AD Creative Grad, Erin Taylor, Showcases Her Design Skills with Silver ADDY Award
By: Spencer Westmoreland
Erin Taylor’s journey at Michigan State University started as a physics major. She soon realized it wasn’t right for her and that’s when she decided to pursue her passion for media and design.
Taylor graduated in 2022 with a degree in media information, but that wasn’t enough for her. In the fall of 2023, she re-enrolled at MSU to get another degree in creative advertising. Taylor was looking to do more self-promotion with this second degree, and she did just that with her Silver ADDY Award on her “Lunar Celeste Beer Can Mockup.”
She was tasked with designing a beer can for her ADV 326 class (Advanced Creative Media I) for a final project designed to help students apply what they learned all semester to produce a product they might create in future jobs. After some time and consideration, she found inspiration in the moon.
“I was always such a big fan of space and the stars,” Taylor said. “I was sitting outside with my friends by the pool, and I looked up and said, ‘It’s a really nice night tonight.’ My friend looked over at me and said, ‘Don’t you have an assignment to do?’ and that just gave me an idea.”
Drawing inspiration from space and the moon along with research on beer can designs in the current market, Taylor was able to design her “Lunar Celeste Beer Can.”
After she submitted her project, ADPR associate professor, Maral Zakahria, took notice and encouraged her to submit it for the Lansing Chapter of the American Advertising Federation’s ADDY Awards, an award show recognizing the advertising work of Spartans across Greater Lansing.
Taylor says she was nervous about submitting her work, asking herself questions like: “Am I going to win?”, “Is this just a waste of money?”; in the end, it was all worth it. In spring 2024, she took home the award.
“People deserve to have their work recognized,” Taylor said. “That feeling of knowing that this is what you want to do once you put yourself out there…it’s a feeling of satisfaction.”
Post-grad, Taylor says she plans to start her own multi-media company specializing in designing, editing and finalizing various forms of media and advertisements for corporations and brands. She says she plans to apply the knowledge gained as an advertising creative student, as well as her experience at the ADDY Awards.