District Winners

2026 District 2 Creative of the Year

Travis J. Bumgardner
Graphic & Web Designer
Haywood Community College
North Carolina

Tell us about your creative expertise. How have you honed your skills over the years?

My background is in advertising and publications design, so my thought process is always to present information in a direct, compelling manner. Solidifying that approach has given me the ability to expand into digital media, work with campus departments and turn work around quickly when needed. Aside from that, I attempt to stay current with design software and develop speed and proficiency whenever possible. Not having to struggle with the tools—plus having a solid, repeatable approach—allows me to keep pace and wear multiple hats. 

What's a recent project you’re especially proud of?

Completing the decals and trailer wraps project for the commercial driver’s license (CDL) and line worker programs at Haywood Community College (HCC) has been my most complex project by far, as much of the work on this design project was more logistical in nature.

After the graphic component was approved, I worked with our vinyl installer and our workforce development coordinator to ensure the trucks were either in place for onsite installations or delivered on time to an offsite facility. Using two locations minimized the amount of time our CDL instructor had to spend delivering vehicles and saved on facility rental costs while still giving the installers the indoor environment they needed for the trailer decal installs.

Throughout the process, I worked with our VP of infrastructure operations and our dean of workforce and industry to ensure payments to the vendor. I was fortunate that my director allowed me to take the project and run with it, and the experience has piqued my interest in further developing my project management skills.

What inspires you?

I suppose that I don’t cultivate inspiration so much as I just try to be aware of it in the moment. Aside from browsing font and stock art sites and random epiphanies, I try to generally be aware of and analyze the design choices of others. This includes not just graphic design but also the architecture and product design around me. Architecture in particular is a good way to think through spatial relationships, mass and direction. Since starting at HCC, and after years of using the photos of others, I’ve also been exploring photography a bit. This has given me a new creative avenue to explore and plenty of challenges to learn from.

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