Shaping the profession ecause he stays active in graphtc destgn himself. Lou B Ocepek knoHis what the field demands of his students. The head of Portland State's graphic design program says, "To make tt in graphlc design, you must have intensrty, talent and motivation. These are the qualities the people hirlng are looking for." "There is more to deslgn than the creative aspect," says Ocepek. whose work has been exhibited nationally and Internationally - from the Portland Center for the Visual Arts. to the International Exhibition of Poster Art in Bmo. Czechoslova- kla. "There must be a balance between the creative and practical aspects of graphic design," he says. So 60 percent of Portland State's graphlc design curriculum focuses on developing the students' creati- vity. and 40 percent concentrates on , production skllls. ''An Inherent quality in graphic deslgn ts that a deslgner must Satisfy the client. He must solve the client's communication problems." He explains that there are bound to be ttmes when designer and client don't see eye to eye on a project. For thls reason. a student needs to develop a broader viewpoint so that more solutions to a problem can be generated. "I try to create situations in which students can develop the ability to see alternative solutions. Other- WISe, thls Conflict can eventually lead to 'burn-out."' AS the program's reputation has grown, so has enrollment. "Classes averaging 30 to 35 students are too large, and we are still turning away about 20 students per sectton." Ocepek. who rece~vedhis bachelor's degree In graphlc design from Wayne State University in Detroit. Mlchigan in 1964, and has a master's degree in painting and Print-making from the University of Iowa,came to PSU in 1971. Present- ly, he is the only full-time instructor in PSU'sgraphic design department. Four part-time faculty asslst him in teaching about 90 students who currently are enrolled in classes. Ocepek admits that running a department, teaching three SIX-hour classes a week, advising under- graduate and graduate students. and staying active In the field rs Lou Ocepek, graphrc design instructor, works with one oi his sfudenfs in class critique session. more than a full-time job. "I think we do a remarkable job with what we have. But with another full-ttme faculty member, we could run another class per section:' In art ciasses, the number of students in a class section becomes increasingly critical in the advanced sections. Ocepek polnls out. In these ciasses, students need close individual attention. Final projects become the podfolio pleces that will be thev "selllng tlcket" when iooktng for jobs. Beyond the professional altitude emphasized in the classroom, Students are also glven a chance to visit businesses that wlli be their eventual working envlronments as designers F~eldtrlps to deslgn studlos. printers' and typographers' flrrns have been integrated with the program at PSU. Ocepek also has used grant money to commlsslon professtonal graphlc designers to develop Slide shows of thelr work. In order to demonstrate to students the problem-solving process that must go Into varlous projects Students can take advantage of Several opporfunlhes to galn work experience while taklng deslgn classes at PSU. Those ellgibie for the federally-funded work-study program can get hands-on ex- perience in departments on campus, such as Printing, Publications and Summer Session. Also, non-profit agencies in Portland often hlre deslgn students on a work-by- arrangement program, in which students receive credit for their experience. Last year. Terrie LaPorte, a senior graphic design major at PSU, was awarded first in the Washington Park Zoo's Comprehensive Graphics Competition to redesign the zoo's graphics. LaPorte was chosen over 28 other entries from local deslgn schools, as well as OSU and the U. of 0. PSU's graphlc destgn students are now busy completing 75 ~llustra- t~ons which wlll be used for a sltde presentatton to be shown during the Oregon Youth Ph~lharmonlc's Feb. 28 performance of Stravlnsky's The Rites af Spring.
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