Designing for Change: How One CAP Alumni went from Summer Camper to Creative Collaborator

Three of the conceptual poster designs created by CAP alum and graphic design student Jarod Hammond.

“I spent grade school summers [with Cathedral Arts Project] working on orchestra routines, arts and crafts and even chorus,” said Jarod Hammond. “I was given resources and encouragement to fully use my creativity … to truly believe that I could excel.”

Jarod Hammond

Jarod is a Jacksonville native and a CAP summer camp alum. He’s now a branding graphic design student at Florida International University in Miami. Recently, his story with CAP came full circle when he registered for a unique design course called Design is Change.

The course is “an interdisciplinary undergraduate research service-learning course of interdisciplinary conceptual graphic design, technology and fine arts.” Undergraduate students like Jarod team up with non-profit organizations of their choice “to research, create, design and produce posters and digital social media adaptations, making a positive social impact in our global community.”

Jarod chose to give back to CAP.

“[CAP] is so pivotal because some students don’t have the resources, or the space and support to fully express their creativity,” he said of his decision to focus on designing something for CAP. “It’s not only a means of learning, but also a means of passion and health.”

Demolishing the Impossible

The first order of business when creating his designs, Jarod explained, was to distill his belief in the power of freedom to be creative and encouragement to succeed. He used mind maps and lists of words, finally settling on the phrase “Your creativity is enough to demolish the impossible.”

“From there, I took the verb ‘demolish’ and decided to conceptually display the children’s creativity amongst construction sites and equipment,” he said. “Obviously, children shouldn’t be in a construction site! So I made the Cathedral Arts Project literally be the protector and supplier amongst the performance of their art.”

Pulling in traditional construction-related colors of orange, yellow, black and green, Jarod depicted CAP as a literal constructive force in young people’s lives: CAP holding back a wrecking ball from interrupting young dancers. CAP moving earth to deliver violins to student musicians. CAP as a vibrantly colored medium spilling out of a mixer in front of a student ready with a paintbrush. A theatre student rising into the air on a lift from CAP. And CAP as a megaphone to empower the voice of a chorus student.

Each poster also includes a statement for the programs highlighted, each written by Jarod. His summer camp memories shine through in powerful phrases like “In CAP’s chorus, I feel I’m given a confident voice and heard at all times,” and “In CAP’s theatre, I feel empowered to unleash my talent and share an experience.”

“The goal was for the arts to break the barrier between what seems incompatible and what shines vibrantly,” he said.

Designing for the Future

As part of the course, Jarod kept in contact with CAP staff members throughout the process to discuss his “client’s” needs, as well as the branding and his chosen direction. This real-world collaboration and feedback process gives the Design is Change students experience for the professional world — according to its website, a major goal of the course is “for students to become active citizen designers who are aware of social issues; who are ready to enter the workplace; and who can collaborate towards a better tomorrow.”

“It has been great working with Cathedral Arts Project for this poster series — communicating with them to better understand not only what CAP really is, but what they currently need now,” Jarod recalled. “Without a doubt I was challenged when working on this project, but I learned how to conceptualize research and step out of my comfort zone more … which I know the future will call for.”

This experience will likely inform the future and the now, as Jarod is already an entrepreneur. He owns JDGRAFFICS, a clothing brand “embodying passion, discipline and creativity for bold, risk-taking individuals.”

“I deeply admire the impactful work you all do to give the youth a safe space, belief in their full potential and empowering the communities in need, as I am from Jacksonville myself,” Jarod said. “It was a pleasure and full circle moment for me to work on this metaphorical poster series using Cathedral Arts Project.”

Are you a former CAP Kid? We want to hear from you! Whether your class ended last year or 30 years ago, we’d love to hear about how the arts impacted your life then and now. Maybe we’ll be able to dig up some old photos of you and your childhood friends, too. Click here to fill out the alumni form.