Grady Bing wins student employee of the year for design work with ‘Land, Water, and Air’
Sitting in the windowless first floor of the Eccles Conference Center, Thomas Sorensen and Daniel Lenhart pull out the 2021 Report to the Governor on Utah’s Land, Water, and Air.
This 93-page document was designed by Grady Bing, a senior double majoring in graphic design and communications studies with minors in film studies and depth studies.
The report was designed for the Office of Research Communications team, for which Bing was awarded student employee of the year at Utah State. Bing also went on to win student employee of the year for the Western United States, competing against all Western college winners.
“It was really validating, especially because my senior year has been filled with a lot of imposter syndrome. I think that a lot of creatives face imposter syndrome,” Bing said.
According to Bing, the ceremony felt like a gentle touch on the shoulder for the senior getting ready to carve their own place in the creative world.
The nomination for the award was unanimous within Bing’s department.
Bing’s favorite part of their job is the team they get to work with.
A page from the 2021 report titled “Utah’s Land, Water, and Air” designed by USU student Grady Bing.
“They have a good understanding of work-life balance. We understand that everybody — they’re humans. And because of that, we understand that everybody has passions and dreams. So, that’s always kind of celebrated and woven in with our job description,” Bing said.
Anna McEntire, the supervisor, is a big part of this work environment, according to Bing. She makes sure that there’s a seat at the table for voices to be heard.
“Voices of color — queer voices. Women are just more attuned. I definitely do appreciate it and Anna is a powerful woman,” Bing said.
Sorenson, the communications lead for the department, said the project was never meant to be such a large task but quickly realized the amount of work Bing would be putting into this project on top of finishing school and doing other projects for the team.
Sorensen felt no matter what job Bing would be doing, they would always be putting in their full effort and passion into it.
The report was presented by Gov. Cox in December, where he flipped through the pages of Bing’s designs to inform those attending of what’s going on in Utah.
“The whole point of this report and of this institute is to share research that Utah State is doing with land, water and air with legislators to help them be able to make informed decisions involving water and air,” said Lenhart.
Bing did research on what trends other companies were following, including Swedish design, to make sure the report looked professional.
“The imposter syndrome has not gone away,” Bing said, “but I do belong at least to some degree. If nothing else outside of my talent, skill craft — whatever — I do know that I work hard. If nothing else, if all else fails, I do have grit.”
Bing is looking forward to building up their resume in Salt Lake City this summer, and the Office of Research Communication is getting ready to hire some new students for the upcoming year.