Design grad's playful work diverts minds full of worry

Published 05.06.2020

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Pennsylvania College of Technology alumni are using their skills in a variety of ways to help others during the global pandemic, including a graphic design alumna living and working in England.

Eliza R. Whyman, ’17, a designer at MediaCom in Manchester, designed and illustrated six visually appealing and puzzling brain teasers for Brits to enjoy during shelter-in-place orders.



Take a break from binge-watching to find the TV remote in the sofa.The colorful creations were so popular, they were published by numerous media outlets across the United Kingdom and in such countries as the Netherlands, Spain, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore. Among large media picking up the brain teasers were The Sun, Daily Mail, Business Insider and Country Living.

Whyman and her MediaCom teammates produced the brain teasers for their client, Plumbs, a 60-year-old reupholstery company in the U.K.

“I was surprised it reached so far … I was glad to see so many people having fun and engaging with my work,” she said. “At MediaCom, my team (we're called MBA which means Marketing Beyond Advertising) creates content for Plumbs every month.”

Eliza R. WhymanA dual citizen of the U.K. and U.S., Whyman relocated to England shortly after graduating from Penn College and landed a job at MediaCom, a full-service media agency, within a month. Whyman says her Penn College education “thoroughly prepared” her for a successful and rewarding career in the demanding graphic design profession.

“I like being a graphic designer because of how I can be creative and feel confident in my work, knowing I've followed the rules of design. It's defined and ordered creativity,” she said, adding that work perks like an in-house barista and the U.K.'s cultural norm of 28 paid vacation days are bonuses.