乐播传媒

乐播传媒, Knoxville
College of Architecture + Design

From Classroom to Biennial: Four Design Students’ Posters Reach International Audience

Four framed student-designed national park posters displayed side by side on a white gallery wall, featuring designs for Zion, the Hayduke Trail, and two interpretations of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Four graphic design students earned international recognition with their work selected for the , one of the most competitive and prestigious poster design exhibitions in the world.

The 2025 biennial received 11,845 submissions reviewed through a juried selection process led by an international panel of designers and educators representing the United States, Iran, Belarus, Taiwan, Venezuela and India.

The students鈥� posters will be exhibited nationally, placing their work alongside leading professional and emerging voices in contemporary poster design.

Seniors Sophia Crosby and Emma Fingeret and juniors Mary Kent Driscoll and Caroline Elliott were accepted into the , focused on the breathtaking landscapes and ecological significance of national parks. Their posters were developed as part of a second-year course led by Assistant Professor Kimberly Mitchell which focuses on typography, image-making, and visual communication.

鈥淎t this stage, students are building on foundational skills from the previous semester and beginning to integrate type and image into more cohesive, concept-driven work,鈥� said Mitchell. 鈥淭he poster project is something I鈥檝e taught across multiple semesters, adjusting the context over time鈥攆rom regional systems like the Tennessee RiverLine to broader explorations of national parks and trails.鈥�

Illustrated poster for Zion National Park showing the steep Angel鈥檚 Landing trail as giant red-orange letters integrated into a rocky mountain formation, with chains and hikers climbing the route against a pale blue sky.
Crosby’s illustrated poster for the Angel’s Landing trail.

The project challenged students to develop original poster concepts rooted in personal experience, geographic connection, or environmental observation.

Crosby drew inspiration from a hike of Angel鈥檚 Landing in Zion National Park shortly after losing her grandmother and enduring the pandemic.

鈥淐limbing 1,500 feet over 2.5 miles鈥攊ncluding the famous switchbacks of Walter鈥檚 Wiggles鈥攚hile wearing a mask and navigating grief wasn’t easy, but it was an incredible experience,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he trail features ridges only two feet wide with chains bolted into the rock to secure you during the scramble. The specific framing I chose to illustrate was based on a photo I took of the narrow ridge and the chains guiding the way. It captures the exact spot where I thought, ‘I am really going to make it.’鈥�

The following semester, Mitchell pivoted the brief to focus on the Great Smoky Mountains. Elliott, who grew up an hour from the park, drew inspiration from its nighttime environment.

Poster for Great Smoky Mountains National Park using glowing layered blue-green typography with silhouettes of forest trees embedded within the letterforms against a dark night background.
Elliott’s poster for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

鈥�I’ve always kind of been fascinated with the fireflies that they have, and while that’s not really portrayed in my poster, I think that it’s a cool aspect of showing that there鈥檚 still stuff happening at night.鈥�

Together, the selected works demonstrate a range of approaches to visual storytelling, from personal memory and endurance to regional identity and environmental observation.

For Mitchell, the recognition affirms the value of introducing ambitious, concept-driven challenges early in the curriculum.

With their posters now reaching audiences beyond the university through exhibition and publication, the students鈥� achievement signals not only exceptional individual accomplishment, but the growing impact of student work on the international design stage.