The smell of waffle batter and laughter filled the Center of Excellence for Women & Technology House for its Galentine’s Day Adobe Spark workshop at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
A mix of graduate and undergraduate students sat around the table at the center of the house. On their own computers, they followed a few digital design tips given by lead Media Makers intern and master’s student Haley Hatfield. The Media Makers functions as an internal program within the CEW&T and this tutorial is one of many that have been hosted by the Media Makers team.
“The reason Media Makers became a thing is because I ran a survey on Media School students,” Hatfield said. “One of the things that came up was that students really wished that they had more opportunities to learn Abobe industry-standard programs because getting into graphic design classes is so limited.”
Adobe Spark is a media creation tool focused on trends, social media and branded graphics.
Following a half-hour tutorial, the students began designing their Galentine’s Day cards using the tools they had learned about. To take a break from their work, many traveled to the kitchen where they could decorate a waffle with whipped cream and toppings such as chocolate chips, Nutella and strawberries. Hatfield additionally recommended working through a mobile device, which she described as being more geared toward social media marketing.
“I think a lot of people don’t necessarily know how useful Adobe could be to them even if they’re not graphic designers,” Media Makers intern and junior Jaleesa Elliott said. “Tonight we had a lot of people from the School of Informatics. We typically have a lot more students from there than from the Media School.”
The Media Makers' next Adobe workshop will cover Adobe Illustrator on Feb. 22. This will be the team’s first time using a Zoom video conference for their workshop.The workshop, which will take place entirely over videoconference, is free, but people must sign up in advance.
Lead social media intern Aish Thamba began working with CEW&T when she was an undergraduate student. Now, returning as a master’s student, Thamba helps promote various events for the center. She found that the Galentine’s Day theme connected to the center’s celebration of friendship and collaboration.
“I think this event has amazing women empowerment and educational opportunities,” Thamba said. “It’s really a way for all of us to get together and learn something new collectively.”
In addition, the center will organize its “Celebrating Women & Technology” annual summit featuring networking workshops and diversity inclusive affairs March 6-7 at the Indiana Memorial Union. This will be the seventh summit and includes all IU campuses. Tickets for the event are $10.
