Oakridge International School Gachibowli students come up with award-winning digital posters that left the design gurus in awe.

Oakridgers Harini, Rohan and Anirudh win top laurels at the Design Championship 2020 for their innovative design entries.

Mastering the craft of creating attractive visual content for communication purpose, Oakridgers almost made a clean sweep in the Graphic Design category at the National Design Championship 2020 which was held online this year. Harini Raghuraman of PYP Grade 5 and Rohan Gullapalli of MYP Grade 8 won the National Championship, while Anirudh Yarram of CBSE Grade 12 had a close victory experience as he ended up as a National Runner Up in the said category.

This annual design event is India’s Biggest National Design competition that provides a platform for school students, aged 9 to 16 years, to showcase their creativity and talent in App Design, Game Design, Movie Making, Graphic Design and Industrial Design. Students from all over India participated in the regional rounds where their designs of Digital wellbeing postcards as the given theme, were evaluated by a jury panel comprising industry experts and eminent personalities from the education fraternity.

Regional winners Harini, Rohan and Anirudh were then mentored to compete for Nationals where they had to create a digital poster as an advertisement for a beauty product. The trio worked hard individually, on their projects. Their appealing ideas and the thought process behind their creation, that they presented at the online conference, impressed and won the heart of the judges.

“Brainstorming ideas, having patience and putting lots of effort to put my concept into the design was a great learning experience. Unlocking the creativity within you itself is an achievement. So, I just thought about having fun with my creativity and success just followed” says Harini.

While Anirudh, who presented his design in the closely competed seniors category, said, “Looking back, it wasn’t just winning that made this experience memorable, rather all the sessions and the discussions and advice that came along has let the competition creates an anchoring memory and a special place in my heart.“

For Rohan designing started as a hobby during his after-school hours, turned into practice and soon became his passion. He learnt the skills of exploring various design tools such as Inkscape, Gimp, Photoshop exploring etc. “I would like to thank my Parents, Peers and teacher for supporting me along this journey. Oakridge had helped me in discovering this competition and sparking my interest in Graphic Design.”, says Rohan.

Speaking on the occasion, Hema Chennupaty, Principal Oakridge Gachibowli, said “Oakridge prepares students for the future by empowering them with skills that are essential for their growth. In today’s digital age where the global crisis due to pandemic has forced the world to embrace the virtual world, these digital skills have added more value to one’s portfolio. Tech-savvy and innovative Oakridgers have always been provided with avenues and support to develop and display their potential in technology. We are proud of all our three innovative designers, who could think out of the box ideas to bag laurels at this prestigious event.”

Written by Preeti Sahu – Shaping Brands and Inspiring Connections