‘FINAL_FINAL:’ Design senior showcase

In the culmination of four years of study, the 19 seniors in Utah State University’s graphic design program will showcase their 2025 capstone projects in an exhibition that according to the students, reflects not only their technical skill but also their personal growth, creative voices and vision for the future.

The USU Graphic Design BFA Show will be held from 6–9 p.m. on April 25 at West Main Studio in Salt Lake City. It is free to attend and will be open-house style — people can come and go as they please. 

Anna Nelson, senior in the graphic design program and head of the marketing committee for the showcase, outlined what attendees can expect to see at the exhibition. 

“The exhibition is the culmination of our entire time here in the program as well as everything that we’ve done over the past four years,” Nelson said. “You’re not necessarily seeing all of it, but you’re seeing the result of four years of learning and four years of work: lots of posters, lots of editorial work, some capstone research projects and then all of our portfolios. So, it’s kind of an opportunity for us to show what we’ve learned and what the result of the design program is for each of us.” 

Bryson King, another graphic design senior, shared why people should attend the event.

“Not only are you going to see fun and different designs, but you’re also going to see members of your community who are participating in this kind of stuff — local talent or local art or design,” King said. “I think that’s really important. It’s important not only to support the community but just know what’s available — who’s out there doing things.”

Each senior will have a portfolio with up to eight projects as well as a variety of designs displayed around the venue, including posters, zines, book covers and logos. 

According to King, the exhibition is not an art gallery but rather an opportunity for people to see the different aspects of design.

“Design is more problem-solving than it is art,” King said. “There’s a little bit of art in it, but I feel like you’re going to see how different people have solved different problems using design and visual language.”

Meg Demille heads the show design committee and will also be presenting her work. 

“This kind of gives you an idea of what our world has been built on in design,” Demille said. “You cannot buy from a company, you cannot read a magazine, see a movie — any of the anything in culture that is so big — you can’t do any of that without somebody who has designed it. Everything that you touch has been thoughtfully made and curated by somebody who is trying to solve a problem.” 

The title of the exhibition is “FINAL_FINAL,” meant to signify how one is never actually finished with revisions, according to Demille. 

“Instead of it actually being final, it’s ‘FINAL_FINAL’ — this one, this time, print this — the revisions are never actually done,” Demille said.

King said the seniors started with 30 different names and themes for the showcase and then voted and narrowed it down to five. 

“We each had an opportunity to build one or two directions from those names, and then we voted on which of those directions with the names that we liked, and we landed on this one,” King said. “Everybody had a chance to try something, but this is the one that we all felt represented us the best.”

Annie Zaugg, senior in graphic design and head of the venue committee, discussed her experience with the USU graphic design program. 

“It was like, ‘Oh, I’m not necessarily just making things for myself, but I’m making things for the world around me,’” Zaugg said. “Then I began to learn more, and the program seemed super cool and super fun. It’s not really what I thought it was going to be going into it, and I think that’s kind of funny because what I understand graphic design to me is not what other people think graphic design is.”

Nelson, King, Demille and Zaugg agree they have come a long way since the start of their undergraduate journeys. 

“I went back, and I looked at some of my first ever projects before graphic design classes or during them, and I kind of got a little emotional,” Zaugg said. “I can see progress, and I didn’t really realize how much progress I had made.” 

The students included how appreciative they are for the professors in the graphic design program and how they helped the seniors get to where they are today. 

“Now I can actually look at my stuff, and I can be like, ‘I am so proud of this,’” Demille said. “I actually am, and it’s not just because she thinks it’s good or my professor thinks it’s good. It’s because I am better at what I’m doing, and I think it’s good to actually know what you’re doing.”

Not only is it a marker of their progress, but the exhibition will also be key in cultivating a network for the seniors and for future aspects of their careers. 

“Having this exhibition is like, ‘I’m here. I made it. I’ve been able to progress, and I’ve been able to learn,’” Zaugg said. “It kind of opens it up for the future — I can still learn more. I can still grow more. It’s like this halfway point of, ‘Look — I know I can do it now’ because look at where I’ve come from — I wonder where I’ll go.”