Graphic Design Alumna Makes Her Mark at Vanity Fair Magazine
By Kristin Kamenicky
She
has met celebrities ranging from Ben Affleck to Warren Beatty. Sean Astin,
star of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the 1985 film The
Goonies, made her an honorary “Goonie.” Her job often allows
her to exercise her creativity while mingling with the rich and famous. Sound
glamorous? It’s all in a day’s work for Colleen Meade
Claps (’94 B.A. Graphic Design), associate creative director
at Vanity Fair magazine.
Although her job is fascinating, Claps frequently juggles as many as 35 projects while managing the work of a dedicated staff. The work may be fast paced, but Claps says her Penn State education prepared her for the high-pressure environment. “Penn State’s intensive design program was instrumental in preparing me for the challenges in my career,” she notes.
Claps says she chose to attend Penn State’s University Park campus because of the College of Arts and Architecture’s “amazing graphic design program.” As a child growing up in Oakland, N.J., she was always an artist who enjoyed painting and drawing. Claps focused on graphic design “to take this [artistic ability] from a passion to a profession.”
As an undergrad, Claps enjoyed her time in Happy Valley. She was involved with a sorority and fondly recalls happy times with friends as they cheered on the Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium or made countless trips to The Diner and Adam’s Apple. However, Claps says her most memorable college experience was the day she was accepted into the highly selective graphic design major. “It was my happiest day at Penn State,” she remembers.
Claps credits the structure of the graphic design program for her seamless transition into the work world. She explains that the major is set up like an actual agency, subjecting students to the demanding deadlines and fast-paced environment in which they will eventually work. “I pulled a lot of all-nighters in the studio,” she recalls. Claps speaks very highly of the program and praises the instruction of professors Lanny Sommese and Kristin Breslin Sommese. “They created a very realistic career setting,” Claps says.
After graduating from Penn State in May 1994, Claps moved to New York City and immediately began her first job as an assistant art director for M&C Magazine, a trade publication for those in the meeting and convention planning industry. She initially heard about the job from one of her sorority sisters. If it hadn’t been for her friend, Claps says her career might have gone in a drastically different direction, with her working in a design firm or advertising agency.
It wasn’t long before Claps was moving on to bigger and better things. She worked as the promotion art director for Discover magazine before landing a position with Hearst Magazines’ Harper’s BAZAAR, a publication she had always admired.
Three years later, in 1999, Claps made the transition to Vanity Fair, which is published by Condé Nast Publications. She spent four years as the design director before assuming her current position as associate creative director. Claps oversees the art department within the Creative Service Department, which is responsible for creating all promotional materials for the magazine and endorsing Vanity Fair as a brand from a creative standpoint. Among other responsibilities, her duties include designing special advertising sections for the magazine, creating custom advertising campaigns for clients and designing invitations and signage for the many events that Vanity Fair hosts.
Claps was recently involved with the preparations for Vanity Fair’s 2004 Academy Awards® celebration. As part of the celebration, she organized a photography display along Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive. Twenty-one stores featured Vanity Fair celebrity portraiture in their windows. Claps traveled to Los Angeles and met with visual directors from stores like Cartier, Giorgio Armani and Gianni Versace to choose the images and design the window displays that stretched down one of the most famous streets in the world.
Claps is quick to point out, though, that her job is not all fun and games. “It’s a high-pressure job,” she says, “and I must wear many hats.” Because of her success in this demanding profession, Claps says her career itself is her proudest accomplishment. “I am extremely happy with my career and have a sense of pride in where I am today,” she says. That sentiment is evident in her work. She has been featured twice in Ad Week, a magazine for the advertising and marketing industry, in recognition of her work on photo shoots for Lincoln and San Pellegrino. The photos were honored as pictures of the week in the publication.
Claps has come a long way since her days as a graphic design student in Happy Valley. And she says it’s her Penn State education that made it all possible. “It gave me the tools and confidence to get where I am today.”
Class Notes
Art History
Frederick Brandt (’60 B.A., ’63 M.A.) was recently curator of an exhibition of turn-of-the-century decorative arts titled Celebrating Art Nouveau: The Kreuzer Collection for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA). Brandt also published an essay titled “Obsession/Possession: The Andy Warhol Collection” in a recent book on that artist. Although he is officially retired from the VMFA, he continues to serve there as a consulting curator, lecturing, writing and acquiring objects for the decorative arts collection of the museum.
Heidi J. Hornik (’87 M.A, ’90 Ph.D.) co-authored the book Illuminating Luke: The Infancy Narrative in Italian Renaissance Painting with religion scholar Mikeal C. Parsons in 2003. The book is an interdisciplinary study of the visual representations of four subjects unique to the Gospel of Luke. Hornik and Parsons also co-edited Interpreting Christian Art (2003), a volume of presented papers at the Pruit Memorial Symposium held at Baylor University in October 2000. Hornik is currently associate professor of art history and director of the Martin Museum of Art at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
Lori Verderame (’96 Ph.D.) was recently awarded the Anyone Can Fly Foundation’s Professional Scholars Grant. As part of the grant, Verderame will write a scholarly essay on the work of American sculptor Selma Burke, who produced the portrait image of President Roosevelt for the U.S. Mint’s dime coin and founded the Bucks County Sculpture Exhibition. The essay and accompanying research will be published as a resource for scholars and students of all ages. Faith Ringgold, internationally known artist and president of the Anyone Can Fly Foundation, presented Verderame with her grant. The foundation’s mission is to introduce the great masters of African American art and their art traditions to the public.
Integrative Arts
Holly Williams Leppo (’98 B.A.) recently earned licensure as an architect and certification as an interior designer in the state of Virginia. She currently works as an architect with Hopke & Associates in Williamsburg.
Landscape Architecture
Emil Lesko (’50 B.S.) and his wife, Eleanor, moved to The Village at Green Valley in Millsboro, Del., in December 2003.
Larry Sharer (’62 B.S.) retired from his position as landscape architect for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Facilities Design and Construction. He and his wife, Janet, continue to reside in Harrisburg.
Bill Witmer (’70 B.S.) retired from his career with the National Park Service (NPS) in November 2003. His 30 years of service included work on projects in 49 different NPS areas, including Cumberland Gap, the Great Smokies, the Virgin Islands, Gettysburg and Cape Cod, to name a few. Witmer plans to pursue photography and writing from his home in Lakewood, Colo.
Chris Schein (’83 B.S.) was recently promoted to principal at Hord Coplan Macht landscape architecture and architecture design firm in Baltimore, Md. Schein is also the current newsletter editor for the American Society of Landscape Architects’ Maryland and Potomac Chapter.
Evan Stone (’86 B.S.) recently joined Pickering Corts & Summers as director of landscape architecture. He will manage the newly created landscape architecture department, expanding current services and providing environmental/sustainable design services.
Seth Hendler (’01 B.L.Arch.) currently works as project manger for the Community Housing Resource Center in Atlanta, Ga. In addition, he is on the board of directors for the national Association for Community Design and is the association’s conference chair for 2004. Hendler was also involved in the construction of a loft-style dwelling that was featured in a DWELL Magazine cover story in fall 2003.
Music
Ray Fortunato (’52 M.A. Composition) of State College was the 2003 recipient of the Kathryn G. Hansen Publication Award for his book, Instructions to the Wise: Time Tested Advice for Higher Education HR Professionals. This was the seventh time Fortunato won this award, which is given by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources.
Ginny Croft (’58 B.A., ’59 M.Ed. Music Ed.) is celebrating her 25th year as director of the Lovett Elementary School Band in Houston, Texas. The award-winning group and its director were featured in the November 13, 2003, edition of the Houston Chronicle, which credited Croft for the success of the program and of the countless students who have become professional musicians. In May 2004, Croft accompanies the band on its second invitational trip to perform at Walt Disney World in Florida.
Eric McCarl (’81 B.S. Computer Science, minor in Music Composition) held the number-one spot on the Top 100 New Age/Ambient/World Radio/Internet Airwaves Chart for January 2004 with his album, Seeking the Light Within. To listen to music from the album, visit McCarl’s Web site at www.ericmccarl.com.
Kris Laird (’97 B.S. Music Ed.) and his new wife, Julia, were married in June 2003. Laird is in his sixth year as director of the middle and high school bands in Tyrone, Pa. He is also working on his master’s degree in music at Duquesne University and is serving as vice president of District 6 of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association
