Graphic design alumni, Nurdin Wong, wins 1^st place in a national art contest in Signapore for the AIDS awareness organization, Action for AIDS. The winning entries were a series of 3 posters called, “If only everyone had a label.”

On each individual poster, there is an urgent message he delivers:

Poster 1: Drug & Alcohol Abuse: Drug abuse and addiction have been inextricably linked with HIV/Aids since the beginning of the epidemic.

Poster 2: Worldwide: Six young people between the ages of 10-25 are infected with HIV every minute. Being young doesn’t make you immune.

Poster 3: HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, doesn’t care who it infects. It doesn't discriminate. This isn’t a gay disease.

Nurdin developed the concept for these posters back in 2003 when he was studying in the graphic design area at CSUN under the direction of Dr. Paula DiMarco.  He graduated from California State University Northridge in June 2004. He has been working as a freelance designer up until recently accepting a permanent position as graphic designer for an advertising and marketing company in Singapore, China.

Nurdin’s experience at CSUN was positive and rewarding.  When asked “How do you feel about your education at CSUN?” his response was
“CSUN Art Department has a good program for Art majors. The assignments are real life projects, which prepare you for the future. Great emphasize is focused on brainstorming ideas; which is the core to successful design. Most important of all, the teachers at CSUN are very supportive. They nurture each student to his or her full potential. In my case, Paula DiMarco is that special person to mention, She is an amazing teacher and a great friend to her students.”

Nurdin believes that being a graphic designer is like being a movie director, “Images are my lead actors while typographical elements are the supporting actors, “ and with Nurdin as the director he needs a good story concept in order to make the designed piece a success.  He said that the challenge for a designer is to make that impact in one shot in a printed form.

In the near future, Nurdin Wong would like to get more involved in design for social issues so that he can, “reach out to the communities and feel a sense of accomplishment when you are helping build awareness.”