With each sorority recently welcoming in its latest pledge class, new members are excited to show off their letters with cool t-shirts and gear. Enter Madison Blau, a junior, who designs custom Greek letters for each sorority on campus. Her love of Communication Design and Pop Art inspired these adorable prints (which by the way, would make for a perfect Big/Little Week gift). Read on to find out more about Madison and where you can snag one of her products.
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Major: Double major in Marketing and Entrepreneurship
Minor: Communication Design
On-campus involvement: Pi Beta Phi
Can you tell us a little bit about these Greek letters? I created unique designs for each of the eight sororities at Wash U. I use a symbol that is important to a specific sorority to make the background pattern for its letters. For example, the Pi Beta Phi symbol is an arrow. Then they’re printed on 12″ Foam Core circles.
What led to these designs? Over the summer I started brainstorming decorations for my dorm room this year. I started experimenting with different ideas for Pi Phi letters in Adobe Illustrator and ended up with this design. I received so many compliments from my friends, so I thought I would try creating designs specific to each of the other sororities at Wash U.
What else is involved in the process of making each piece? I make the designs in Adobe Illustrator and I have a professional printing company actually make the physical product.
So it seems like your love for Greek life inspired this project. What’s your favorite part about being in Pi Phi? My favorite part about being in Pi Phi are all the friendships I’ve made. My sisters are always there for me through thick and thin and I couldn’t imagine college without them. My pledge family is everything to me and they’ve truly become my real family.
What kind of art are you interested in? I have a love for all types of art, but I would have to say that Pop Art is probably my favorite. Roy Lichtenstein’s pieces are the inspirations for many of my designs.
What’s your favorite class that you’ve taken so far at Wash U? My favorite class at Wash U so far was Communication Design I. I took it with Traci Clay, who is an incredible professor. Her course was one of the first classes that helped me learn the programs that enabled me to create these sorority letters as well as the rest of the designs in my portfolio.
Back to the prints, how can you place an order? What colors and price? You can place an order on my website www.arttitudedesigns.com (it is a work in progress lol). All sorority letters can be ordered in pink, blue, or purple, as well as other colors depending on the sorority! They are $21 per set and there is a minimum order requirement of 15 sets per university. For those interested, more information is available on the website, but please feel free to contact me with any questions!