Watkins Alumna Earns Campaign’s Inaugural Spark Award

Anna Ramsey completes her arc from designer to art director 

Advertising industry publication Campaign has named the inaugural class of its Spark Award winners. Among these was Belmont alumna Anna Ramsey (Design Communications ‘24), who was recognized for her outstanding work as an art director at Lewis Communications. 

The Spark Awards highlight young creatives with five years of experience or less in the industry. Producers, copywriters and strategists were included as recipients, representing creative agencies from across the country on the cutting edge of their fields. Winners will be recognized Feb. 25 at the Convene conference in New York City. 

Before she was an award-winning art director, Ramsey was a student at Belmont studying design communications through the Watkins College of Art. She won both silver and gold ADDY awards her senior year for design work that got her noticed by industry professionals, and she credits much of this success to her relationship with professor Doug Regen. 

“Regen’s mentorship during my time at Belmont is something that I won't ever forget, and was a huge part of my development as a creative,” she reflected. 

“I’m still so close to him, and we often get dinner with a few other designers from my class. These friends from school, who have also gone into the industry, have been really wonderful to have. If it wasn’t for my foundation at Watkins, I would not be here.” 

Ramsey describes every creative as encountering a “sink or swim” moment where they have to either level up or choose a new path. Hers came with a particularly challenging grade she received, given by a design professor who saw more potential in her.  

“He just knew I could do better,” she said, and she decided to take that grade as an opportunity, not a setback. 

Now, as an art director at Lewis, Ramsey plays a key role on one of the agency’s largest and most recently acquired clients: the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Her most significant project to date came at the 2025 Bourbon and Beyond music festival, and the World Bourbon Toast that took place on the festival’s main stage. 

The event connected participants from 49 countries across six continents and was featured in a 12-hour global livestream. Ramsey produced the livestream after a month-long sprint that included developing marketing assets, meeting with vendors and learning the technical side of livestream production. The experience pushed her beyond traditional design work and into a leadership role –– one she embraced as an opportunity to grow.

Ramsey is a self-described “curious creative” who is always learning, always finding new disciplines to explore. From teaching herself animation to stepping into new kinds of leadership, her tenacity has culminated in this Spark Award. 

If Ramsey’s time at Watkins was characterized by her growth from student to designer, then her time in the industry has been about her quick transformation from entry-level designer to industry leader, building on the foundational skills she acquired in school. The Spark Award isn’t her destination; it’s a point on her upward trajectory, and she’s showing no signs of slowing down.