Skip to Top NavigationSkip to ContentSkip to Footer
Ferris State University BulldogFerris State University Logo

Fresh, Distinctive and Innovative is the Foundation for Unexpected Choices Exhibit in Art Gallery

PhotoThis Unexpected Choices exhibit debuted in the Ferris State University Fine Art Gallery on Monday, April 11, and runs through early May.

In the heart of West Michigan, goal-oriented businesses are turning to designers’ skills and forward-thinking approaches to develop fresh, distinctive and innovative content highlighted by clear and engaging messaging.

In collaboration with the West Michigan Graphic Design Archives, Ferris State University’s Design Project Center has debuted the Unexpected Choices exhibit on the Big Rapids campus in the Fine Art Gallery in room 205 of the University Center building to help show these efforts and results. This exhibit debuted Monday, April 11, and runs through early May. The Unexpected Choices closing ceremony is Thursday, May 5, at 4 p.m. in the Fine Art Gallery.

The Ferris student team gained experience as its members exhibited how graphic design helps businesses that want to stand in front of the competition.

“One of the essential missions of the Art Gallery is collaboration,” Carrie Weis, museum and gallery director. “We strive to be a resource for our campus and community by providing a space that showcases the creative talents and achievements of our faculty, students and local and regional artists. This exhibition is a perfect example of the type of collaboration we love to participate in and was proposed by the Design Program students and their professor.”

Unexpected Choices was curated and designed by senior Ferris students Mallory Jarrett, McKinley Kreitner, Nathan Nye, Olivia Smith and Ngan Tang, guided by program faculty members Alison Popp and Nicolas Mata.

“It is particularly exciting because it encompasses current coursework in the Design program under the direction of Professor Alison Popp and her senior students with a great history of graphic designers throughout West Michigan that provided award-winning ad campaigns for major regional and national companies and organizations,” Weis said. “The work on display was curated by Popp and her students, from thematic concept to installation. The work represents ad imagery dating from the 1940s through the 2010s, collected by Ferris Graphic Design emeriti Barbara Loveland and Linda Powell.”

Unexpected Choices was made possible through a collaboration that included the Design Project Center in the College of Business and the West Michigan Graphic Design Archives, housed at the Zhang Legacy Collections Center at Western Michigan University.

“The Ferris Fine Art Gallery is proud to host this exhibition and is incredibly impressed with their planning and commitment in designing this outstanding exhibition,” Weis said.

For more information about the exhibit, visit the Unexpected Choices website.

Visit the Fine Art Gallery website for more information, or call (231) 591-2536. Email questions to Weis.