Olivet College of Art & Design (OCAD) students are participating in training and service through Olivet’s semester long ministry practicum programs.  The program combines class training and one-on-one mentorship with professional designers in the field. 

Each qualified student works with a selected ministry and is led by a mentor.  They then embark on a semester long project that involves conceptual design, production, and evaluation towards the final product.  With Olivet’s network of ministries around the world, design students gain valuable experience with co-workers in different countries from Africa to Asia to the Caribbean. 

The University’s online tools enable students to seamlessly collaborate through view sharing monitor screens, VoIP calling, and data sharing servers.  A design student located in Latin America can be serving ministries in Canada through the online system. 

Each design project ranges from location, medium, to target audience.  OCAD students in San Francisco designed a series of web pages for ministries in Kenya, Africa.  The key target was revamping a new look that will attract a new generation of online users for both their staff and visitors. 
Another website design project involved branding for a Caribbean ministry’s annual event on evangelization and discipleship.  Online students worked with mentors to launch Tokyo2010 Mission Network’s website with a goal of expanding the organization beyond its historic conference gathering.  Ministry mentors guided designers in redesigning a theological education resource website in reaching out to more educators worldwide.  Students who desired print work had opportunities to design brochure, annuals, and booklets alongside digital graphics.

From working on global marketing design campaigns in Europe to refining a local church flyer in California, the program encourages students to take their experiences learned and continue to engage ministries in their own community.