The Herberger Institute graduated more than 1,500 designers and artists in the 2022-23 academic year, including fall 2022 graduation and spring 2023 graduation. These are just a few of those outstanding graduating students, which include designers and arts studying digital art, lighting design, digital culture, film, industrial design and more.
A look at some of our outstanding graduating students
Lindsey Brannen
The Design School
“Something I learned at ASU that changed how I view design is the importance of designing for accessibility. Designing something targeted toward a specific audience not only allows that group to have an easy experience using the product, but it could also be appreciated by the general population. An example of this is OXO Good Grips kitchen tools, which were designed to help people with arthritis but also makes cooking more comfortable for everyone.”
Brannen, who earned a BSD in industrial design in Spring 2023, was named Barrett, The Honors College’s Outstanding Graduate for Creativity.
Jayla Johnson
The Sidney Poitier New American Film School
“I love how such a passionate story developed by an even more passionate filmmaker can change someone’s life, and there’s truly nothing else I could see myself doing.”
Jayla Johnson said when she was young, she used to walk around hugging her VHS tapes. In December 2022, she graduated from ASU with a BFA in film and media production and a business minor in the W. P. Carey School of Business, ready to pursue her dreams in the entertainment industry.
Anton Makarevych
School of Art
“It’s one of the fields where we can push boundaries of how to do art in the 21st century,” he said. “How to do something meaningful, beautiful and for the common good — it’s a big question. I think that art can answer it.”
Anton Makarevych, named the Herberger Institute Outstanding Graduate for Spring 2023, earned a Master of Fine Arts in digital technology.
International student Makarevych was drawn to the multidisciplinary nature of his program, which connects art and digital technology. The program has allowed him the unique opportunity to blend art and engineering in broader ways.
Watch a video about Makarevych’s time at ASU.
Krys Newbury
School of Music, Dance and Theatre
“The thing that I like about lighting design is I get to have this conceptual artistic side, but there’s also a lot of programming and organizational skills,” they said. “It’s artistic, but it’s also technical.”
Krys Newbury said fusing creative and technical skills led them to pursue a degree in (design and production), with an emphasis on lighting design.
Learn more about Newbury, including what surprised them about ASU, the lessons they learned from professors, their advice for those still in school and more.
Mia Ramos
School of Arts, Media and Engineering
“Growing up, I was told video games are childish and boys only play them…there is more to a video game than just playing a game; it is telling a story, and I want to carry this into my own work in the future through storytelling.”
Mia Ramos graduated with a degree in digital culture with a concentration in film in Spring 2023. Ramos said during her time at ASU she discovered the power of play.
Read more about her time at ASU, including how she participated with a team that created a Minecraft server to allow students to interact virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.