Pratt Munson students in Utica will spend six hours on Saturday, Sept. 26, developing a graphic design for the 2027 America’s Greatest Heart Run and Walk. The American Heart Association says the design sprint will run from noon to 6 p.m. at Pratt Munson, 1200 State St., in Academic Building room 220. This initiative exemplifies how Utica Art Students Compete in America’s Heart Run Design Sprint.
The event connects a local art and design school with a long-running Mohawk Valley health event. Students will first develop their own concepts. They will then form teams around selected ideas, get feedback from area graphic-design professionals and present designs to Heart Association representatives and judges. The organization says a design will be selected at 6 p.m. This event showcases how Utica Art Students Compete in America’s Heart Run Design Sprint.
What happens during a design sprint
A sprint is a short, focused period for producing and testing ideas. This one is scheduled for a single afternoon, not a semester-long class. The advisory says students will work with peers and receive critiques from professionals. That gives them a chance to practice pitching a design as well as creating it.
The announced goal is to develop this year’s graphic design for the 2027 Heart Run and Walk. The organizers have not released the winning artwork in advance, and there is no basis yet to describe its colors, symbols or final form. The selection is planned for the end of the Sept. 26 session.
The Heart Association has invited news outlets to visit during the competition for photographs and video. Its email is a media advisory, not an announcement of a public festival at the campus. It does not say that the general public can enter the workroom or that a public viewing is scheduled. Anyone hoping to attend should check with the organizers before arriving.
Why the Utica connection matters
Pratt Munson is based in Utica, and America’s Greatest Heart Run and Walk is closely tied to the region. Bringing the design work to students here means a campaign image for the next event will be shaped through a local creative process. The exercise also offers students feedback from working designers rather than only a classroom critique.
The American Heart Association says it funds research, provides health information and supports efforts to improve cardiovascular health and prevent stroke. A public event design is one part of how it communicates with supporters. Good artwork can help people recognize a campaign, but the advisory does not claim the sprint itself will raise a set dollar amount or change health outcomes.
What we know and what comes next
The confirmed details are the date, time, site and process. The sprint is Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, from noon to 6 p.m. at 1200 State St. Students will form groups, hear critiques, present their work and await a selection at 6 p.m. The media contact in the advisory is Teagan Brown of the American Heart Association.
For information about the organization’s health work and future Heart Run and Walk plans, visit the American Heart Association’s official site. The advisory does not give a date or route for the 2027 run and walk, so those details should be checked when organizers announce them. It would be premature to infer them from past events.
The sprint is also an example of a community group commissioning work from emerging artists in its own region. Students can see how a design brief becomes a public-facing image. The judges and organization can see several approaches developed under the same time limit. The release does not identify the participating students or judges, and no winner should be named before the selection.
Once an artwork is chosen, residents will have a concrete image to connect with next year’s event. Until then, the news is the upcoming student competition and its Utica location. The Phoenix will treat the final design as a later development, not as a result already decided.
