Master of Arts Administration Student Manages OHIO’s Emerging Graphic Design Agency
December 6, 2024
Caroline Murphy is a student in the Master of Arts Administration (MAA) program, with area specialization in visual arts management. She is also a second-year student in the Master of Fine Art in Graphic Design at ĢƵ University. Merging her degrees with her career plans, Murphy is also working as the project manager for, Oh You! Design Agency.
Oh You! Design Agency is a new and emerging graphic design agency at ĢƵ University that links clients and the local community to university students who then create meaningful and practical products for the clients, free of charge. As the Project Manager for the agency, Murphy works as a bridge between undergraduate students and the clients: she scouts out interested clientele and then matches the needs of those clients with the specific strengths and interests of students.
“This is actual experiential learning! The students are juniors and seniors, so they have the skill sets and now are able to actually apply what they've been learning in a way that is real. You’re working with a real client doing real work that is going to actually go out into the real world. We're also able to think really creatively and problem solve” Murphy shared.
Currently, Murphy oversees 15 different projects and 30 students who work in teams of two, completing the product for their assigned client. According to Murphy, “It feels like a real agency setting where I’m talking with the students about their designs and giving them feedback about what they're working on, but then I’m also having direct conversions with the clients.” Murphy has created a variety of products including updated logos, refreshed websites, new branding tools, merchandise designs, and advertising material.
Murphy noted how her current studies in Arts Administration continue to inform and prepare her for this line of work. “It’s an administrative, higher-level skill set that I did not have before [starting the MAA] when I was just managing myself. Now, I’m managing a lot more people.” She continued, “It’s been cool seeing my two interests coalesce in this way. I came [to OHIO] for graphic design and wanted to learn how graphic design can have not only aesthetic and artistic value but also economic impact for an organization. I wanted to learn how to do both of those things. And now combining the skill set and interest in graphic design with the MAA in visual arts management, it kind of seems like the perfect marriage of these two ideas. I’m just very excited to do this type of work because it’s actually work that I want to do.”
The Oh You! Design Agency is still in its infancy and 2024-2025 will mark its third year in operation. However, this is the first year the agency has incorporated undergraduate students. Murphy acknowledged that she would have, “chomped at the bit to do something like this whenever I was an undergrad… but I’m glad I get to facilitate it now for undergrad students.” Murphy hopes that the Oh You! Design Agency will receive enough support to be able to continue providing practical, experiential learning for students, as well as creating meaningful products for local community members, for years to come.