A team of five Coastal Carolina University graphic design students won the second annual Carolina Design Clash, a 24-hour collegiate design competition with East Carolina University, on Jan. 28-29 at ECU in Greenville, N.C.

The winning CCU student team members were seniors Kristin Pisano of Hamilton, N.J.; and William Taylor of Lexington; as well as juniors Kaitlyn Cegielski of Stockton, N.J.; Andrew Smith of Annapolis, Md., and Alexa Stress of Mount Pleasant.

The competition required the two design teams to produce a comprehensive design program for a fictitious microbrew company located in Asheville, N.C. The competing teams developed a name, identity and menu (including a drink list and food inspired by Appalachian cuisine). The winning CCU team created a microbrew company called Ossify that was inspired by Prohibition. The company features craft beers with quirky names such as Bootlegger Lager, Wall-Eyed Woozy Sour and Speak Easy to Me Vanilla Bourbon Stout. The mission of Ossify is to "keep the history of Prohibition alive in Asheville, N.C."

Scott Mann, associate professor of visual arts at CCU, was faculty adviser for the Design Clash team. The event was patterned after Lifetime Network's "Project Runway," and each design team was provided with a specified allotment of funds and time to purchase materials for its project. The teams created, photographed, documented and developed a presentation that was sent to an outside judge. This year's judge was Chris Chapman, global creativity and innovation director for Disney Creative Inc. "This competition allows the students to learn how to work collaboratively on a deadline-driven, real-world design problem," said Mann. "My hope is that the knowledge they gain will help them in future projects and in professional practice after they graduate."

This contest is the brainchild of Mann and Dan Elliot, the assistant professor of graphic design at ECU. Seeking a way to bring the two departments together, they organized a competition to keep students engaged and competitive.

CCU hosted and won the inaugural design clash Sept. 25-26, 2015. Currently, the competition is only between CCU and ECU. Mann and Elliot plan to expand the competition in the next few years to include departments at other universities.