Service By Design is recruiting new members who want to learn about design, advertising, marketing and more and create media for real world clients in the community.

Rachel Urbanowicz, assistant professor in the Department of Mass Communications and Design, is the advisor for Service By Design. She said there are only two people in the club right now.

“We are looking to grow that to hopefully five, six, seven or eight. Five people graduated last year, so that is why our numbers are low,”Urbanowicz said. “I am confident that we will get more people.”

Members learn many new skills within the graphic design and marketing fields. Urbanowicz said students from any major are welcome to join.

Urbanowicz said students take on projects for real non-profit clients in the community, and that’s important because the work provides students with artifacts for the professional portfolios they will need to land jobs in public relations, marketing, promotions and media-related careers. They will gain real, hands-on experience using the Adobe Creative Suite, and they will grow client relations skills. They will create pieces such as logos, fliers, brochures, web sites and more for their clients.

Urbanowicz says that she has much planned for the year. New clients include the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the Wyoming Free Library, the Women with Children program and the Farm MU initiative on campus.

“This year I would really just like to continue the good work we’ve been doing,” Urbanowicz said. “It’s been going really well year after year.”

Adam Myers, sophomore communications major, is the new club president. This is his second year with the student-run club.

Myers said he has gained important knowledge and skills through his work.

“I have an understanding of professional programs on the Mac such as Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop,” he said.

In his first year as a Service By Design member, he worked for two different clients: the Luzerne County Historical Society and the coordinators of last spring’s graduation.

He created a new logo for the Luzerne County Historical Society and graphics for the live-stream of the 2018 spring graduation.

He said his work for the Luzerne County Historical Society is his favorite so far.

“They were my first client ever, and it taught me the ins and outs of graphic design from the ground up. Starting from the drawing pad and ending on screen,” said Myers.

Myers had no previous knowledge of Mac Computers and Adobe programs. Everything he learned came from on-the-job training from Service By Design.

“It is crazy that in one short year, I went from knowing nothing about Macs to being able to create colorful and bright logos for non-profit organizations around the community,” Myers said.

Urbanowicz said that she has learned a lot about her students, too.

Urbanowicz came from a corporate graphic design background and she was used to working in a one person department. “I was a little bit more of a control freak,” Urbanowicz said. “I’ve learned to really trust them a lot more.”

She said her students impress her. She learned that they are determined to learn about graphic design, and they try their best to make the best to make good pieces.

The club, which is run by the Department of Mass Communications and Design, was created in 2015 and has been running since, Urbanowicz said. 

Urbanowicz has worked in the graphic design field for many years. She works to pass her knowledge of graphic design to students and help them create portfolio pieces that they can use to get jobs after graduation.

The club mostly works for non-profit organizations in the region and on-campus clubs and activities.

Interested students are invited to attend  meetings held every Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. in Walsh Hall, room MZ5. For more information, contact Service By Design advisor Urbanowicz at [email protected] or president Myers at [email protected].