University of Nevada, Reno marketing major Alix Laub received an honorable mention in the 2010-2011 Yellow Pages Advertising Challenge competition, placing in the top seven out of 1,600 students and more than 1,000 submissions.

"It was a really exciting thing," Laub said. "It provided a good life experience, and gave me an idea of what to expect in the work environment. The fact that I excelled in it is definitely exciting."

The competition was only for college students, and all competitors had to have a faculty sponsor. The students had to use provided information to create three different advertisements to fit page sizes and styles in a phonebook.

The project started as a group assignment with the option to submit it for competition for a class taught by Igor Makienko, assistant professor of marketing in the College of Business. Laub opted to perform solo and Makienkos encouraged her to submit her work, which featured an advertisement for a landscaping company.

"The judges were impressed with the graphic aspects of the ad, in particular, the heart-framed lawn which certainly captured the relationship between homeowner and landscape," stated from the Yellow Pages Advertising Challenge website. It was an "eye-catching yet relevant way to break-through the clutter."

"I decided to do it myself for a greater challenge of my skills," Laub said. "It was the perfect project for me because it combined my interest in graphic design and marketing."

The senior plans to earn her bachelor's degree in marketing, and then head to San Diego to finish her associate's degree in graphic design. She also hopes to find an internship designing graphics for snowboards, clothing, or anything else she's always had an interest in.