KRUTSCH Teams up With Minneapolis Community and Technical College
Here at KRUTSCH, we believe giving back to the community is necessary. Engaging with early-career designers and inspiring future business leaders can benefit not only students but the design industry as a whole. This is why we hosted an event, partnering with Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC), to help senior graphic and web design students by critiquing their final portfolios.
“Ken Krutsch, CEO and co-founder of KRUTSCH Design, a digital product design agency based in Minneapolis, is an example of a partner that goes the extra mile for students.”
How KRUTSCH Started Working With MCTC
You might be wondering how the pairing between MCTC and KRUTSCH was formed. Well, it was a pretty organic relationship. Our founder, Ken Krutsch, naturally hired a few MCTC alumni, which led to Ken joining the board, ultimately building a healthy relationship between KRUTSCH and MCTC. Through this relationship, KRUTSCH is able to remain active in the community, lookout for potential talent, and gain the opportunity to host events.
Our goal with working with MCTC
Our goal with this event was to provide professional feedback without passing major judgement and stress onto the students. We wanted to let them know about their presentation skills, how to discuss their portfolios, and critique their work in a casual stress-free setting.
KRUTSCH Helps MCTC Students Critique Their Work
A few months ago, we had many students come into our office to showcase their portfolios of the graphic/web design work they had done for their senior projects. As our Associate Director of Experience Design Rachelle states, "We offered a safe, judgement-free zone where the students could garner a professional critique outside of the classroom and continue their learning with industry experts."
As stated earlier, some of our creative team was made up of Minneapolis College design program alumni, so there was a true connection between KRUTSCH and the students and faculty at Minneapolis Community & Technical College. Our feedback was instrumental to the students' professional and creative growth. It is helpful to connect with industry professionals as they begin their careers post-graduation.
“The event at KRUTSCH Design is a great benefit to current students because it links their academic pursuits to industry, which jump starts their professional network before they enter the workforce.”
What The students gained
With our help, students were able to gain outside perspectives that can they can look to when trying to grow and improve their design work. One of the students, James LeVoir, said, "My work is still in development so it was cool to see how the designers reviewed my portfolio, provided helpful critique, and offered a range of points of view." We were happy to hear this feedback and know that our efforts were positively received.
END NOTE
For more information on our work with MCTC or how they are creating opportunities for their students, read their article here: https://minneapolis.edu/news/creating-opportunities-through-partnerships
Funmi Ologunde is a marketing analyst at KRUTSCH who loves to look at life through a creative lens. She enjoys problem solving and thinking outside the box.