AIGA Minnesota Awards the First Tim Larsen Scholarship for Design Excellence to MCAD Student Alyssa Scholz

Minneapolis | June 18, 2001

AIGA Minnesota's Larsen Scholarship funded by $25,000 in donations from Larsen Design + Interactive employees, clients and friends as part of the company's 25th birthday celebration

American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Minnesota Chapter has awarded the first Tim Larsen Scholarship for Design Excellence to Alyssa Scholz, a student at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD).

The Tim Larsen Scholarship for Design Excellence is entirely funded by Larsen employees, clients and friends and is administered by AIGA Minnesota. To date, donations have reached nearly $25,000 with the purpose of providing a $5,000 scholarship to one student for the next five years.

"I was moved by our employees' foresightedness and generosity in establishing this award," says Tim Larsen. "The scholarship is a testament to the dedication of our talented staff and our ongoing commitment to design education."

"AIGA Minnesota strongly supports the spirit in which this scholarship was created and appreciates Tim's commitment to continued excellence and innovation in the design industry," says Joelle Anderlik, president of AIGA Minnesota. "A scholarship in his name is fitting tribute to a man who has long been a supporter of design education and a respected leader in design community."

The scholarship recognizes an AIGA student member enrolled in a four-year undergraduate design program in Minnesota and surrounding states. Applicants must have a minimum of one year remaining as a full-time student prior to graduation so that the scholarship can be applied directly to their educational costs. The student's work is judged for crafting, conceptual, creative and communication skills, as well as for their potential for meeting the highest standards of graphic design. Candidates are evaluated by their portfolio design samples, an essay and letters of recommendation.

In Her Own Words
"Not only does design give value to our society, it is the identity of our society," begins Scholz's scholarship essay. "Everything we see is designed, whether it be an ad in a magazine, a smoke detector or the landscaping for a park. Design is everywhere - there's no getting around it."

Although neither of her parents was engaged in creative professions, Scholz remembers that she and her brothers were "always making stuff." At home in the small town of Fond du Lac, Wis., they pursued art and music, worked on weekend wood projects with dad or created videos with their neighbors. They took family road trips to children's museums and art galleries. They participated in Odyssey of the Mind and summer community theater. But Scholz first encountered the world of graphic design when she attended a Pratt University summer arts program for high school students.

"In high school math and science were my good classes, but what I really enjoyed was starting out with a problem and finding a solution. I thought about architecture and engineering intrigued me, too, but I thought graphic design was the hardest thing I could do. I wanted to take the widest ranging, most challenging, difficult area and try to live up to it."

"Through design we can communicate complex ideas in a simple and understandable way. It's one thing to say something, but it's quite another to show it visually," says Scholz. "I feel so privileged that I get to be a part of something that is so valuable and has such an impact in our society."

Stand-Out Student
Now entering her senior year of college, Scholz already has earned acclaim from the professional design community. She was unanimously awarded the Tim Larsen Scholarship for Design Excellence by an AIGA Minnesota panel of local, professional graphic designers. These included Ed Bennett, group director at Colle and McVoy; Alan Leusink, design director at Duffy Minneapolis; and Cynthia Knox, president of Kilter.

In her evaluation commentary, Knox wrote: "Alyssa's portfolio showed great conceptual thinking and an ability to go beyond the parameters of a class assignment. Her work demonstrates dedication to design, her ability to express her intelligence and sense of humor, as well as an understanding of the project at hand."

MCAD's Design Division Acting Chair Kali Nikitas echoed these comments in her letter of recommendation where she highlighted Scholz's "unwavering commitment to her education" and "that her involvement in other disciplines make her a unique candidate."

Adjunct Professor and Design Works Director Pamela Arnold added, "Scholz is a student who makes teaching a pleasure." She goes on to say that "this rather humble person creates explosively adroit and often hilariously funny design, animation and illustration" coupled with "precision and patience."

Examples of this can be viewed in Scholz's portfolio such as her publication design/photography assignments that merged together as a book of self-portraits illustrating how to make emotional and silly faces or her animated multimedia story of a penguin and fish that fall in love. Of course, she also has started to develop a solid foundation of logo/identity design, typography, illustration, screen printing and other design elements critical to a professional career.

After a summer internship with MCAD's Design Works student studio, Scholz will complete her senior year in the bachelor of fine arts' graphic design major. In addition to the AIGA Minnesota Tim Larsen Scholarship for Design Excellence, Scholz also has received two other scholarships this year and her work has been showcased in two MCAD gallery exhibitions in Minneapolis. Once she earns her B.F.A., Scholz plans to investigate additional internship opportunities and possibly graduate school.

Ongoing Leadership
Larsen Design + Interactive was founded in 1975 by Twin Cities' graphic design pioneer Tim Larsen. Today, the company is an 70-person, strategic marketing and communications design firm specializing in branding, identity, graphic design and interactive media.

In the early 1990s, working with other Twin Cities designers, Larsen helped secure a National Endowment for the Arts grant to organize the "Core of Understanding" conference. The national gathering of design professional, teachers and students explored the contributions design excellence could make toward a greater society. The conference findings and recommendations were captured in an award-winning book.

In 1993, Larsen once again charted new territory in the Twin Cities' design community by establishing an interactive design group and holding informational seminars for clients that helped explain the benefits of design for the Internet. In 1996, the firm further strengthened its presence in high-tech and interactive media by establishing an office in San Jose, Calif.

Tim Larsen continues to be an active member of design excellence and education through AIGA Minnesota, the oldest and largest membership association for professionals engaged in the discipline, practice and culture of visual communication and graphic design.

Minnesota is one of the largest AIGA chapters in the country, representing nearly 1,200 members from Minnesota, eastern North and South Dakota, western Wisconsin and parts of Canada. For more information on AIGA Minnesota, visit www.aigaminn.org, call 612.339.6904 or e-mail director@aigaminn.org.

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Contributions can be made to the Tim Larsen Scholarship Fund by contacting Bruce Taylor, AIGA Minnesota chapter director, at 612.339.6904 or director@aigaminn.org.