VisCom Club increases membership

The Drury Visual Communication Club is making a comeback this year and starting to establish a more visible presence on campus.

The Visual Communications program was created in 1990 as a part of the Studio Art major.

Today, the program is offered to students within any major who are interest in visual communications as a part of their future career.

Students must complete a total of 57 hours and take a variety of classes including graphic design, drawing, and photography.

The club, which was almost nonexistent last year, held its first event on Nov. 18.

A total of 35 students interested in either graphic design or communication filled the seats of the PAC lecture hall early that afternoon.

The club had invited Hank Richardson, the director of design at the two-year graduate school the Portfolio Center in Atlanta, Ga.

Attendees were able to get insight as to what it is like to study at the Portfolio Center and work in the graphic design field.

"It was such a great feeling of success," said club president Dillon Crow, a junior graphic design student.

"The amount of student involvement in this group's first few months has been exceptional. From having almost no group at all to having a packed lecture hall really shows our potential to expand this group throughout the [Drury] community."

And that is exactly what the VisCom Club plans to do.

In fact, they are already in the process of planning their next event, which is a trip to Chicago sometime this spring.

Club director and graphic design professor Dudley Murphy took the group on this trip several years ago and hopes to follow a similar itinerary.

Professor Murphy hopes to visit the Chicago Art Institute, the Contemporary Design Museum, and take an architectural boat tour of city along the Chicago River.

"Trips to different places are very beneficial to students," said Professor Murphy. "Our trip to Chicago will give us the opportunity to look and really study the art of the city and the buildings from many different angles."

The Visual Communication Club has not planned any more events for this year, but they hope to do more in the future.

"We haven't gotten too far ahead of ourselves yet, but that hasn't stopped us from dreaming," said Crow.

"As far as next year goes, that is something that our members will help turn into reality. With the creative thinkers that are in this group, our possibilities are limitless."

If you have an interest in getting involved in VisCom, contact either Professor Dudley Murphy at dmurphy@drury.edu or contact Dillon Crow.

The club is open to anyone who has an interest in graphic design, photography, advertising, architecture, or any other related area of study.