Take Root: Collaboration and Community Partnerships

Leslie Jensen-Inman, Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Collaborate, that is what we do as designers. We work with artists, copywriters, vendors, clients, and strategic partners towards accomplishing a shared goal. Solely assigning individual classroom projects to university students is a disservice to the students and to the design community. Through practical application we can provide students the tools and skills needed to effectively work together, instead of producing students who are not prepared for the demands of the professional world. At the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, I successfully integrated an intensive, 10-week project focused on collaboration between students and the local creative, business, and governmental communities in my Junior-level design course–Professional Practices in Graphic Design. As a group of thirteen students and a professor, we ventured on a project for a real client (with two approving boards) who had real deadlines, deliverables, and expectations.

The students worked directly with Leadership Chattanooga, the City of Chattanooga, and vendors to create and produce a holistic branding solution for Take Root, a tree planting initiative. Take Root and the students’ involvement continue to be showcased in media outlets and $100,000 has been granted to the city to help with the initiative. The project has demonstrated how a united community can create substantial and sustainable, positive change.

Learn how to:
• Create sustainable relationships,
• Choose appropriate projects,
• Structure, manage, and evaluate students, and
• Keep students and community partners connected throughout and beyond the project.