of professors in our graphic design program.”
Waltman said it was meaningful to put a project she poured so much of herself into in front of other creatives.
“Being involved in the ADDYs process and the AAF community was an incredible experience and a huge reminder of how important it is to stand behind your work and share it, even when it feels insignificant or uncertain,” she said. “People who not only value your perspective but also bring their own to it. When that happens, the work takes on a new life, becoming more personal, more layered and more impactful than you ever could’ve shaped on your own. Above all, I’m incredibly grateful to have connected with so many talented individuals who bring to life the many ways creativity can drive progress, and to be a part of a community that’s constantly learning, growing and supporting one another.”
Live Bait was her graphic design capstone project and centered around the growing expectations placed on designers to get consumers ‘on the hook’ for a product or service.
“The installation played on a familiar bait shop concept to explore how design roles are shifting with the rise in technology, calling for skills beyond traditional design, as well as the unspoken pressures that often come with creative work,” Waltman said. “The project aimed to raise awareness of these expanding demands and encourage young designers to start building the skills they’ll need to thrive in the constantly evolving industry.”
The project was multi-faceted.
“Some of the project deliverables were a card deck inspired by the game ‘Go Fish’ to highlight how designers often come up empty-handed when asked about experience with non-traditional skills, a zine guiding visitors through the installation and posters showing statistics and key concepts while visually reinforcing the bait shop theme,” she said.
Waltman is now a designer at The Bay, a Nebraska-based nonprofit that supports youth in Lincoln and Omaha through youth engagement and workforce development programs.
“I started as a marketing intern during my last semester at UNL and moved into the role of Creative Designer + Coordinator after graduation,” she said. “I mainly handle graphic design and branding within our marketing team, but I also get to be involved in things like strategy, programming and content creation, which makes for a pretty exciting day-to-day life alongside some really incredible people.”
The following School of Art, Art History & Design students took home ADDYs at the local Nebraska level:
• Madelyn Waltman: Gold-Live Bait Card Deck, Gold-Live Bait Gallery Navigator Magazine Design, Gold-Live Bait Installation, Silver-Live Bait Gallery Navigator Cover and Silver-Live Bait Posters.
• Clare Clark, B.F.A. Graphic Design Senior: Gold-Mato Campaign, Gold-Well Rooted Campaign, Gold-Eyelectic Campaign and Gold-Go Outside Campaign.
• Abby Bubak, B.F.A. Graphic Design Senior: Silver-Love Logic Website Design.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity and for the professors at UNL that take the time to be involved in our lives and encourage us to submit our work,” said Bubak.
In addition, students from Landis’ Design Lab Class concepted and pitched ideas for the Nebraska Creative Awards. The AAF Nebraska Board chose the concept from Addi Ernstmeyer, Johna Moural and Mikenna Ororato from among five groups. The show was titled “Who Won It” (based on the board game Clue.).
“Once chosen, the students executed designing all the graphics for the show,” Landis said. “Abby Bubak created an intro animation that was incredible.”
