UNCP students take gold in ADDYs

UNC Pembroke art students Jennifer Clark and Danny Reyes won ADDY awards February 20 for their entries into a regional advertising design competition.

The ADDY program is a national competition sponsored by the American Advertising Federation and in eastern North Carolina by the Professional Ad Club East (PACE).

Clark, a Climax, N.C. native, won a gold award in photography, and Reyes, a Fayetteville native, won for design. Both are seniors at UNCP and study digital art with Dr. John Labadie.

"This was another good showing for us," Dr. Labadie said. "There were only three categories for students, and we won two. These are two very talented students."

The awards ceremony was held in Greenville, N.C. An East Carolina University student group won the third gold award.

Clark's winning entry was a digital photograph taken from a ferris wheel at the Robeson County Fair.

"Jennifer's work offers interesting lighting against a night sky," Dr. Labadie said. "It shows a refined use of Photoshop (the Adobe graphic image software)."

"This work talks to you," he said. "It has remarkable presence."

Clark said she took up digital photography 18 months ago when she was given a camera.

"I took several pictures, and the one I selected was taken from the top of the ferris wheel," Clark said. "To me, it looks like a dragon."

Reyes' entry was his second win in two years entering ADDY competitions. His entry was a creative self-portrait, entitled "Intelligence is the Best Weapon."

"The judges were looking for two things - technical quality and smart design," Dr. Labadie said. "Danny's work is smart, very smart."

Danny said he started with a self-portrait and manipulated the image to attain the look he was after.

Return to University Newswire