UC Design Student Helps Conduct Project of Note for Musical Non-Profit

In a prelude to what she hopes will be a future teaching career, University of Cincinnati graphic design student Lisa Bambach is assisting local high schoolers in a design project to benefit the Starling Project Foundation, a Cincinnati youth orchestra and music mentorship program.

Bambach, 22, a 2007 graduate of Saint Ursula Academy, has returned to that school to help lead 25 seniors who are in their final year of an unusual four-year design curriculum offered at the high-school level by Alison Probst, design professional and educator.

Working on real-world design projects for non-profit clients is a routine part of the school’s senior-year design curricula, but on the particular project to redesign the website, logo and other graphic elements associated with Starling and its chamber orchestra and violin master class, the teens are receiving hands-on teaching related to technical tools – like Illustrator and Photoshop – from Bambach.

According to Probst, “Lisa’s help with the technical aspects of the project frees me up to focus on sound concepts, on the broader design approach and critical thinking that support the overall project framework.”

The results of this teamwork on behalf of the Saint Ursula students and their client will be unveiled Nov. 28 when the students present their final designs to Starling’s leaders:  faculty from UC’s College-Conservatory of Music, Kurt Sassmannshaus and Dominic DeStefano.

“The best part of this project is the quality of the students’ work,” according to Bambach, adding, “They’re taking in a lot of information. And I sometimes wonder if it’s clear, then I see their work, and I’m blown away by its aesthetic quality and technical excellence.”

She also stated, “While they’re learning design lessons, I’m learning about teaching and different learning styles. We’re learning together, and it’s been a lot of fun.”

In her role in the classroom at Saint Ursula, Bambach represents the next generation of design educators, according to Probst, adding, “Design education fosters intellectual curiosity, nurtures a self reflective attitude, encourages communication and collaboration and should be a core component in the K-12 class room. As my former student, Lisa now contributes to the future of the profession, and because of that, this time in the classroom helping to lead others has proven invaluable for her and a delight for me and my students.”

Bambach, who has studied abroad at the Basel School of Design in Switzerland while a student in UC’s internationally ranked School of Design, has the long-term goal of working in private industry to gain additional design experience, pursue graduate studies and eventually teach design.