MOST OUTSTANDING Graphic Media NOMINEE
University of Southern Mississippi Vietnamese Student Association (USM VSA)
USMVSA 2025-2026 E-Board Reveal Graphic
Name(s) of the designer who created the graphic and their role in your organization (E-Board Member, General Member, etc.)
Kaylee Nguyen, E-Board Member, Public Relations Chair
Please explain the idea behind this design and how it was executed. How successful does this design get its message across?
The idea behind the graphic's design starts with the background of the USMVSA (University of Southern Mississippi Vietnamese Student Association) organization. The 2025-2026 Executive Board for USMVSA was starting off from a hiatus. The previous school year, the organization was officially labeled as "inactive." With this, USMVSA was no longer an active VSA in the Gulf Coast region. However, through planning, commitment, and confidence, the Executive Board for this school year brought it back to life. Moreover, this revival had its challenges. A new foundation needed to be built in order to ensure the longevity of the club. In some way, it needed a fresh start and new "face" to show that the organization is back but not how it was remembered. With a breath of newness in the Board, a statement was placed to emphasize that USMVSA is moving in a different, positive direction from here-on-out. With this information in mind, the idea for the design was built.
With the USMVSA 2025-2026 E-Board Reveal Graphic, the main message was to "be different." Relating back to the themes and messages of "new face." "fresh start," and "different," the idea for the photoshoot/graphic was a 180 from the usual E-Board reveals in the VSA community. The Board was brainstorming ideas about themes, and we noticed a running pattern. Usually, E-Board reveals were very formal, professional, and dressy. Even though these themes were perfectly fine and respectable, we needed something that aligned with our message and agenda. This was to be different. This led us to following a more "street-wear" attire. When looking at the graphic, it shows the Board in non-formal clothing, with sport jerseys and everyday attire. This was to emphasize that "freshness" of a new E-Board that is moving towards a different direction/agenda. To build on this more, the editing done by our Public Relations chair shows different artistic designs relating to "street-wear," such as the "graffiti" design. The photoshoot was kept professional and organized, but it had elements of "comfortability" and "relatability" to it.
However, the graphic came together and made it outstanding when Kaylee Nguyen, the PR Chair, added her artistic abilities to it. While keeping the theme of "street-wear," we wanted to follow along the same road and add more elements to relate with the general population today. With this, we pulled video game elements into the graphic. Throughout the individual pictures, the viewer can see different pieces of video games added into it. This gave the photoshoot images more depth and excitement. By having these two ideas intertwine with one another, it shows that this organization is starting off anew. We are meant to be different from the usual, fresh and new from the old, and confident rather than timid. This is how this graphic design piece paints the picture of what the 2025-2026 USMVSA Executive Board started off as, what it has become, and how it set the foundation for what the organization will be.
