Illustration students design posters for Johnsonville company headquarters

Illustration by Thomas Deegan ’22, featuring Johnsonville’s “Love Your Neighbor” motto

Johnsonville collaborated with the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) last fall on a project to give Illustration students real-life industry experience designing posters to be displayed in the company’s headquarters in Sheboygan Falls, Wis.

During the project, 88 MIAD students in their junior year created illustrations to promote the company’s “Love Your Neighbor” motto, its guiding principles, The Johnsonville Way statement and the Johnsonville mission statement. 

The company selected three finalists in each category: 

• Thomas Deegan for the Love Your Neighbor category
• Paige Slinkard for The Johnsonville Way category
• Andrew Lowry for the the Johnsonville mission statement category
• Sofia Garcia for the Johnsonville guiding principles category

Illustration by Paige Slinkard ’22, featuring “The Johnsonville Way”

“Johnsonville was an amazing client to work with for this sponsored curriculum project. They were enthusiastic about the creative potential of the students and welcomed the unique and diverse visions they brought to the project,” says Christiane Grauert, MIAD professor of Illustration. “Providing students with real-life professional experiences during their program of study is a crucial component of their MIAD illustration education. Students overwhelmingly voiced how this project was a great learning moment when it comes to understanding the work process of a professional illustrator.” 

The students worked closely with Johnsonville’s Jamie Schmelzer, Senior Director of Strategic Growth, and Leah Glaub, Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Learning, who were directly involved in the design process, reviewing and sharing feedback on initial tight sketches with each student. They also invited feedback from 20 company members, including the family owners, to select the winning projects.