The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is proud to support the next generation of creative professionals by sponsoring the student award for the 2025 KC IMAGINE Career Conference Design Challenge. The annual event, set for October 7, 2025, at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center, brings together students and educators from across the region to explore careers in digital media.

This year’s winning design came from Caleb Hayes, Prachi Kalirai, McKinley Kendall, and Payton Speciale, students in the CAPS program at Cedar Trails Exploration Center (CTEC) in Lenexa, Kansas. Created in Travis Kohler’s Graphic Design class, their work features bold, colorful graphics, a clean layout, and the theme: “Media Careers that Matter.” Their visual identity will appear on all conference materials—from flyers and banners to presentation decks and speaker cards.

Left to right: Travis Kohler (Instructor), Payton Speciale, McKinley Kendall, Prachi Kalirai, Caleb Hayes.

As sponsor of the $250 student award, KCAI proudly celebrates the creativity and initiative of students pursuing careers in design and digital media.

“We were excited to support this competition and to see such high-caliber work from students across the region,” said Randy Williams, Associate Vice President of Corporate and Community Partnerships at KCAI. “The winning design is vibrant, confident, and well-executed—an inspiring example of student creativity at work.”

The challenge, open to high school digital media academies across the Kansas City area, gave students the opportunity to develop a real-world branding solution. It’s one piece of a larger effort by KC IMAGINE and KC Digital Drive to connect young creatives with professional opportunities.

The winners were announced on May 6 by Ron Green, Executive Director of KC IMAGINE, at a recognition event hosted at CTEC. Educators praised the experience for its impact on students' growth.

“Challenges like this push our students to think in new ways,” said Tim Mispagel, CAPS Administrator and Teacher at CTEC. “When they know a real client is involved, they take more risks—and that leads to more innovative design work.”

Instructor Travis Kohler added, “Students were highly engaged and motivated throughout the challenge. Many expressed pride in their work and were excited to showcase their ideas to a wider audience.”

The winning team will also be recognized during the opening session of the conference in October.