For a contest built on creativity, this year the Spring Student T-Shirt Design Contest introduced an exciting twist with a Design Den Pick winner being announced alongside the highest-voted winner. Sutherland Webster, a first-year student majoring in Design Studies, with an intended concentration in Business Administration, has been named the overall T-shirt design champion, while Jojo Smith, a freshman in Exploratory Studies who will be majoring in Art and Design starting this fall, was selected as the Design Den winner.

This year’s contest attracted 63 student submissions, along with approximately 1,746 votes from the NC State community. Out of an estimated 90 total entries, five designs were selected as semi-finalists and advanced to the final round. The semi-finalists included Bailey Lawson, Lauren Wallace, Rebekah Cox, Kaitlin Mueller and Cole Wesson, whose design was voted runner-up by the wider NC State community. Each finalist brought a unique vision of what Wolfpack pride and campus life mean to them.

Of the five finalists, the NC State community chose Sutherland Webster as the overall winner. Rich Lombardi, Design Den’s Manager of Operations and Design, said the piece stood out for its connection to NC State and Wolfpack Outfitters. 

The overall winner shared their enthusiasm after the announcement. “I just tried my best to design something I’d personally like to wear. I feel like my design reflects my own personality as an artist, as well as the sort of creativity NC State encourages and I’m really glad others enjoyed it so much!” said Sutherland Webster.

The Design Den Pick, Jojo Smith, also reflected on creating their design for the competition. “Every time I’ve walked through Wolfpack Outfitters, I’ve felt that parts of campus weren’t represented as much as they should be. NC State is such a vibrant mix of interests and passions, and the music program is a huge part of that. Musicians and artists often go unseen or under-appreciated, so through this design, I wanted to shine a spotlight on one of the most influential aspects of my life and a community that brings just as much life and spirit to campus as any sport or landmark. My goal was to blend the music program and NC State’s identity as a whole into an all-encompassing, upbeat design that reminds us the ‘Do’ in ‘Think and Do’ goes beyond academics; it’s about pursuing your passions, your hobbies, your way,” Smith said.

The Design Den, Campus Enterprises and Wolfpack Outfitters thank the NC State community for participating in this year’s T-Shirt Design Contest. Student submissions, campus voting and continued engagement contributed to another successful year, highlighting the creativity and spirit present across campus.

The winning tee is available for pre-order online at Wolfpack Outfitters and will be available to purchase in-store in the coming weeks.

The Design Den Pick is available to order online and in-store at Design Den.

Winning Design by Sutherland Webster

First Runner-Up Design by Cole Wesson

This post was originally published in Campus Enterprises News.