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Nine students in an ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ graphics design class competed against each other and a professional advertisement agency, and ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Kari Rand' poster was chosen to promote the 33^rd annual Simplot Games, North America's largest prep track meet that is hosted at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½.

"I competed against pros and they liked mine best," said Rands, a junior in the ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ James E. Rogers Department of Mass Communication who has an emphasis in advertising/public relations. "I’m stoked. It was definitely fun and definitely fun to see the real-world application of my work."

Rands' poster shows a runner on the track and includes information on the 2011 Simplot Games, which will be held Feb. 17-19. Representatives from the Simplot Games visited ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ to award Rands on Monday, Oct. 18, to announce her as a winner and reward her with a cash prize of $450. Her poster design will be used internationally to promote the games.

This year for the first time, the games sponsors challenged ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ visual communication graphic design students to create a winning publicity poster.  The students were given specific guidelines and requirements for the print-publicity piece to be used in promotion of the games.  The students had access to medals and batons actually used in past events and photographs of previous athletes in action.

"This was a perfect opportunity for our students to work for a high-profile client and gain valuable experience," said mass communication/graphic design Professor Paula Jull. "We often do design work for non-profit clients, but this is in an entirely new league. The Simplot representatives said they were ‘blown away’ by our students’ designs."

The Simplot Games, North America’s premier high school indoor track and field event, are held at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½â€™s Holt Arena in February.  Some 2,000 athletes from the United States and Canada run on a 200-meter, banked-board track considered one of the fastest in the nation, and records are broken every year.

For more information on the Simplot Games, visit .

For more information on ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ mass communications programs, visit .

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