Bold. Eye catching. Inclusive. Modern.
One look at Justin Williams’ winning logo design for Auburn Valley Creative Arts and it’s easy to see why the Auburn Mountainview senior came out tops in the organization’s design contest.
Williams and his design (shown left) were recognized at a spirit assembly at Auburn Mountainview last Friday, with Williams coming away with a certificate, a $100 gift card and the honor of knowing his design will grace everything the AVCA puts out, from posters to postcards.
“We were looking for something that would give us a cohesive and inclusive feel about the group,” AVCA’s Jan Allington said. “He had to pull together a lot of different elements to present an inclusive logo for us. We choose it because it did exactly what we asked for and modernized it a bit.”
The design is simple. A series of colored, geometric shapes that incorporates the organization’s acronym.
“I played with the letters, she wanted the A, V, C, A in there,” Williams said. “So, I played with them. From a distance it just looks like colors, then up close you go ‘oh, there are letters.’ She wanted something bold and eye catching, that you can shrink or blow up, and she wanted something simple, and modern, and appealing to everyone, old or young.”
Williams’ design was deemed the best by the organization’s three judges, said Allington, who coordinated the contest.
“He managed to keep it inclusive and the older people liked it. We think it will serve us well into the future,” she said. “I might change the colors to reflect different seasons, maybe change them to fall colors in the fall, spring colors in the spring.”
According to Williams, a second-year graphic design student at Auburn Mountainview, he first found out about the contest from his teacher Lonnie Chavez.
“She came to us and gave us the assignment that Jan Allington wanted (Auburn Valley Creative Arts) to create a new logo,” Williams said. “I thought it would be really cool idea to do for second-year graphic arts students.”
Williams, who hopes to major in graphic arts in college and “hopefully make a living out of it,” said the process was a vital learning experience.
“It helped a lot,” Williams said. “It showed me how to deal with deadlines and to create something I wouldn’t normally create, but create for someone else. And I gained more experience on the computer and with the programs.”
In addition to the honor of having his design used by the AVCA, Williams was also awarded a certificate and a $100 gift card to the Daniel Smith art store.
