Ohio Northern University graphic design senior Elizabeth “Lizzy” Dingman’s compelling work for a local organization that combats child hunger earned her an American Graphic Design Award from Graphic Design USA.
For more than five decades, Graphic Design USA has sponsored national competitions to spotlight areas of excellence and opportunity for creative professionals in the design field. More than 8,000 entries were submitted this year, but only 10% of work was recognized with an excellence rating (a GDUSA Award).
The award honored Dingman’s campaign for Artists Against Hunger that raises awareness and money to address the issues and consequences of hunger for Hardin County students. Her project was part of a fall ’23 ONU course, “Design for Social Change.” Students were assigned to address various strategies for community-based graphic design, including immersing themselves into the community, identifying the community’s strengths, and utilizing local resources.
Dingman created a campaign for Artists Against Hunger’s “Empty Bowls” event that sells handmade ceramic bows to support its Backpack Program, which helps to feed children on weekends when they’re not at school; Artists Against Hunger was founded by Mayumi Keifer, BFA ’12.
“I wanted my design to allude to the fact that one out of six children in Hardin County struggle with food insecurity,” said Dingman. She used color to help the statistic stand out. One of the bowls in her design is white while the others are orange, “the color that represents child hunger,” she said. “Along with it, it evokes warmth, which is what this event aspires to do.”
Drawing in high school drew Dingman toward graphic design. She said she was initially thinking about studying medical science, but her artistic hobby quickly turned into a passion. “I wanted to go into a career where I would have fun,” she said. “I was already enjoying art a lot and delved deeper into it to improve my skills. I honestly didn’t know that much about design until I started taking classes. Over the years that I’ve been here, I started to really love this field and all the amazing things that can be done with design, and I’ve been able to meet so many talented people along the way. I’m grateful for choosing this as my future.”
Dingman, a member of Kappa Pi art honorary society, has also presented at two ONU Student Research Colloquiums. Those projects evaluated the communication and branding guidelines for ONU's athletic team’s social media profiles and evaluated forensic sketch artists’ impact on police work. She has made the Dean's List for the past three years.
Outside of her academic pursuits, Dingman, who hails from Burton, Ohio, also works as a freelancer and card designer. She began making art for purposes such as social media account enhancement and to simply gift a piece of fine art to a friend. She described the card designing job as a work in progress and varied in scope, ranging from personalized card decks to business cards.
After graduating in May 2024, she’d like to land a job that makes a positive impact on others. “It would be really nice to work for the design team at the Cleveland Clinic,” she said. She would also like to expand her freelance work. “I want to design to help spread positivity in the world.”