Design happens here

In our third installation in this five-part series, we’re excited to showcase the talented success stories of our Art students featured in the first-ever Fine & Performing Arts Season Brochure, where all of the arts programming in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences come together in one place.    

Our students exemplify the Franklin Spark, the characteristics that unite the arts and sciences: ambition, curiosity, creativity, innovation, and leadership. Join us as we celebrate their accomplishments and invite you to experience their excellence firsthand. To purchase tickets for our complete season of events, please click here.   

Franklin fine arts students merge perspectives and passions to create meaningful work that reflects both their artistry and their academic innovation. Each combines their passion for the arts with another major to lean into the “&” in Franklin College of Arts AND Sciences. Let’s explore our talented, multi-disciplinary students that share their spark and make their mark.   

On a large screen, a dozen cursors dance around a mosaic of logos with varying colors and shapes. Fourteen graphic design seniors—including actor Marshall Smith, BFA, BBA ’25, featured as the lead of April’s UGA Theatre production of Murder on the Orient Express on the cover of this brochure— are workshopping an identity and brand kit that feels fresh, genuine, and playful.  

Students form the inaugural cohort of the Layton Design Studio at the Lamar Dodd School of Art. A whiteboard lists daily deliverables, large batches of paper adorn several tables with mock-ups and the counters along the wall hold printers, books, and sample designs. On a pillar outside the glass walls of the studio entrance, a black vinyl sticker reads “Design Happens Here.” 

 This new client-focused studio is modeled after a small design firm fully run by creatives. It exemplifies the University of Georgia’s commitment to experiential education and career readiness through a transformative gift by graphic design alumna Kelly Layton BFA ’90 and husband Brent Layton AB ’89. In 2023, the Laytons donated $500,000 toward the Layton Graphic Design Endowment. In 2024, the Laytons pledged an additional $500,000 toward the founding of the Layton Design Studio and $1 million for a new faculty chair in graphic design.  

Launched in spring of 2025, the donor-funded Layton Design Studio bridges academic learning and professional practice. Students work as a team of art directors with non-profit and business clients alike from concept to execution, cycling through the many facets of project development, pricing and deliverables. Initial projects have included book publishing, environmental signage, branding, and more. 

 Sarah Tanaka, current BFA student, has benefited from this team-oriented model. “The Layton Design Studio provides a place for all of us to try out new things without the full pressure of the professional world. We all get to wear different hats, and trial and error is widely accepted as part of the process,” Tanaka said. Her experience translated directly into a web design and branding apprenticeship this summer at Bright Bright Great in Chicago.  

Anna Pham BFA ’25, who will pursue a Master’s in Emerging Media at UGA, shares, “After working in the Layton Design Studio, I have greater confidence and the experience to manage projects in a design agency. Whereas before I only wanted to work as a designer, now I am willing to step out of my comfort zone and lead with project management skills.”  

Anna Stenport, dean of Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, has first-hand experience as a client of the studio — coinciding with the college’s recent rebrand, Franklin contracted the students for new environmental signage in the historic Old College building on North Campus. “I have already witnessed the Layton Design Studio’s success in action,” said Stenport. “I’ve met with students, and I have heard what a difference the studio is making in connecting classroom to career – helping our students advance in the soft skills of managing client relationships while bolstering portfolios and the spirit of collaboration and teamwork that makes a company successful.” 

Through their creativity, ambition, and curiosity, these students demonstrate how the arts at Franklin extend far beyond the classroom, shaping them into tomorrow’s leaders, prepared to impact the world. Their journeys remind us that the arts are not only performances and exhibitions but living experiences. Discover the power of the arts at Franklin. To purchase tickets for our complete season of events, please click here. 

To read more from our Fine and Performing Arts Brochure, click here.