Graphic design students are gearing up to strategize, sketch and put their design skills to the test in the region’s ultimate student design challenge, MockUP. The event will take place Friday, October 4, 2013 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Kaplan University, 18618 Crestwood Dr. in Hagerstown, Md. Sponsored by AIGA Blue Ridge, the professional association for design, the second annual MockUP: Student Design Challenge pits graphic design students from colleges and universities in the AIGA Blue Ridge region against each other in a no-holds-barred design competition.

During the event, teams of three to five students from eight institutions in the western Maryland, southwestern Pennsylvania, northern Virginia and northeastern West Virginia region will work collaboratively to create design solutions for assigned design-client-simulated case studies. Students are given four hours to craft their creative strategy; their results are judged by a panel of professional AIGA Blue Ridge graphic designers. Members of the winning team receive valuable real-world learning experiences, gifts and, most importantly, unabashed bragging rights. The public is invited to meet the student designers and view their work at an unveiling and reception beginning at 4 p.m. at Kaplan University.