JSOM Student Extends UT Dallas’ Streak in T-Shirt Design Contest

A UT Dallas student has taken the top prize in a T-shirt design contest for the fourth year in a row. But for the first time, it’s not a graphic design student who won.

Rahul Singh, a business analytics graduate student in the Naveen Jindal School of Management, created the winning graphic design that will be used on all American Southwest Conference champions T-shirts for the 2017-18 academic year.

He was surprised and a little thrilled that the conference's Student-Athletic Advisory Committee chose his entry over those from graphic designers.

“Absolutely, I love it. It makes the excitement past the roof,” Singh said. “I was actually pretty much amazed that people appreciate simple and minimal designs.”

The ASC Champions T-Shirt Design Challenge is open to all students of member institutions.

Previous UT Dallas winners were arts and technology student Fayna Zeng, who won in 2015 and 2016, and Dylan Carroll, then an emerging media and communications senior, in 2014.

Singh said he’s had a passion for design and has enjoyed tinkering with it since he was an undergraduate student in Kolkata, India. He’s found that his design abilities also enhance his analytics and marketing capabilities.

“If I don’t present the analysis and recommendations properly so that it communicates to my audience, it doesn’t help,” Singh said.

He heard about the T-shirt design contest while working as the social media coordinator and designer for UT Dallas Athletics. He was especially inspired by the fact that UT Dallas had won the contest three years in a row.

The contest rules were simple: The design had to include the official ASC logo as well as the phrases “champions” and “2017-18.” Entries could have no more than three ink colors, and designs had to stand out on a black T-shirt.

Singh looked at past design winners’ entries and thought he’d take a minimalist approach. He focused on a bold font for the word “champions” and used the ASC logo to “dot” the “i.”

“The fewer things you have in it, the more impact you will have,” he said of his design. “It’s simple and straightforward, with a bold font that makes you say: ‘That’s our champion for the year.’”

Singh said seeing the women’s volleyball team wearing the T-shirt after their ASC Championship Tournament win in early November was particularly gratifying.

Valerie Hoops, UT Dallas Athletics marketing coordinator, praised Singh’s design talent and said he has elevated the effectiveness of Comet Sports social media platforms through brand imagery.

“Rahul has a keen eye for digital marketing tactics and has done an excellent job,” Hoops said. “His graphics are eye-catching yet simple and effectively communicate the message, which is why he won the T-shirt design contest. We are very fortunate to have Rahul working with us this year.”

Singh hopes to pursue a career in business analytics when he earns his second master’s degree — he already has an MBA in marketing — but will likely putter with design all his life.

“I just enjoy doing it. Not everything has to be commercialized,” Singh said.