USD artist competes in Mike’s Hard Lemonade design contest

In the last few years, Mike’s Hard Lemonade has turned to one group of people who knows its products well: college students.

Senior Ava MoweryCarlson is working towards a BFA with a graphic design emphasis and a minor in art history. She wants a career involving designing and illustration but is currently focusing on obtaining an internship to get more experience.

Recently, MoweryCarlson participated in an illustration contest held by Mike’s Hard Lemonade, which ran from November to January.

The company was searching for three unique designs for their cans, with each winning design receiving $10,000.

This wasn’t the first time Mike’s has had a design contest, but it did offer the largest prize from the company thus far.

MoweryCarlson heard about the contest a few weeks before the final deadline when a representative of Zooppa, the site that hosted the contest, saw her design portfolio on Behance, a network of self-promotion sites. The representative liked her illustrations for her project Bee’s Knees, and encouraged her to compete.

“The illustrations they had liked were watercolors, which I enjoy making,” MoweryCarlson said. “I decided it wouldn’t hurt to make an illustration and give the contest a shot.”

She could’ve entered multiple times, but decided to submit only one design for a shot at the $10,000.

“I am pretty busy with school, so I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to think out the illustration more,” MoweryCarlson said.

Though she didn’t win the grand prize, she felt the contest was a good experience for her.

“It was a good chance to use my watercolor skills to create something I wouldn’t have thought of myself,” MoweryCarlson said. “I knew that even if my entry was not chosen, I could still use my illustration for my portfolio if it turned out well.”

The public voted in the initial stages of selection. During these stages, she posted flyers with her design and contest information around campus to try to attract votes.

The final decisions were made by company representatives. Winners were announced in February.

MoweryCarlson said she was competing for fun and not too worried about the results. She’s definitely more open to entering contests like it in the future, she added.

“While I did not win, it was an eye-opening experience that jobs like this are more accessible than you would think,” she said. “It encourages me to try again when I have more time to make a stellar entry.”