Southeastern wins graphic design awards
Thursday, May 14, 2015 
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana University Office of University Marketing and Communications
was recognized for graphic design by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts with
three Communicator Awards, including two first place Gold Awards of Excellence.
Graphic designer Michael Trahan of Livingston was recognized with Gold Awards
of Excellence for posters promoting the university’s opera performances of “La Perichole”
and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” The full color posters included
original illustrations by Trahan for each production.
Trahan was also awarded a second place Silver Award of Distinction for the 2014-15
promotional brochure for Southeastern’s Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in
the overall design category.
“Michael’s work is always top notch, and his work on ‘La Perichole’ even more
so because he only had about a week to come up with and execute the design -- and
then he goes and wins a first place award for it,” said Charles Effler, director of
Southeastern’s Opera/Music Theatre Workshop. “His design for ‘Sweeney Todd’ is nothing
short of a masterpiece. All of the conductors for performing ensembles in the music
division of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts feel privileged to have such
a talented artist designing our posters and program art.”
“In addition to utilizing the Columbia season brochure to advertise and sell
season tickets in the region, I use it in talking with agents while at the American
Performing Arts Presenters conference in New York in January,” said C. Roy Blackwood,
Executive Director for the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. “Every person
who saw this brochure remarked on how beautiful and well-designed it is, and I concur
whole-heartedly.”
Founded by communication professionals over a decade ago, the Communicator Awards
is an annual competition honoring the best in advertising, corporate communications,
public relations and identity work for print, video, interactive and audio. With over
6,000 entries received from across the United States and around the world, the Communicator
Awards is the largest and most competitive awards program honoring creative excellence
for communications professionals.
