Students
design ‘Legacy of George Eastman’
Students in RIT’s
graduate program in new media publishing, design and information
technology spent five months designing comprehensive multimedia
packages for six Rochester area not-for-profit agencies, including
the George Eastman House.
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| George
Eastman |
The 80 students created
Web sites, interactive CD-Rom’s, brochures, posters and
bookmarks for the George Eastman House, Young Audiences of Rochester,
Women’s Coffee Connection, Volunteer Legal Services Project,
Politics of Food and the Neighborhood Housing Services of Rochester
Inc.
The results have been
impressive, says Kathy Connor, curator of the George Eastman Collection
who worked with 13 RIT students who developed a new interactive
Website, “George Eastman’s Life, Legacy and Estate.”
“They worked
on deadline to create a media package as we celebrate and honor
Mr. Eastman’s 150th birthday,” Connor says. “Now
visitors from all over the world can go online and take a personal
tour of the Eastman House and learn about Mr. Eastman’s
life and legacy. My colleagues said the Web site the RIT students
created for us is far and away the best work they’ve ever
seen.”
The students created
a comprehensive site with a 360-degree Quick Time Virtual Reality
tour, historical timeline, educational components for teachers
and students, and a “driving tour of 24 Rochester sites
that we wouldn’t have today if George Eastman had never
been born,” Connor says.
“To me, the Web
site is priceless,” she explains. “I can’t imagine
what it would have cost to hire someone from the outside to do
what the students did for free. What better opportunity than to
utilize young and talented students who are at the cutting edge
of their fields and know how to pull all the bells and whistles.”
Adam Smith, assistant
professor of new media design imaging, says the project would
have cost tens of thousands of
dollars if a design team used by Fortune 500 companies had completed
the job.
“RIT is known
for developing internship and co-op programs, but implementing
technology of this magnitude deals with deadlines, team dynamics
and the ability of students to negotiate, compromise and defend
their work to clients who have specific needs and goals,”
Smith says.
“There are no
financial rewards for these students but the pride and joy they
receive from seeing their client’s satisfaction and excitement
is more than enough payment. They have been part
of a phenomenal opportunity and as they leave RIT, are fully
prepared to step into industry and be productive employees.”
“George Eastman’s
Life, Legacy and Estate” Web site—created by RIT New
Media Team students— available at www.eastman.org/legacy.
