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NIC student’s poster design chosen to represent The Festival at Sandpoint

From left, North Idaho College student Elspeth Gibson, NIC Assistant Professor Lydia Ramus and NIC Associate Professor Philippe Valle stand in front of Gibson’s winning “Sunset on the Byway” poster design for The Festival at Sandpoint. Gibson won a $1,000 scholarship. The design will be featured on festival lineup posters, advertisements, the festival’s website, on a Toyota truck wrap and other marketing materials.

Elspeth Gibson is on the road to having graphic design talents noticed.

The North Idaho College student from Kellogg won The Festival at Sandpoint’s 2026 Series Lineup Poster Contest with the “Sunset on the Byway” design.

The poster featured the road in Sandpoint on scenic Lake Pend Oreille and was chosen out of 28 entries and earned Gibson a $1,000 scholarship. 

“I loved the composition of a photo of the byway that I used for the design,” said Gibson, a sophomore. “I liked how the road turned out of view rather than into the mountains. It came together nicely.”

Cienna Roget, marketing and communications manager for the festival, said the selection committee recognized the iconic view immediately.

“The committee felt the instant recognizability, plus the lake and mountains really stood out as ‘Sandpoint,’” Roget said. 

Gibson’s design will be used on the festival’s lineup poster, print and digital advertisements and as Toyota truck wrap to market the July 30 through Aug. 9 event.

It’s the fourth year in a row that a student in NIC’s graphic and web design program won the contest. 

Like many NIC graphic and web design students, Gibson entered the workforce before graduation. Gibson works at StandOut! Promotion, a screen printing shop in Hayden. 

Cyndie Hammond, a third-generation North Idaho resident, won the festival’s Fine Arts Poster Contest with “Shadow Serenade” inspired by her experience and memories of the area’s lakes, rivers, mountains and forests. 

Fennik Johanson, 9, Sandpoint, won the festival’s Youth Poster Contest with a piece featuring Idaho, a guitar, piano and sheet music.

For more information on NIC’s Graphic and Web Design Program visit https://www.nic.edu/gdes/.