Plastic is the most prevalent type of marine debris found in the oceans and Great Lakes, with an estimated 33 billion pounds of plastic trash entering the oceans every year. And microplastics – those about the size of a pencil eraser and smaller – come in a variety of forms.
Microplastics are everywhere – in the air and water and even in the food we eat – posing risks to both the health of the environment and to people. To address this concern, University of Wisconsin-Stout Master of Fine Arts in design student Ashley Jandro created a social awareness campaign focusing on microplastics.
For her campaign “MicroWhat?,” she received a Student – Integrated Consumer Campaign Silver Pin Winner for her ad at the Minnesota AdFed awards, sponsored by the Advertising Federation of Minnesota on Feb. 28, at the Machine Shop in Minneapolis.
“The amount of damage microplastics can do to our ecosystems and bodies is alarming. By notifying the public of their impacts, there is hope to cut down on plastics and find alternatives for material,” said Jandro, who is interested in sustainability.
Jandro entered the competition as part of an assignment in Professor Nagesh Shinde’s Advertising Design class. She submitted “MicroWhat?” to the integrated campaign category, designing a campaign with multiple applications across different platforms.
She designed outdoor and indoor installations with animations of characters based on different types of microplastics, sharing statistics and details about how microplastics affect the environment and the human body. She also created magazine and Instagram ads and a corresponding app.
Kids can teach adults about sustainable practices
Geared toward a younger audience, “MicroWhat?” encourages learning through gamification. A QR code directs a user to a downloadable Monster app, which includes a game to “collect” monsters using augmented reality, similar to Pokémon-Go, and a mini-challenge to go “A Day Without,” bringing awareness to how much plastic the user actually uses in a day.
“I feel that educating the younger audience is where we lack a bit. Education is very focused on recycling, however, there are a lot of materials that are not able to be recycled,” she said.
“I think the information young people are given will help them make smarter decisions in the future. There is this ideology of kids teaching parents as they are having fun playing the game. They can inform the older generation of what they are learning and find better solutions or materials that they could be using rather than plastic.”
Jandro doesn’t normally create content for young adults. Her creative process relied heavily on research and visual storytelling.
“Honestly, it was a very fun journey. I played with a lot of color and tried to gamify the content to make it more interesting for that age group,” she said.
“I had fun creating the campaign, and the award was just the icing on the cake,” said Jandro, who earned her B.F.A. in graphic design and interactive media from UW-Stout in 2023. “In my undergrad, I loved the environment and thrived here. So, when I got the opportunity to continue my education at UW-Stout, there was no doubt in my mind of where I wanted to go for my master’s.”
M.F.A. in design Program Director Erik Evensen is excited that Jandro received the accolade. “Ashley is an incredibly motivated student, with a diverse set of interests in the Graphic Design field. She has been diligently pursuing a research agenda focusing on packaging, sustainability and the user experience. She’s a great designer,” he said.
Several UW-Stout graphic design students were awarded at this year’s AdFed as well:
- Regan Haack, of Minneapolis. Student – Integrated Consumer Campaign Silver Pin: “Posca: Everyone Can Paint”
- Carly Kauffman, of Hanover, Minnesota. Student – Integrated Consumer Campaign Gold Pin: “Monkey Around with Sun Bum”
- Hannah Kim, of Korea. Student – Outdoor and Transit Campaign Silver Pin: “Enough Deaths”
- Alex Martin, of River Falls. Student – Integrated Consumer Campaign Bronze Pins: “Live’more” and “Live’more” television campaign
- Clara Nicolai, of Bangor. Student – Integrated Consumer Campaign Gold Pin: “Experience the Purple”
Kauffman also received an American Advertising Federation District 8 silver ADDY® award. “Monkey Around with Sun Bum” will have the opportunity to move forward to the national AAF competition.
Nicolai’s campaign “Experience the Purple” received an AAF District 8 Judge’s Choice award. “Experience the Purple” shared the calming experience of lavender, while highlighting Pondview Lavender Farm, a small business, locally owned by operations and management Lecturer Bob Sworski.
“By inviting consumers to ‘Experience the Purple,’ the campaign highlights the farm’s handcrafted products and experiences, connecting lavender to relaxation, wellness and everyday moments of tranquility,” Nicolai said.
“Enough Deaths” advocates for stricter gun safety measures and responsible firearm storage to protect children from gun violence. “Through education and awareness, we empower parents, caregivers and communities to create a safer future where kids can grow up without fear,” Kim said.
UW-Stout’s School of Art and Design, one of the largest public art schools in the Midwest, offers bachelor’s degrees in animation and digital media; game design and development-art; graphic design and interactive media; illustration; industrial and product design; interior design; studio art; arts administration and entrepreneurship; fashion design and development; and video production, as well as an M.F.A. in design.
UW-Stout’s School of Engineering offers a B.S. in plastics engineering, ranked as a No. 1 Best Value Polymer and Plastics Engineering Schools in 2023. UW-Stout also offers minors in environmental health and sustainability.
