SOCIAL-COMMUNICATION. A former Massey-Vanier student stood out during his time at Cégep de Sherbrooke by winning first prize in the prestigious Marc H. Choko Scholarship competition of the Société des designersgraphiques du Québec (SDGQ). This is Gabriel Sherrer.
No less than 158 works, inspired by the housing crisis and produced by college or university graphic design students, were submitted to the members of the jury as part of this competition aimed at developing the skills and interest of young people for the design of posters, in a context of promoting a cause for the common good.
Stock market and exhibition
Gabriel Sherrer’s work, entitled Pow!, features a balloon surrounded by needles which refer to various issues linked to the theme “One roof, one right”. We are thinking more specifically of the housing shortage, the rent increases and the famous renovations.
“The balloon inflates like inflation. It is at the mercy of the needles and will eventually burst, causing its share of damage,” explains the 23-year-old young man.
The first prize won by Gabriel Sherrer comes with a $1,000 grant and a poster campaign on huge billboards offered by Publicité Sauvage.
The work of the graphic design graduate was also selected for the traveling exhibition 10 years of social posters in Quebec, which was presented in several exhibition venues in the province in recent months.
The Pow! poster was notably exhibited at the UQAM design school (March-April), at the Cégep de Sherbrooke (August-September) and at the University of Quebec at Rimouski (September-October). She can also be seen at the Conseil des arts de Montréal in December, then at the design school of Laval University in January.
“The exhibition produced to mark the 10th anniversary of the SDGQ competition was also presented at the French Paper Gallery in Paris from July 10 to August 3,” points out our interlocutor, with undisguised pride.
Labor market
Gabriel Sherrer graduated from college last May and was hired in July as a communications and graphics coordinator by the municipality of Potton, where he already worked part-time during his studies.
“It feels good to enter the job market after six years of college studies, the first three in fashion marketing and the other three in graphic design,” says the man who now lives in Sherbrooke.
The latter has also just completed his first professional contract as a graphic designer.
“The Cégep de Sherbrooke asked me to create a poster for the October 17 conference day of the graphics department. My mandate also included an online version,” he summarizes.
