ARLINGTON — Aiden Forrest has two sides — one that’s practical and the other that’s creative.

While the Arlington resident and Western Washington University student may be studying graphic design for her career, the spoils of her hobby are currently on display in the form of two photographs in downtown Seattle.

“With graphic design, it’s all about layout,” said Forrest, 21. “With photography, it’s about how you lay out your shot. The two have a lot in common.”

Macy’s staff recently selected a number of black and white photographs taken by Forrest and her fellow WWU photography students at the retailer’s Third Avenue store in Seattle for a project commissioned to commemorate the history and architecture of the building.

“Basically they wanted to celebrate the building,” Forrest said. “We were given free rein to take photos of the store that people wouldn’t normally see.”

Earlier this year, seventeen students in WWU professor Garth Amundson’s Art 390 class — advanced black and white photography — were selected by Macy’s to snap photos in and out of the store for the collection titled “Edifice Complex.”

The students spent about two hours photographing the building, and the best photos as voted by the class were submitted to Macy’s for consideration, said Forrest, who took about 200 photos.

Each student submitted about five or six photos.

The only hitch was photographers could take pictures of anything during their shoot except retail employees and customers.

“It was hard taking that many photos, especially inside,” Forrest said. “But it was a good experience and I was glad to be a part of it.”

The two photos taken by Forrest are of an outside window in the women’s restroom and a chandelier.

She said other students took photos of the store’s external sky bridge, elevators, facade and signs.

“Garth told us to focus on the building,” Forrest said. “They chose a lot of those but they also wanted abstract shots.”

A total of 34 photos were chosen.

Selected pieces are temporarily available for the public to view at the corner bank of windows at the intersection of Third Avenue and Stewart Street. The pieces will be permanently installed at a later date.