HFC students win 1st place in 2025 LAND Conference

Karlos Moore, student LAND winner at his drawing board.

Two students in HFC’s Digital and Graphic Arts program, Karlos Moore and Sean Taylor, have won first place in the 2025 Liberal Arts Network for Development (LAND) Conference.

“My heart is singing!” said HFC fine arts instructor Vicki Shepherd. “HFC students have once again taken first place in LAND cover design and first place in a new design category. And that’s just the beginning!”

The following HFC D&GA students won:

  • First Place Award for Album Design: Karlos Moore for “Deceptive Angels”
  • First Place Award for Cover Design and T-Shirt Design: Sean Taylor for “Land of the Mountains”
  • Third Place Award for Package Design: Zoe Brace for “Soap Box”
  • Third Place Award for Photography: Seth Konarske for “Pathway”
  • Honorable Mention for Branding Design: Carlos Alvarez for “Taco to Go”
  • Honorable Mention for Package Design: Darlen Luna for “Monserrat”
  • Honorable Mention for Cover Design: Cameron Freeman for “A Social Decision”
  • Honorable Mention for Cover Design: Ali Attia for “LAND”

There were 27 graphic designers with 39 designs in the LAND Graphic Design Competition. This year introduced the category for branding, package design, album covers, and typography.

“This is a good start for this new category. I am excited to see it grow next year,” said LAND Art and Film Coordinator Jjenna Andrews. “Professor Adam DeKraker of the Kendall College of Art and Design at Ferris State University was very impressed with the quality of all the entries and found it very difficult to narrow down the awards. He thanked everyone for the opportunity to see all the great artwork being created at the community colleges of Michigan.”

Karlos Moore

Karlos Moore was a cybersecurity student at HFC before switching majors.

“I was going for cybersecurity,” said Moore. “But then I was doodling in my sketchbook and I realized I really enjoyed creating art.”

Born in Detroit, Moore is the youngest of two sons (his brother, Kameren Matchett, is an HFC alumnus). An alumnus of the Advanced Technology Academy in Dearborn, Moore will earn his associate degree in graphic design in 2026. From there, he plans to transfer to and study illustrative design at Wayne State University.

A self-taught artist, Moore has been inspired by Manga (primarily the works of artist Tatsuki Fujimoto, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Tokyo Ghoul, comic books (primarily The Amazing Spider-Man and Akira, and cartoons (primarily Dragon Ball and Teen Titans. After changing majors, he subsequently enrolled in Shepherd’s Graphic Design Studio 1 class.

“I showed Ms. Vicki my art and she encouraged me to enter the LAND contest. I created a piece of art, and didn’t think it would do as well as it did,” recalled Moore.

His piece, “Deceptive Angels,” which won first place for LAND’s Album Design category, was inspired by the rock band Polyphia.

“Their album cover designs play with different colors – blues, reds, and a mix in between – and symbolized imagery, such as animals, wings, whatever they want to get across. I took that concept, captured their aesthetic, and put my own spin on it. I thought that the angelic feel to a lot of their pieces could really come across in the album cover category to illustrate how much I adore their work. One of their songs is called Playing God and I went from that to the angels idea. That’s how I got the ‘Angels’ part. For the ‘Deceptive’ part, I made it so the colors reflected that on each side, so the angels are not all they seem to be. I didn’t want to go in a religious direction; it was just something to put out there,” he explained.

Moore was surprised that he won.

“I was in shock when I heard,” he said. “I was in the living room with my parents and looked at my phone, checking my email randomly. I got one from Ms. Vicki, telling me that I won. My mom asked me what was wrong. I was like, ‘I won first place.’ We were all shocked. She then said, ‘That’s incredible!’ At that the moment, there was this big explosion in my brain – ‘Wow! I really did it! I didn’t think I’d place that high!’”

Shepherd expressed her pride in her student.

“Karlos is in his first year of the graphic design program, making it even more exciting that he won first place for his album cover design,” she said. “I look forward to seeing him progress through the program and win more awards. More importantly, I look forward to seeing him create a terrifically successful portfolio of work.”

Moore credits his success to his time at HFC.

“My journey at the College has been incredible,” he said. “I’ve met so many different people, who’ve become great friends. I finally decided what I wanted to do with my life! At first, I was just coasting. Now I’m doing what I want to do, which is a big step! I’m motivated and that’s pushed me forward when I realized who I am and what I wanted to do. HFC has been good to me and I’m very thankful.”

Sean Taylor

Playing video games – specifically Sonic the Hedgehog (which evolved into a successful cartoon and movie franchise) and Crash Bandicoot – inspired Sean Taylor to become an artist.

“I want to go into visual effects and animation. I want to be a cartoonist and an animator who works on animated series and video game animation. My dream is to work for Warner Bros. or Sega,” said Taylor, of Redford Township.

Born in Southfield, Taylor graduated from Cass Technical High School in Detroit. After graduation, Taylor enrolled in HFC. This is his second year at HFC and he plans to complete his associate degree in graphic design in 2026.

“HFC’s close to home; I’m only 15 minutes away,” said Taylor. “You’re not overwhelmed here. You can navigate a lot of fields and explore them without a lot of pressure. It’s also affordable. You get the same resources you do at HFC that you do at a 4-year school.”

Like Moore, Taylor didn’t expect to win first place, yet he did for the cover design and the T-shirt design categories with his piece called “Land of the Mountains.”

“I didn’t expect it to win. When my mom found out I won, I asked her what I had won. I couldn’t believe it,” he recalled.

Taylor explained the genesis of “Land of the Mountains.”

“I was working with Photoshop and picked a background image of mountains, then I edited them all in a row and put in a man walking toward the mountains. I just thought it was cool,” he explained.

“Sean is another first-year student in the graphic design program. That makes it even more exciting that he placed so well in the LAND competition! I look forward to seeing him progress through the program and win more awards,” said Shepherd. “I am very happy for my students. I am so proud of them and their attention to detail!”

HFC hosts LAND Conference Feb. 19-21

This year, HFC is proud to host the LAND Conference, which will run on the first floor of the Andrew A. Mazzara Administrative Services & Conference Center (ASCC) (Building L on the main campus) on the following days and times:

  • Wednesday, February 19, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.: Student Film Screenings
  • Thursday, February 20, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Faculty Presentations
  • Friday, February 21, from 10:00 a.m. to noon: Student Scholar Presentations
  • Friday, February 21, from noon to 1:30 p.m.: Student Awards Banquet

This year marks the LAND Conference’s 40th anniversary.

“HFC was in the rotation to host prior to the pandemic, so I am very excited that more than 90 people have registered with nearly 70 indicating they want to come in-person for the 40th annual LAND conference!” said HFC English instructor Dr. Peter Kim. “LAND began when a handful of Michigan community colleges wanted a conference that was specific to 2-year institutions and that promoted the liberal arts. Retired HFC English instructor Nancy Nelson and I helped plan the Conference when HFC hosted it nearly 20 years ago. The Conference has since grown with a much greater emphasis on celebrating student work. More than 50 student awards will be given out this year, and 16 of those were won by HFC students. I feel very honored and privileged to be part of an organization that recognizes so many talented students.”

For questions or more information about the 2025 LAND Conference, contact one of the following LAND Steering Committee Members:

Sean Talyor, student LAND cover artwork winner.
Karlos Moore, student LAND winner's artwork.