Dec. 5, 2016
CWU Professor Brings Home International Design Awards for Third Consecutive Year
Central Washington University professor David Bieloh won three awards for his logo designs at this year’s Summit International Competition. His latest accomplishment—a silver and two bronze—bring his total winnings to seven.
Bieloh, who is also a professional graphic artist, garnered Summit awards the past three years. He won gold in 2015 as well as a gold and two silvers the prior year for his logos, book covers, and posters.
“It’s nerve-racking to put your work out there for all of the other designers in the world to see,” Bieloh said. “But I wanted to see if I could compete on an international level.”
Summit is an international competition that recognizes creative excellence. There were more than 5,000 entries from medium-size agencies worldwide.
Bieloh recognition extended beyond winning awards for his work. He was also chosen to serve as one of this year's select judges in the Interactive Design category. The honor placed him among judges that came from 21 different countries.
Bieloh’s professional work helps build synergies and teaching opportunities for his students. He uses some his projects to teach and engage them in the classroom—where he’s able to guide and involve them through the extensive design process from concept to reality.
He admits that most people have a misconception about graphic design. They tend to simplify the process, thinking that designers produce images and are simply technical operators—that the work comes directly from the computers. By 
sharing the process with his students, they quickly learn graphic design is far more involved.
“Really, it starts far before they touch a computer, with a lot of research, a lot of sketches, and ideations,” Bieloh said.
He also instills an understanding in his students of how their graphic designs impact consumers’ daily decision-making.
“[Graphic designers] help people make decisions. It’s often decisions about what products they purchase at the store, what stores they visit, what brands they engage in, and what ads they respond to,” he said.
Bieloh’s work, both inside and outside of the classroom, continues to bring added value to CWU’s Graphic Design program. Ryan Moffat, senior graphic design student commented that the fact that his faculty members are winning awards proves they actually know what they are teaching and shows that they are current and keeping with the latest trends.
For more information about CWU Graphics Design program, contact Gregg Schlanger, 509-963-2665, schlanger@cwu.edu or visit the website at cwu.edu/graphicdesign.
Media contact: Dawn Alford, public affairs coordinator, 509-963-1484, dawn.alford@cwu.edu.
December 5, 2016